During his trial for heresy, Socrates is quoted as saying “The unexamined life is not worth living.”
He was on trial for encouraging his students to challenge the accepted beliefs of the time and think for themselves. The sentence was death, but Socrates had the option of suggesting an alternative punishment. He could have chosen life in prison or exile, but he believed that these alternatives would rob him of the only thing that made life useful: Examining the world around him and discussing how to make the world a better place.
Luckily, we don’t have to choose between an examined life and death. Bust sadly, most people avoid leading an examined life.
So where do Mason jars come into this thought process [OK, you all know me well enough by now to know I ramble.....]
My whole life I have been in love with Mason jars. They go hand and hand with my life. My Mamie and Nana taught me how to can using Mason Jars. I have been collecting the little pieces of my life in Mason jars for as long as I can remember. Movie, Theater and Concert tickets collected through the years. I didn’t have a piggy bank, I had a Mason jar [and still do......about 15 of them filled with change and old subway tokens] I have jars filled with buttons and marbles [see, I haven’t lost all my marbles]. I use them to hold candles and flowers and........
On Pintrest I saw an idea of taking a Mason jar and writing on little pieces of paper over the new year all the things that have happened that you are grateful for, memories, etc. and collecting them in the Mason jar and on next New Year’s Eve open up the jar and read the little notes. Blissful. I am doing it!
But it also got me thinking. Whilst I am going to do the ‘add’ to Jar ['cause I am so good at adding things to Mason Jars] I decided to use one jar as my ‘Examined Life’ and put my ‘resolutions’ in the jar now. As they are realized I will take the note out and also add that to the ‘into’ jar, so at the end of next year I can ‘Examine my Life’ along with celebrate my life.
My Resolutions this year fall under one category. It is a DO list. A concerted effort *~* to DO. The list is long and varied. There are things that will make me think, make me act, make my life the best life possible this year and more importantly, how to make the world around me a better place.
Here is to 2013.........a Year of Doing!
2 comments:
Looking forward to seeing what you "do" on the blog this year :-)
Read an article recently that was about the fact we can think all sorts of things, but the rest of the world only knows us by what we do.
Wishing you all the very best for the coming year :)
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