These are time sensitive. You do not receive credit if you write them after the deadline each week.
First, there's a blog entry (about 250 words) which will have you respond to a hopefully thought-provoking question. Each week, you must do the blog entry with enough time left in the week to be able to enter into dialogue online with your classmates. Write, reply, write more, reply more, and then write and reply more.
Second, there's a reading. There’s no blog entry associated with this. Just read.
Third, there's a written response to the reading. Your reading and writing on the blog must be completed by the SATURDAY (by midnight) of the week in which the reading falls. This entry should be a long paragraph. YOU DO NOT NEED TO RESPOND TO OTHER STUDENTS' PART THREE EACH WEEK.
Monday, November 11, 2013
WEEK NINE BLOG ENTRY
What is the most important question a human can ask? Is it this one? Or perhaps that one?
After writing about being happy I am reconsidering the question. Am I behaving responsibly, can I look myself in the mirror and respect my judgment? This also relates to the part about being happy. I think the most important question we can ask our self would be, "Are we happy?" This could include but not be limited to 'do we have inner peace?' Why do we exist if not to be happy? If we are not currently happy, how do achieve happiness? In order to be happy we do not require a lot of money, attention from the masses, or the ownership of many things. To me I require the respect and love from my family. Not all of my family, aunts, uncles, cousins, but my children and grandchildren. It would be nice to have relationships with other people but not necessary. That does not mean they have to like me all the time, but they know I love them unconditionally and I have their best interest at heart. I am not a saint it would be nice to have a safe place to live, nice clothes, good health, and fun things to do. But that adds to my happiness not I can survive without it.
Great questions here that had me thinking! Are we really happy or do we just think we are, that is the question. I agree that making sure we are happy is an important question, probably the most important of all.
Your questions got me thinking about another question. One of your questions seems to be about whether one's actions are reflecting one's values. What I then start wondering is whether or not achieving one's values makes one happy or if happiness is dependent on something else entirely. Just a thought. Thanks for getting us thinking!
This is a tough one! I would say, Why were we created?
Is it because we are meant to live this life and learn and grow as human beings, learn the difference between right or wrong. Or is it to be adventurous and explore the the beauty of the world. Fall in love and have a baby that comes to be a one of the most precious gifts that is given to us as a human. Or is it to go through tough times and learn from our mistakes. Is it to grow old and look back at what you have accomplished all in life. Why is it that we are created to work the way we do? What is my purpose, and am I meant for something big or just to be a bystander? A series of questions...
My next question would be, When do you know you become an adult?
Everyday is something to learn from, just because the government considers someone to be an adult at the age of 18, does that necessarily mean I am an adult? At what age do I know I will become an adult? Is it when I ask myself where did the time go by and next thing I know I am 40? Or is it when I decided to purchase a home, which will be biggest purchase of my life?
These are my questions...I cannot wait to see what people come up with
One of your questions was so clever and got me thinking. Why were we created? I believe it all depends in our own religious beliefs, do we base it off of what the bible says, or do we believe in something else? That is a tough question for sure.
I think when a person becomes an adult, they will take responsibility for their actions. An adult will apologize and learn from their mistakes. An immature child will blame others for mistakes made.
I think the question " What is my PURPOSE?" is perfect. I would have changed my response to ask that question. I only found my purpose in the last few years, and I am over 50 years old. I believe no matter what your religion, finding your purpose, will bring value to your life, joy, and an inner peace. All of which are good on there own to every living person. Finding your purpose benefits the whole society, acting as a tipping point or domino effect. Great idea.
I have to agree with my classmates, this is a tough one for sure.I believe the most important question we can ask ourselves is are we living our lives to the fullest? We are given such a short amount of time here on Earth, and more often than not we focus on things too much, and don't allow ourselves to live in the moment. Usually we are too busy worrying about what we think is going to happen, when half of the time, it never actually does happen. One of the hardest things as humans to not do is worry. We encounter so many things daily, that we are always worrying to make sure everything is going smoothly. I believe it is so important to live each day as if it was your last. In a split second our lives can be taken from us, and I want to make sure I am living it to the fullest and doing things that make me happy. We should never worry too much about stuff especially that is out of our control, but, instead, we should focus on living in the moment. Are you guys living your lives to the fullest? Are you constantly worrying about everything instead of just realizing that whatever will be will be, and whatever is supposed to happen will happen? I think our focus should always stay in the positive as best as we can, and leave everything else to what will be.
lorinda, I totally agree. Being young, worrying doesn't seem harmful. As you get older the build up of stress has many negative health effects on our body. Since we have to have a body to continue to live, we should take care of what we have. In the class I am currently taking "the meaning of death," I have realized it is important to acknowledge death is inevitable, live your life like it is your last day, and make good memories.
This had me thinking for a while, but I was finally able to come up with a question. I believe that the most important question a human can ask is "who am I?" Most people are so busy with everyday life that they do not have time to contemplate on who they really are and what they want from life. Nowadays, people live day by day following the clock, never thinking about themselves. When asked by an interviewer to tell them about yourself, most people have a hard time answering it. Do you really know your highest potential, strength, weaknesses? I think people should take a moment to discover who they really are and learn something about themselves that they did not know before.
This stood out to me. Very clever, I am glad you came up with this because I can get compliments all the time about myself, but when it comes down to it..I cannot think for the life of me to describe myself.
Good question, Jeanette. In answering your question perhaps we humans can understand ourselves better and use that understanding to help ourselves reach full potential.
I agree with you Jeanette, knowing who we are is very important. Answering this, answers so many other questions, like whether someone is satisfied with what they've done it life, or whether a person is really happy with where they are right now. Knowing who you are can lead you to unlock your potential that will get you too the places you want.
Thank you for responding ng with this question. I'm glad that I'm not the only who thinks that way. I guess it's becoming an epidemic. Now we just have to start acting on it.
I completely agree with my classmates who stated the question, "Who am I?". I was also thinking of the question, "What do I stand for?". Which in a sense, is kind of the same thing. Knowing who you are as an individual means you know exactly what you stand for and what you will not tolerate. Today people are caught up in everything else, social media, fashion tastes, music; etc. When do we as people have an opportunity to really think back on who they are as individuals. Just like Jeanette Salgado asks, "do we really know our potential, strength, and weaknesses?" I think it would give a person something more to think about.
It is so easy to get lost in other things and become what others expect of you. A person can be a lemur and forget that they are individually unique from everyone else.
My question is, "do we show people respect?". I believe we are all born self-centered and during our rearing we are taught to show others respect and how to treat others responsibly. At what point in ones life do they go haywire and start disobedience, then this leads ultimately criminal behavior.
Just something to think about, but it's the human condition and what keeps psychologists in business, I suppose.
I like your question Sandi, because many people expect respect from others but neglect to give it. Respect is mutual. These days it can be difficult to find someone with proper manners and respectful
My question is pretty similar to Angel's, and it was the first thing that popped into my head when I saw the topic.
The most important question that we should ask ourselves as human beings is, "Why am I here? What's my purpose?"
If you don't know your purpose, life can be rough. If you're just wandering aimlessly through life, it can be pretty depressing. Whether your purpose is being a missionary in Africa or simply being as friendly as you can be to every person you meet, it's important to do some self searching to figure it out.
I agree, but I do believe I have a reason for being here. Consistently being told I will become famous one day since I was a kid. So, I really want to know what the future has in-store for me.
To extent, I agree Jeannie, that this is an important question to ask ourselves. Speaking only for myself, though, I know when I ponder this too much I inevitably become depressed. I think this is because I come to the conclusion that there is no point to life and that I have no true purpose other than that which I make for myself. Very interesting post.
Sometimes people don't have the opportunity to even ask this question. Some people live in situations where they're only concern is with the survival of their families. In situations like this its clear that people will know that their purpose in life is to protect and serve their family. Its strange that, at the same time people who don't live in this bad situations like this, are depressed because they have difficulty finding a purpose for their life.
After giving it some thought I came up with, Am I the best person I can be? I am not talking about being self-centered I am talking about, am I doing the best I can to be a better person? Is there more I can do to be kinder, respectful, helpful. Essentially am I contributed to the world and being the best that I can be to better myself and my surroundings? These are all questions that I ask myself. When I see someone in need do I turn and pretend not to see them or do I help? Even the smallest gestures can mean the world to someone who needs it.
I like your question, Michelle. When there is so much going on in life, sometimes it's hard to not reflect frustrations in other areas that are not related to the tough spots. I struggle with this and it's good to think about how I can have a more positive approach to my situations and surroundings.
So to elaborate more on Tammie's question, I am happy and I have an amazing life. Love all my friends and family and support system I have, but I am not fulfilled because there is so much more I want to accomplish in life.
I have a bucket list of things I need to cross off.
This is very interesting to me, Angel. Most of the questions people have come up with for this revolve around 'self'. I believe this to be a facet of Western culture. Focus/emphasis on the self and not on the world/community. This is not a judgement, by the way. Just an observation.
Whitney- By this question I mean, asking another person this question. It wouldn't revolve around me whatsoever, I understand where you this could have been confusing. Sorry, I should have specified more. But it would be me asking the question, as in ARE YOU FULFILLED?
I believe the most important questions a human can ask would have to be about creation and purpose. At some point in our lives I believe that we all ask ourselves this question. How and why am I here? I think that asking this question then brings so many more questions within the topic of creation: earth, humans, air, survival, and everything in between and beyond. I think this is the most important question one can ask because just by asking that complex question it brings more purpose to our lives, it sparks curiosity and motivates us to find life and live it well.
I would agree this is the basis for all questions for the meaning of life, what is our purpose, starts the discussion for finding what makes you happy and where do I go from here.
"How" and "why" am I here is deep. It almost ties closely with a philosophical question.
It is complicated but I think there is a difference between comprehending the world objectively and experiencing it through an exclusively objective framework. Everything you know, everything you have touched, seen, and smelled, has been filtered through any number of cognitive processes.
When questioning one's purpose here, I guess time will tell. Thanks for the insightful post.
Yeah exactly, I agree with you both! Felix, I also agree that there is a difference between comprehending the world objectively and then experiencing it through an exclusively objective framework. That's good.
After thinking about this prompt for days, I came up with two questions: "What is?" and "Why not?" "Why not?" ultimately won the battle after I decided that "What is?" was a bit to broad of a topic for me to coherently harness in two hundred words.
"Why not?" seems to be one of the most important questions, in my opinion, that one can ask. Asking "why not?" can help you reassess a situation and put it in a more positive light than by simply asking "why?" The people that ask the "why nots" seem to be more positive people than those who ask the "whys," and they also seem to learn more than they just blindly accept things at face value. I know that questions such as "why" and "why not" are not standalone questions, but I think they are important in that they can be universally applied to any situation that a question could arise out of. I am normally a "why" type of person, but I am trying my best to become a "why not" type of person. The possibilities seem to be a lot greater for those who ask "why not?" One's perspective on life may be greatly changed by asking this question, also.
While reading this it really made me think. I never thought the difference between why and why not and how it can be negative or positive. Once you said why not's are more positive I just stopped there and tried to think of any kind of question that I can answer why not to and it be negative...I guess you are really right on this one! I never really thought about it in that kind of way but you are right and I kind of just chuckled to myself. I really liked that your question was out of the box unlike mine which is kind of cliche. I liked that question and I do agree it is a good question to ask and more frequently. I think I'll challenge myself to be a why not person as well.
I think the most important question a person can ask themselves is "what makes me happy?" I feel that people spend too much time worrying about the things they dislike. Every time I turn on the news they are always reporting on the worst things in the world. My facebook timeline is filled with people complaining about the things that went wrong in their day. My friends constantly complain about the things they dislike or agitate them. My twitter is filled with people bashing some celebrity over something that does not affect their lives in any meaningful way. I always try to keep a positive attitude. When I have free time I use it to do the things I enjoy. I try not to let the little setbacks bother me as much as it annoys others. Life is too short to focus on the negative. Everyone should spend less time arguing about things that do not really matter or trying to impress people they do not even like. Everyone should know what makes them happy. Weather it is going for walks, listening to music, reading books, or just spending time with friends. I believe that if more people indulged in the things that make them feel better the world would be a lot better. Perhaps there are other more important philosophical questions such as “what is the meaning of life?” or “why do bad things happen to good people?” but those questions are unanswerable. Someone can spend his or her entire questions mulling over these questions and never find a satisfying answer.
very well put!! If we spent more time on finding the positives in life we would be happy. If the people the complain would be more positive maybe their attitudes would change. wasting time on negativity is counterproductive and breeds negativity. Lets reproduce positivity and be a tipping point for the people we influence!!
This is a hard topic to write about for me in this point of my life. I think as you go through life and experience the good, the bad and the ugly, the most important question you can ask changes. After reading all my classmates comments I can honestly say I've asked all of them. The one that sticks out the most and that I have asked most often is, "what truly makes me happy?" Happiness opens so many doors. Happiness promotes well-being and healthiness. It brings joy and laughter and makes your heart glad. If you can find what truly makes you happy and keep it at the forefront of your thoughts, even the bad times won't be as bad. If you can be grateful for what makes you happy then it can become a motivator to inspire and bring others happiness. I think the hard part is truly finding what makes you happy. I think too much emphasis is put on materialistic happiness. I think if you can find your inner happiness and contentment that will open to the doors to other blessings in life that will continue to bring you more happiness.
Very deep question. I think many people are used to their "routine"--waking up, brushing their teeth, eating, going to work and coming back. Then the same process again. Although they may have everything--family, friends, essentials, roof, and food--it all comes down to how one feels deep inside.
Materialism, in my opinion, brings temporary happiness because these things can be used over and over again.
This is the hardest question yet... I believe the question I would want to answer at the end of my life would be, "Did you live your life to the fullest of your abilities?" This is a type of question, where one can learn a lot about a person. I believe what a person's outlook on life is, can be answered through this one question. We only have one life to live and the way you choose to live it, shows what you really wanted out of it.
Breanna I totally agree with you. I think even answering that question would be so hard. Sometimes I really get into these phases in life and get pumped up to "live life to the fullest" and come short. I get lazy or comfortable with where I am and find myself getting stuck into routines where I really am not living my life to the fullest of my ability. I really want more out of life and the way I live it, but life in itself gets in the way...working at a job and school full time, barely any free time to myself. I ask this question a lot and try to think how can I change things to make life more enjoyable? Good question though. This is definitely something I need to ponder more often.
In general, I always overthink everything and when I read this question, I was . . . confused!
It really made me wonder and it got to the point of looking back at a few philosophy books I own. As I started reading I began to get more confused and I got frustrated-- so I closed the book and simply thought about it.
I decided that there is no such thing as an "important question" because I think ALL questions are important. If one limits life to "the 'most' important question," one may be closing doors for opportunity. On the contrary, if we ask questions and makes mistakes, doors that we never knew existed would open up.
I asked my friend who is a philosophy major and he said the following:
Dude- the most important question? That's your assignment?
Here's the most important question . . . "Can you hand me that beer?"
This is the best answer yet! I also had a lot of trouble thinking of an answer to this. I went searching through my sociology books instead, though. Your friend makes a good point. In thinking about this question, you must also think about what is important to the "answerer" of the question, which is relative to the specific person that you are asking.
I really liked how you pointed out that "If one limits life to "the 'most' important question," one may be closing doors for opportunity. On the contrary, if we ask questions and makes mistakes, doors that we never knew existed would open up". This is so good! I never really thought about it as closing or even the possibility of opening doors. I'm glad you pointed this out!
This question stumped me for a while. I think my idea of the most important question is very general, but that is why I chose it. It encompasses a lot which will be explained. The most important question a human can ask is, "How can I make life better?". Multiple tiers exist in evaluating and answering this question. To answer, let us use Confucius' idea that we should first focus on ourselves, our family, our community, our nation, and then the world. When focusing on oneself and how to make life better we should be trying to figure out what we can do to make ourselves better and happier. This will, of course, mean different things for different people. Next one might ask how to make life better for our family. Making life better for the communities we humans live in is something that should also be focused on. To improve life in a community, one might ask more refined questions about what the community needs, how it can be achieved, and what can be done as an individual to better the community. This is almost the same as trying to improve life for one's nation. Making life better for the nation or as a nation is a much larger scale question to answer and making life better as a global community (for the world) is even bigger yet. Pondering these things, however, can help everyone grow on an individual level by sparking an awareness of what is going on, why, and how things can be changed to improve life.
I like that the question you find to be most important depends on many other different questions also being asked in order to answer the first question. It is so simple and yet so complex. It also involves critical thinking about plans to implement in order to make one's surroundings/life better, which is a bonus. Good question and answer!
Oh my goodness. This blog has certainly given me pause. I spent most of the week going back and forth wondering what the most important question one could ask was. I thought about "what makes a person happy?" I would have to start by defining what happiness is to me. For me, it is all about family. I feel happiest when I am with them. for me the things in life that make me happiest arent money, or the fancy things in life. it's the little moments. I am far happier at home with my mom watching tv, than out partying with my friends. i would always pick staying in on a saturday night over going out.
Another question that comes to mind is "what is our purpose in life?"
For me personally, I have always loved acting and directing, i am very involved in local theatre. It's a huge passion of mine. But for me, acting has to remain a passion and not a job. Because it's not what I meant to do with my life. I have this unexplainable passion for English, and teaching. I realized this my junior year of high school, English was the one thing in school i have always been incredibly passionate about. I love analyzing literature, close reading, teaching students, writing essays. I love every piece of it. And I know it's what i meant to do. I feel like great teachers is something a lot of schools are lacking these days. And I want to be the type of teacher that makes students care about literature. So for me that is my purpose in life. I know I'm great at acting, and I'd make a fantastic actress or director one day, but what kind of difference could I really make in people's lives? None.
For me those are the two most important questions a person can ask
I completely agree with you Lexi. I'm happiest when I'm with my family and I always choose to stay in with family than go out and party. I'm a big home body.
The most important question to ask is, “who am I”. We live our lives with goals and ambitions, but sometimes we never really asked to question why. Sometimes our lives are driven for us, through the expectation of family and society. We are never entirely sure why we follow the paths we choose. We should always ask whether the person we are becoming, is the person we want to be. We need to ask ourselves whether we will be honestly be happy as this person. To ask “who am I’, makes us realize whether we are in following a path we really want. This is not an easy question. Many people avoid this question because they are afraid what they’ll find out. We question our values and weigh them against others. We realize the virtues and vices that we hold. We have to ask this question many times in our lives because they answer may change. We are continually exposed to new experiences in life that shapes our beliefs and how we think. We need to constantly re-evaluate who we are. This is the most important question to ask because knowing who I am gives me the ability to know whether I can accept who I am now and who I will became.
This is a tough question, my question will be similar to some of the other responses, but this has actually been a question that I have always asked myself. The most important question would be “who am I?” Most of us are too busy with everyday life and thinking about material things for example, clothes, cars, parties, and mostly with social media we are too into it that we don’t realize about who we really are as individuals and our goals.
Maria I completely agree. I think that it is important to ask who we are and ask more frequently. It's important to think about ourselves and get our priorities in line without getting sucked into the material society that surrounds us. I am guilty of this all the time, honestly. Busy life, busy job and school schedule, still gotta fit family, friends, and the boyfriend, and then some me time while I'm at everything else. It is easy to be so busy and distracted to not have time to stop and think, who am I? And within that question lies a million more questions. What are my goals? What am I doing to get there? What is preventing me? This is all very important. Good question!
The most important question a human can ask is subjective to the individual asking. So my question would be "What have you done to fulfil your dreams?" I think this is important because it really gets to the root of what drives someone. We all can get stuck in a rut and sidetracked at times but it seems to always come back to this. This individual is driven by spiritual beliefs, life experiences, education and materialistic desires. I think it's important to have dreams and goals to work towards.
It was pretty hard to come up with a question that hasn't already been mentioned. I think it's always important to reflect on my life's meaning, but that was already covered.....
I like your question a lot, similar to the one of the questions I had. Are you fulfilled? and I believe that I am happy, but I am not fulfilled yet because I want so much more in life. Travel, love, growth, experiences, knowledge, career etc.
The most important question I ask myself is, "am I truly living, and am I loving the people in my life?" Am I doing the best I can, or am I lacking in something? We get so busy with life, we sometimes forget to take the time and think about life itself, and what we've been blessed with. There so many responsibilities and things that must be done, especially now. I don't know what it's like to just work and not go to school. I imagine that there is more time during the day to enjoy it with your friends and family. Since I graduated high school I went to CSUB and worked. I've felt like I've missed so much at home. I have three younger siblings. Since I married and moved to a different town, I've realized they are growing and are not little like I remembered. My youngest sister is twelve and has already surpassed my height. My other sister is now in high school, and my brother matures more as time passes. It's bittersweet, but I'm glad I realize it now. When I leave this world I want to leave knowing I tried my best in all I did.
I didn't get to read everyone's questions but without checking them and wanting to choose a unique one, the most important question is Who Are You? With our short life's the main point of all our understandings depends on our unique self. If you know who you are then you know and everyone would know how u choose, how u react, who u hang out with and more. Our self cones with everything we can become. Going back to our In class essay, success would be surpassing who I am each time. That is how important it is to know who we are. It is funny because I don't ttalk about any bad when it coMrs to the self. I do that because who we are is not our actions, but why our action came to place. It can not be a childs fault to write on the wall, the way we can know the child is understanding the reason why he or she is writhing on the wall. That would tell us that child just likes to draw. Therefore, we only say a child is a criminal if we see the action, but if we find the reason we understand they are an artist. Who are you is a very important question we should ask others also, not only yourself. God bless
The most important question that I feel one can ask is; what is love? Whenever we find somebody we are interested in, we then proceed to put forth effort-as well as putting our emotions at risk-to pursue what we humans believe as true love. Is love just a purely physical attraction in order to satiate our desires? Is it the humanity's excuse for selecting suitable mates for reproduction? Is it a way for us to combat loneliness, which many believe most animals do not perceive as a necessary facet for their survival. These thoughts don't often cross my mind whenever I think about the subject, but I find that every human being seeks some kind of attachment to another person, and I sometimes wonder on whether or not love is just something that transcends our survival instincts. The journey to find a significant other does seem like something exclusive to humanity, though foxes do mate for life.
I completely agree with you Michael. Sometimes we confuse love with loneliness and hope. We believe that the emptiness can be filled by a certain individual. Now I know that knowing better is part of growing up. That we must love ourselves before we can love and make somebody else happy.
The most important question a human can ask is, “what can I do to make the world a better place?” I am a very spiritual person and I believe that the most important value is one’s faith. We need to help each other and be good to one another in order for us to live in harmony and be happy. It may be hard to remember but every action should be done in honor of what our faith has taught us. Its human nature to react negatively to vulnerable situations, but then let us remember this when we are victimized by a fellow neighbor. True forgiveness is only achieved by strong and good individuals and this power of forgiveness can make relationships and our individual spirits stronger. I myself, wish that I could be a more forgiving person. Now that I am older and hopefully wiser than my teenage years understand that forgiving someone is not merely continuing a relationship but being at peace internally. Another factor in making the world a better place is the act of giving. Charity will make somebody less fortunate more secure about their future.
This is a little difficult to narrow down to one question. I would narrow mine down to What is the meaning of being human? What is the purpose of my life? Still a toughy!
After writing about being happy I am reconsidering the question. Am I behaving responsibly, can I look myself in the mirror and respect my judgment? This also relates to the part about being happy.
ReplyDeleteI think the most important question we can ask our self would be, "Are we happy?"
This could include but not be limited to 'do we have inner peace?' Why do we exist if not to be happy? If we are not currently happy, how do achieve happiness? In order to be happy we do not require a lot of money, attention from the masses, or the ownership of many things.
To me I require the respect and love from my family. Not all of my family, aunts, uncles, cousins, but my children and grandchildren. It would be nice to have relationships with other people but not necessary. That does not mean they have to like me all the time, but they know I love them unconditionally and I have their best interest at heart. I am not a saint it would be nice to have a safe place to live, nice clothes, good health, and fun things to do. But that adds to my happiness not I can survive without it.
Great questions here that had me thinking! Are we really happy or do we just think we are, that is the question. I agree that making sure we are happy is an important question, probably the most important of all.
DeleteYour questions got me thinking about another question. One of your questions seems to be about whether one's actions are reflecting one's values. What I then start wondering is whether or not achieving one's values makes one happy or if happiness is dependent on something else entirely. Just a thought. Thanks for getting us thinking!
DeleteThis is a tough one! I would say, Why were we created?
ReplyDeleteIs it because we are meant to live this life and learn and grow as human beings, learn the difference between right or wrong. Or is it to be adventurous and explore the the beauty of the world. Fall in love and have a baby that comes to be a one of the most precious gifts that is given to us as a human. Or is it to go through tough times and learn from our mistakes. Is it to grow old and look back at what you have accomplished all in life. Why is it that we are created to work the way we do? What is my purpose, and am I meant for something big or just to be a bystander? A series of questions...
My next question would be, When do you know you become an adult?
Everyday is something to learn from, just because the government considers someone to be an adult at the age of 18, does that necessarily mean I am an adult? At what age do I know I will become an adult? Is it when I ask myself where did the time go by and next thing I know I am 40? Or is it when I decided to purchase a home, which will be biggest purchase of my life?
These are my questions...I cannot wait to see what people come up with
One of your questions was so clever and got me thinking. Why were we created? I believe it all depends in our own religious beliefs, do we base it off of what the bible says, or do we believe in something else? That is a tough question for sure.
DeleteLorinda- I want to know how you feel it about it rather than taking it in the context of religious beliefs.
DeleteI guess mine is pretty similar to yours--What are we here for?
DeleteI think when a person becomes an adult, they will take responsibility for their actions. An adult will apologize and learn from their mistakes. An immature child will blame others for mistakes made.
DeleteI think the question " What is my PURPOSE?" is perfect. I would have changed my response to ask that question. I only found my purpose in the last few years, and I am over 50 years old. I believe no matter what your religion, finding your purpose, will bring value to your life, joy, and an inner peace. All of which are good on there own to every living person. Finding your purpose benefits the whole society, acting as a tipping point or domino effect. Great idea.
DeleteWow! I love your question! that was another one that was in my mind. Great response.
DeleteLexi- Thank you! I thought long and hard about what to ask.
DeleteTammie- I agree with you. I also believe that ties in with when becoming an adult too.
I have to agree with my classmates, this is a tough one for sure.I believe the most important question we can ask ourselves is are we living our lives to the fullest? We are given such a short amount of time here on Earth, and more often than not we focus on things too much, and don't allow ourselves to live in the moment. Usually we are too busy worrying about what we think is going to happen, when half of the time, it never actually does happen. One of the hardest things as humans to not do is worry. We encounter so many things daily, that we are always worrying to make sure everything is going smoothly. I believe it is so important to live each day as if it was your last. In a split second our lives can be taken from us, and I want to make sure I am living it to the fullest and doing things that make me happy. We should never worry too much about stuff especially that is out of our control, but, instead, we should focus on living in the moment. Are you guys living your lives to the fullest? Are you constantly worrying about everything instead of just realizing that whatever will be will be, and whatever is supposed to happen will happen? I think our focus should always stay in the positive as best as we can, and leave everything else to what will be.
ReplyDeletelorinda, I totally agree. Being young, worrying doesn't seem harmful. As you get older the build up of stress has many negative health effects on our body. Since we have to have a body to continue to live, we should take care of what we have. In the class I am currently taking "the meaning of death," I have realized it is important to acknowledge death is inevitable, live your life like it is your last day, and make good memories.
DeleteThis had me thinking for a while, but I was finally able to come up with a question. I believe that the most important question a human can ask is "who am I?" Most people are so busy with everyday life that they do not have time to contemplate on who they really are and what they want from life. Nowadays, people live day by day following the clock, never thinking about themselves. When asked by an interviewer to tell them about yourself, most people have a hard time answering it. Do you really know your highest potential, strength, weaknesses? I think people should take a moment to discover who they really are and learn something about themselves that they did not know before.
ReplyDeleteThis stood out to me. Very clever, I am glad you came up with this because I can get compliments all the time about myself, but when it comes down to it..I cannot think for the life of me to describe myself.
DeleteGood question, Jeanette. In answering your question perhaps we humans can understand ourselves better and use that understanding to help ourselves reach full potential.
DeleteI agree with you Jeanette, knowing who we are is very important. Answering this, answers so many other questions, like whether someone is satisfied with what they've done it life, or whether a person is really happy with where they are right now. Knowing who you are can lead you to unlock your potential that will get you too the places you want.
DeleteThank you for responding ng with this question. I'm glad that I'm not the only who thinks that way. I guess it's becoming an epidemic. Now we just have to start acting on it.
DeleteI completely agree with my classmates who stated the question, "Who am I?". I was also thinking of the question, "What do I stand for?". Which in a sense, is kind of the same thing. Knowing who you are as an individual means you know exactly what you stand for and what you will not tolerate. Today people are caught up in everything else, social media, fashion tastes, music; etc. When do we as people have an opportunity to really think back on who they are as individuals. Just like Jeanette Salgado asks, "do we really know our potential, strength, and weaknesses?" I think it would give a person something more to think about.
ReplyDeleteI agree, that we get caught up in all the frenzy going on in daily life and loose ourselves. Our real self, who we are and where are we going.
DeleteIt is so easy to get lost in other things and become what others expect of you. A person can be a lemur and forget that they are individually unique from everyone else.
DeleteI also agree that we are very caught up especially with social media that we loose ourselves and do not know our potential and strenght.
DeleteMy question is, "do we show people respect?". I believe we are all born self-centered and during our rearing we are taught to show others respect and how to treat others responsibly. At what point in ones life do they go haywire and start disobedience, then this leads ultimately criminal behavior.
ReplyDeleteJust something to think about, but it's the human condition and what keeps psychologists in business, I suppose.
I like your question Sandi, because many people expect respect from others but neglect to give it. Respect is mutual. These days it can be difficult to find someone with proper manners and respectful
DeleteMy question is pretty similar to Angel's, and it was the first thing that popped into my head when I saw the topic.
ReplyDeleteThe most important question that we should ask ourselves as human beings is, "Why am I here? What's my purpose?"
If you don't know your purpose, life can be rough. If you're just wandering aimlessly through life, it can be pretty depressing. Whether your purpose is being a missionary in Africa or simply being as friendly as you can be to every person you meet, it's important to do some self searching to figure it out.
I agree, but I do believe I have a reason for being here. Consistently being told I will become famous one day since I was a kid. So, I really want to know what the future has in-store for me.
DeleteTo extent, I agree Jeannie, that this is an important question to ask ourselves. Speaking only for myself, though, I know when I ponder this too much I inevitably become depressed. I think this is because I come to the conclusion that there is no point to life and that I have no true purpose other than that which I make for myself. Very interesting post.
DeleteSometimes people don't have the opportunity to even ask this question. Some people live in situations where they're only concern is with the survival of their families. In situations like this its clear that people will know that their purpose in life is to protect and serve their family. Its strange that, at the same time people who don't live in this bad situations like this, are depressed because they have difficulty finding a purpose for their life.
DeleteAfter giving it some thought I came up with, Am I the best person I can be? I am not talking about being self-centered I am talking about, am I doing the best I can to be a better person? Is there more I can do to be kinder, respectful, helpful. Essentially am I contributed to the world and being the best that I can be to better myself and my surroundings? These are all questions that I ask myself. When I see someone in need do I turn and pretend not to see them or do I help? Even the smallest gestures can mean the world to someone who needs it.
ReplyDeleteI had a similar question: Am I successful, enough to say that I've done all that I could have done?
DeleteSo I see where you are coming from. Good question, I enjoyed your read.
I like your question, Michelle. When there is so much going on in life, sometimes it's hard to not reflect frustrations in other areas that are not related to the tough spots. I struggle with this and it's good to think about how I can have a more positive approach to my situations and surroundings.
DeleteAnother one I thought of is Am I fulfilled?
ReplyDeleteSo to elaborate more on Tammie's question, I am happy and I have an amazing life. Love all my friends and family and support system I have, but I am not fulfilled because there is so much more I want to accomplish in life.
I have a bucket list of things I need to cross off.
This is very interesting to me, Angel. Most of the questions people have come up with for this revolve around 'self'. I believe this to be a facet of Western culture. Focus/emphasis on the self and not on the world/community. This is not a judgement, by the way. Just an observation.
DeleteWhitney- By this question I mean, asking another person this question. It wouldn't revolve around me whatsoever, I understand where you this could have been confusing. Sorry, I should have specified more. But it would be me asking the question, as in ARE YOU FULFILLED?
DeleteI believe the most important questions a human can ask would have to be about creation and purpose. At some point in our lives I believe that we all ask ourselves this question. How and why am I here? I think that asking this question then brings so many more questions within the topic of creation: earth, humans, air, survival, and everything in between and beyond. I think this is the most important question one can ask because just by asking that complex question it brings more purpose to our lives, it sparks curiosity and motivates us to find life and live it well.
ReplyDeleteI would agree this is the basis for all questions for the meaning of life, what is our purpose, starts the discussion for finding what makes you happy and where do I go from here.
Delete"How" and "why" am I here is deep.
DeleteIt almost ties closely with a philosophical question.
It is complicated but I think there is a difference between comprehending the world objectively and experiencing it through an exclusively objective framework. Everything you know, everything you have touched, seen, and smelled, has been filtered through any number of cognitive processes.
When questioning one's purpose here, I guess time will tell.
Thanks for the insightful post.
- Felix
Yeah exactly, I agree with you both! Felix, I also agree that there is a difference between comprehending the world objectively and then experiencing it through an exclusively objective framework. That's good.
DeleteAfter thinking about this prompt for days, I came up with two questions: "What is?" and "Why not?" "Why not?" ultimately won the battle after I decided that "What is?" was a bit to broad of a topic for me to coherently harness in two hundred words.
ReplyDelete"Why not?" seems to be one of the most important questions, in my opinion, that one can ask. Asking "why not?" can help you reassess a situation and put it in a more positive light than by simply asking "why?" The people that ask the "why nots" seem to be more positive people than those who ask the "whys," and they also seem to learn more than they just blindly accept things at face value. I know that questions such as "why" and "why not" are not standalone questions, but I think they are important in that they can be universally applied to any situation that a question could arise out of. I am normally a "why" type of person, but I am trying my best to become a "why not" type of person. The possibilities seem to be a lot greater for those who ask "why not?" One's perspective on life may be greatly changed by asking this question, also.
Alexa, I really like this question. It is different and does portray a very optimistic person.
DeleteWhile reading this it really made me think. I never thought the difference between why and why not and how it can be negative or positive. Once you said why not's are more positive I just stopped there and tried to think of any kind of question that I can answer why not to and it be negative...I guess you are really right on this one! I never really thought about it in that kind of way but you are right and I kind of just chuckled to myself. I really liked that your question was out of the box unlike mine which is kind of cliche. I liked that question and I do agree it is a good question to ask and more frequently. I think I'll challenge myself to be a why not person as well.
DeleteI think the most important question a person can ask themselves is "what makes me happy?" I feel that people spend too much time worrying about the things they dislike. Every time I turn on the news they are always reporting on the worst things in the world. My facebook timeline is filled with people complaining about the things that went wrong in their day. My friends constantly complain about the things they dislike or agitate them. My twitter is filled with people bashing some celebrity over something that does not affect their lives in any meaningful way. I always try to keep a positive attitude. When I have free time I use it to do the things I enjoy. I try not to let the little setbacks bother me as much as it annoys others. Life is too short to focus on the negative. Everyone should spend less time arguing about things that do not really matter or trying to impress people they do not even like. Everyone should know what makes them happy. Weather it is going for walks, listening to music, reading books, or just spending time with friends. I believe that if more people indulged in the things that make them feel better the world would be a lot better. Perhaps there are other more important philosophical questions such as “what is the meaning of life?” or “why do bad things happen to good people?” but those questions are unanswerable. Someone can spend his or her entire questions mulling over these questions and never find a satisfying answer.
ReplyDeletevery well put!! If we spent more time on finding the positives in life we would be happy. If the people the complain would be more positive maybe their attitudes would change. wasting time on negativity is counterproductive and breeds negativity. Lets reproduce positivity and be a tipping point for the people we influence!!
ReplyDeleteThis is a hard topic to write about for me in this point of my life. I think as you go through life and experience the good, the bad and the ugly, the most important question you can ask changes. After reading all my classmates comments I can honestly say I've asked all of them. The one that sticks out the most and that I have asked most often is, "what truly makes me happy?" Happiness opens so many doors. Happiness promotes well-being and healthiness. It brings joy and laughter and makes your heart glad. If you can find what truly makes you happy and keep it at the forefront of your thoughts, even the bad times won't be as bad. If you can be grateful for what makes you happy then it can become a motivator to inspire and bring others happiness. I think the hard part is truly finding what makes you happy. I think too much emphasis is put on materialistic happiness. I think if you can find your inner happiness and contentment that will open to the doors to other blessings in life that will continue to bring you more happiness.
ReplyDeleteMelissa, I really like your question. This shows what a person finds most pleasing and what they like in their life.
DeleteMelissa,
DeleteVery deep question.
I think many people are used to their "routine"--waking up, brushing their teeth, eating, going to work and coming back. Then the same process again. Although they may have everything--family, friends, essentials, roof, and food--it all comes down to how one feels deep inside.
Materialism, in my opinion, brings temporary happiness because these things can be used over and over again.
- Felix
This is the hardest question yet... I believe the question I would want to answer at the end of my life would be, "Did you live your life to the fullest of your abilities?" This is a type of question, where one can learn a lot about a person. I believe what a person's outlook on life is, can be answered through this one question. We only have one life to live and the way you choose to live it, shows what you really wanted out of it.
ReplyDeleteBreanna I totally agree with you. I think even answering that question would be so hard. Sometimes I really get into these phases in life and get pumped up to "live life to the fullest" and come short. I get lazy or comfortable with where I am and find myself getting stuck into routines where I really am not living my life to the fullest of my ability. I really want more out of life and the way I live it, but life in itself gets in the way...working at a job and school full time, barely any free time to myself. I ask this question a lot and try to think how can I change things to make life more enjoyable? Good question though. This is definitely something I need to ponder more often.
DeleteIn general, I always overthink everything and when I read this question, I was . . . confused!
ReplyDeleteIt really made me wonder and it got to the point of looking back at a few philosophy books I own. As I started reading I began to get more confused and I got frustrated-- so I closed the book and simply thought about it.
I decided that there is no such thing as an "important question" because I think ALL questions are important. If one limits life to "the 'most' important question," one may be closing doors for opportunity. On the contrary, if we ask questions and makes mistakes, doors that we never knew existed would open up.
I asked my friend who is a philosophy major and he said the following:
Dude- the most important question? That's your assignment?
Here's the most important question
. . . "Can you hand me that beer?"
Ha ha!
This is the best answer yet! I also had a lot of trouble thinking of an answer to this. I went searching through my sociology books instead, though. Your friend makes a good point. In thinking about this question, you must also think about what is important to the "answerer" of the question, which is relative to the specific person that you are asking.
DeleteI agree that by limiting ourselves to one "most important" we forget about other important questions.
DeleteI agree that that is the most important question! Ha!
DeletePretty funny, sounds like something my husband would ask me. I think the question is subjective, so there is no right or wrong question.
DeleteI really liked how you pointed out that "If one limits life to "the 'most' important question," one may be closing doors for opportunity. On the contrary, if we ask questions and makes mistakes, doors that we never knew existed would open up". This is so good! I never really thought about it as closing or even the possibility of opening doors. I'm glad you pointed this out!
DeleteThis question stumped me for a while. I think my idea of the most important question is very general, but that is why I chose it. It encompasses a lot which will be explained. The most important question a human can ask is, "How can I make life better?". Multiple tiers exist in evaluating and answering this question. To answer, let us use Confucius' idea that we should first focus on ourselves, our family, our community, our nation, and then the world. When focusing on oneself and how to make life better we should be trying to figure out what we can do to make ourselves better and happier. This will, of course, mean different things for different people. Next one might ask how to make life better for our family. Making life better for the communities we humans live in is something that should also be focused on. To improve life in a community, one might ask more refined questions about what the community needs, how it can be achieved, and what can be done as an individual to better the community. This is almost the same as trying to improve life for one's nation. Making life better for the nation or as a nation is a much larger scale question to answer and making life better as a global community (for the world) is even bigger yet. Pondering these things, however, can help everyone grow on an individual level by sparking an awareness of what is going on, why, and how things can be changed to improve life.
ReplyDeleteI like that the question you find to be most important depends on many other different questions also being asked in order to answer the first question. It is so simple and yet so complex. It also involves critical thinking about plans to implement in order to make one's surroundings/life better, which is a bonus. Good question and answer!
DeleteOh my goodness. This blog has certainly given me pause. I spent most of the week going back and forth wondering what the most important question one could ask was. I thought about "what makes a person happy?"
ReplyDeleteI would have to start by defining what happiness is to me. For me, it is all about family. I feel happiest when I am with them. for me the things in life that make me happiest arent money, or the fancy things in life. it's the little moments. I am far happier at home with my mom watching tv, than out partying with my friends. i would always pick staying in on a saturday night over going out.
Another question that comes to mind is "what is our purpose in life?"
For me personally, I have always loved acting and directing, i am very involved in local theatre. It's a huge passion of mine. But for me, acting has to remain a passion and not a job. Because it's not what I meant to do with my life. I have this unexplainable passion for English, and teaching. I realized this my junior year of high school, English was the one thing in school i have always been incredibly passionate about. I love analyzing literature, close reading, teaching students, writing essays. I love every piece of it. And I know it's what i meant to do. I feel like great teachers is something a lot of schools are lacking these days. And I want to be the type of teacher that makes students care about literature. So for me that is my purpose in life. I know I'm great at acting, and I'd make a fantastic actress or director one day, but what kind of difference could I really make in people's lives? None.
For me those are the two most important questions a person can ask
I completely agree with you Lexi. I'm happiest when I'm with my family and I always choose to stay in with family than go out and party. I'm a big home body.
DeleteThe most important question to ask is, “who am I”. We live our lives with goals and ambitions, but sometimes we never really asked to question why. Sometimes our lives are driven for us, through the expectation of family and society. We are never entirely sure why we follow the paths we choose. We should always ask whether the person we are becoming, is the person we want to be. We need to ask ourselves whether we will be honestly be happy as this person. To ask “who am I’, makes us realize whether we are in following a path we really want. This is not an easy question. Many people avoid this question because they are afraid what they’ll find out. We question our values and weigh them against others. We realize the virtues and vices that we hold. We have to ask this question many times in our lives because they answer may change. We are continually exposed to new experiences in life that shapes our beliefs and how we think. We need to constantly re-evaluate who we are. This is the most important question to ask because knowing who I am gives me the ability to know whether I can accept who I am now and who I will became.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis is a tough question, my question will be similar to some of the other responses, but this has actually been a question that I have always asked myself. The most important question would be “who am I?” Most of us are too busy with everyday life and thinking about material things for example, clothes, cars, parties, and mostly with social media we are too into it that we don’t realize about who we really are as individuals and our goals.
ReplyDeleteMaria I completely agree. I think that it is important to ask who we are and ask more frequently. It's important to think about ourselves and get our priorities in line without getting sucked into the material society that surrounds us. I am guilty of this all the time, honestly. Busy life, busy job and school schedule, still gotta fit family, friends, and the boyfriend, and then some me time while I'm at everything else. It is easy to be so busy and distracted to not have time to stop and think, who am I? And within that question lies a million more questions. What are my goals? What am I doing to get there? What is preventing me? This is all very important. Good question!
DeleteThe most important question a human can ask is subjective to the individual asking. So my question would be "What have you done to fulfil your dreams?" I think this is important because it really gets to the root of what drives someone. We all can get stuck in a rut and sidetracked at times but it seems to always come back to this. This individual is driven by spiritual beliefs, life experiences, education and materialistic desires. I think it's important to have dreams and goals to work towards.
ReplyDeleteIt was pretty hard to come up with a question that hasn't already been mentioned. I think it's always important to reflect on my life's meaning, but that was already covered.....
I like your question a lot, similar to the one of the questions I had. Are you fulfilled? and I believe that I am happy, but I am not fulfilled yet because I want so much more in life. Travel, love, growth, experiences, knowledge, career etc.
DeleteThe most important question I ask myself is, "am I truly living, and am I loving the people in my life?" Am I doing the best I can, or am I lacking in something? We get so busy with life, we sometimes forget to take the time and think about life itself, and what we've been blessed with. There so many responsibilities and things that must be done, especially now. I don't know what it's like to just work and not go to school. I imagine that there is more time during the day to enjoy it with your friends and family. Since I graduated high school I went to CSUB and worked. I've felt like I've missed so much at home. I have three younger siblings. Since I married and moved to a different town, I've realized they are growing and are not little like I remembered. My youngest sister is twelve and has already surpassed my height. My other sister is now in high school, and my brother matures more as time passes. It's bittersweet, but I'm glad I realize it now. When I leave this world I want to leave knowing I tried my best in all I did.
ReplyDeleteI didn't get to read everyone's questions but without checking them and wanting to choose a unique one, the most important question is Who Are You? With our short life's the main point of all our understandings depends on our unique self. If you know who you are then you know and everyone would know how u choose, how u react, who u hang out with and more. Our self cones with everything we can become. Going back to our In class essay, success would be surpassing who I am each time. That is how important it is to know who we are. It is funny because I don't ttalk about any bad when it coMrs to the self. I do that because who we are is not our actions, but why our action came to place. It can not be a childs fault to write on the wall, the way we can know the child is understanding the reason why he or she is writhing on the wall. That would tell us that child just likes to draw. Therefore, we only say a child is a criminal if we see the action, but if we find the reason we understand they are an artist. Who are you is a very important question we should ask others also, not only yourself. God bless
ReplyDeleteThe most important question that I feel one can ask is; what is love? Whenever we find somebody we are interested in, we then proceed to put forth effort-as well as putting our emotions at risk-to pursue what we humans believe as true love. Is love just a purely physical attraction in order to satiate our desires? Is it the humanity's excuse for selecting suitable mates for reproduction? Is it a way for us to combat loneliness, which many believe most animals do not perceive as a necessary facet for their survival. These thoughts don't often cross my mind whenever I think about the subject, but I find that every human being seeks some kind of attachment to another person, and I sometimes wonder on whether or not love is just something that transcends our survival instincts. The journey to find a significant other does seem like something exclusive to humanity, though foxes do mate for life.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you Michael. Sometimes we confuse love with loneliness and hope. We believe that the emptiness can be filled by a certain individual. Now I know that knowing better is part of growing up. That we must love ourselves before we can love and make somebody else happy.
DeleteThe most important question a human can ask is, “what can I do to make the world a better place?” I am a very spiritual person and I believe that the most important value is one’s faith. We need to help each other and be good to one another in order for us to live in harmony and be happy. It may be hard to remember but every action should be done in honor of what our faith has taught us. Its human nature to react negatively to vulnerable situations, but then let us remember this when we are victimized by a fellow neighbor. True forgiveness is only achieved by strong and good individuals and this power of forgiveness can make relationships and our individual spirits stronger. I myself, wish that I could be a more forgiving person. Now that I am older and hopefully wiser than my teenage years understand that forgiving someone is not merely continuing a relationship but being at peace internally. Another factor in making the world a better place is the act of giving. Charity will make somebody less fortunate more secure about their future.
ReplyDeleteThis is a little difficult to narrow down to one question. I would narrow mine down to What is the meaning of being human? What is the purpose of my life? Still a toughy!
ReplyDelete