Whole of Life

​Whole of Life
I read something today I found interesting.
Greece said – Be wise, know yourself.  Rome said - Be strong, discipline yourself.  Judaism said – Be holy, conform yourself.  Epicureanism says – Be sensuous, enjoy yourself.  Education says – Be resourceful, expend yourself.  Psychology says – Be confident, fulfill yourself.  Materialism says – Be acquisitive, please yourself.  Pride says – Be superior, promote yourself.  Asceticism says – Be inferior, suppress yourself.  Diplomacy says – Be reasonable, control yourself.  Communism says – Be collective, secure yourself.  Humanism says – Be capable, trust yourself.  Philanthropy says – Be unselfish, give yourself.
That list got me thinking.
The reason I went in that direction is I think I am being fed so many messages.    Newspapers support one party or the other.  TV promotes an agenda.  There is one station I refuse to watch as it is so blatantly in one camp.  I was led to believe one station exhibited a bias.  I wanted to find it out for myself, so I watched it.  I have come to the conclusion that what was said was true.  I can see bias.  They do not think so, but what and how they promote topics gives it away.
I have my own opinions and am willing to have them challenged.  But I have only ever found one perfect thing.  I challenged that and cannot prove it otherwise.  The questions I ask are legitimate to me.  I guess I am a question person.  I like questions and welcome rather than shun them.    A famous question was “what is truth?” but it was asked like the end of a discussion rather than the beginning.  The asker did not hang around for a discussion.  I guess that is the prerogative of someone who feels the are untouchable. 
I often consider if I was an ad writer.  To promote something, I would highlight the positives.  Even if there were a pile of negatives, I would ignore them.  I see it in ads all the time.  Smiling people declaring why a certain product is guaranteed to change a life for the better.  Many are good – as far as they go.
Which is why I guess I found the list so interesting.   Some of it was born of survival while other philosophies were born of security.  There are no doubts elements in each that contain good advice that is worth adhering to.  Some things though are nothing but destructive.
Yet what I think really is neither here nor there.  It works for me.  Everyone else needs to find what works for them.  My concern is, many schools of thought are good only up to a point, though they are heavily promoted.  I need a whole of life philosophy or as Buzz Lightyear says, “to infinity and beyond!”