July/August 1999
Articles on the theme "Lifestyles"
A Look Back
by Dr. Audrey Craft Davis
Reflections on lifestyles when the
writer was a child and how they contrast with today's.
Design Your Own Lifestyle
by Edwina H. Holloway
How to customize your unique lifestyle
to fit your authentic self.
The Spirit of Caring
by Lisa Raphael
The spiritual component of lifestyle.
Comments on Managed Care vs. true caring.
Is Lifestyle Predictable?
by Magzcha Westerman
How numerologically to find the number
that represents your Life Lesson and how that number relates to lifestyle.
The Yogic Lifestyle
by Charlotte Rudeau and Piers Anthony
How yoga can help one achieve a better
lifestyle.
Exploring Your Style of Life
by Elizabeth Fenton and Renée Gillombardo
Developing a lifestyle. How one views
oneself and the world around one. Passion and the authentic self.
A Lifestyle of Love
by Rev. Pat Cross
Creating a lifestyle that is an expression
of the spirit of God within us.
Life's Stylus
by Bob Gonzalez
The connection between 'stylus,' style
and lifestyle. Our unique mark on life. Purpose and universal love.
The Victimization Lifestyle
by Cydné Battreall
What causes the victim mindset and
how to change it.
A Lifestyle of Grace
by Cheryl Smeed
Of going with the flow to achieve a
positive lifestyle.
Other Feature Articles
Natural Health Q & A
by Karen L. Mutter D.O.
Of cholesterol and various approaches
to lowering cholesterol levels.
2000 and Beyond!
by David Findlay/ Werner Huemer & Micah
Rubenstein
What is . . . Astrology?
by JoAnne Gregory
Some notes on the history of astrology
and some of the people who have used astrology. What the Sun signs, the
Moon and the planets tell us.
Mineral Kingdom
by Judy Power
Featured stones for July and August:
Zincite and Kyanite.
Life's Stylus
Bob Gonzalez
As a youth, I remember marveling at the fervor with which some acquaintances of mine perpetually wrote their names in the Kilroy-was-here vein on walls, mirrors, sidewalks or whatever flat blank surface would take their chalk, crayon, ink or lipstick. My thought was, "Is your ego so needy that you must attempt to strengthen it with such shameless and artless publicity? Do you really think your name is this important? How much better to have written some words of universal encouragement or doodled some flower or lion."
Ironically, this was about the time when I had decided to pursue a career in acting, where the cliché dream is to "have your name up in lights." Nevertheless, it called to mind how deep-rooted is the desire to "leave one's mark on the world." It is understandable, since all of us want to feel that our living has made some difference, hopefully positive, in the lives of others.
The question arises, then: how do we go about making our mark on the world?
A stylus is a sharp, pointed instrument used for writing, marking or engraving. It is also the name for a sharp, pointed tool used to cut grooves in a vinyl phonograph record. Remember them? Scribes of ancient Rome used the first type of stylus to record information on wax tablets, while the second type of stylus was used on wax discs to record sound well into the first third of the twentieth century.
The word "stylus" engendered the word "style," which means a distinctive or characteristic form of expression. If content refers to the "what," style refers to the "how." Content is the theme, style is the variation. All living beings have common denominator experiences such as breathing, eating, and sleeping. The manner in which a being experiences life is as variable as there are beings in the universe.
What determines the way we live our lives? Is it an automatic process or are we in control of it? Simple observation tells us that we live with a complex of external forces and internal perspectives. We have no control over the former and the potential for total control over the latter. It is with the mastery of control over our internal attitudes that we can assert our unique mark on life.
This year's film, "Life is Beautiful", presented the character of a man who used his flexible imagination to create a beautiful experience of life. Even though he was put into the most horrific of external circumstances during the latter part of the story, he continued to apply his ingenuity to create, as much as possible, the kind of life he envisioned.
After viewing this film, I developed the undeniable urge to read the first part of Viktor Frankl's amazing book, "Man's Search for Meaning". I had read the second part describing his Logotherapy approach to psychology years ago as an undergraduate but had been too frightened to read the beginning of the book where he recounted his experiences in a concentration camp. Now, I devoured the book and it is a glorious testament to the indomitable human spirit. The details of the hardships and torturous conditions the prisoners endured illustrate that everyone of them confronted death every minute of their incarceration. Nevertheless, this paragraph from the book demonstrates that, even in that hellish world, there were those who behaved like angels:
"We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms - to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."
Frankl narrates how important it was to help himself and his fellow prisoners keep their spirits strong by reminding them of a purpose to live for, usually loved ones or unfinished life's work. He quotes Nietzsche's sentence as central to his philosophy: "He who has a why to live for can bear with almost any how." Frankl observed that if a prisoner would lose his conviction of a meaning and purpose in his life, he soon perished.
Purpose is essential to living and determines the style or manner in which we choose to live. Why are we living? What do we aim for in life? Do we love money, fame, pleasure and status or truth, beauty, harmony and peace? How would our lives change if, all of a sudden, all our possessions and social positions were taken from us? Life is brief and we do not know what the next moment will bring. We need to aim for the heart of life.
The only surfaces not subject to ultimate oblivion are the souls of our fellow beings and love is the most effective stylus. If we aim exclusively for our own benefit without regard to that of others, we will find that our attempts at achieving fame and glory will be as fleeting as carving our names on a cake of ice on a hot July day. Nevertheless, each and every moment is a fresh tabula rasa, a "clean slate," waiting to be carved upon by the stylus of our deepest universal love.
Bob Gonzalez is a freelance writer who also with his family
manages Ansley's Natural Marketplaces in Tampa. (813) 239-2700. E-mail:
lopergon@gte.net.
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