Daily writing prompt
What’s one thing you wish you had started doing earlier in life?
Simplifying… and juggling.
PROMPT: Earlier in Life
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Category Archives: Philosophy of Life
BOOK: “The Tao of Bill Murray” by Gavin Edwards
The Tao of Bill Murray: Real-Life Stories of Joy, Enlightenment, and Party Crashing by Gavin EdwardsMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Publisher site – Penguin Random House
This book lays out Bill Murray’s philosophy of life as revealed by his quirky, daring, and spontaneous approach to living. Much has been made of the influence of the mystic philosopher G.I. Gurdjieff on Murray’s thinking. This background is discussed a little in Edwards’ book, but mostly this is a book that uses anecdotes from Bill Murray’s life to make a case for a philosophy of life that involves spontaneity, generosity, service, and connection. (Furthermore, it’s not clear to what degree Gurdjieff influenced Murray’s thinking, versus Gurdjieff’s ideas appealing to Murray because of the way the comedic actor already experienced the world.)
The author organizes the book around what he calls “The Ten Principles of Bill,” a set of ideas that Edwards argues can be seen cutting across Murray’s working and non-working life (and most of the stories are from his interactions with everyday people in everyday [but often unexpected] settings, and not from Murray’s acting work.)
I found this book to be highly readable and illuminating. The stories are funny but also offer a distinct approach to experiencing the world. I’d highly recommend this book for those interested in living a more spontaneous and rewarding life, or just those who like Bill Murray.
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PROMPT: Best Advice
Daily writing prompt
What’s the best advice you’d give to someone younger than you?
Change your relationship to sensation.
Feel it all but stop assigning it meaning and value judgements.
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PROMPT: Budget Travel
What’s your best tip for budget travel?
Learn to love living lean.
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PROMPT: Most Annoying Trope
What’s the most annoying trope in books or movies?
The McGuffin. A thing chased for the sake of being chased. It only works because humans, like dogs, are programmed to chase certain things without a good sense of whether it’s worth it or what would happen if one ever caught it.
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PROMPT: Completely Differently
What’s something you do completely differently from how you were raised?
Travel.
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PROMPT: Had to Get a Tattoo
Daily writing prompt
If you had to get a tattoo right now, what would it be and why?
Uh, the only instance of which I’m aware that anybody has ever “had to get a tattoo right now” was in Nazi concentration camps (and the like,) and they were not given a choice of subject matter. As I can’t imagine the scenario in which I had no say in having something etched on my body, but I could choose what was depicted, I don’t think it’s a meaningful question.
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PROMPT: Uncertainty
Know its inevitability. Ride its currents.
After getting freaked out, realize that being freaked out changes nothing. Might as well see the unfolding of an uncertain event as the unwrapping of a gift.
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PROMPT: Adult
Daily writing prompt
What’s a moment when you realized you were officially an adult?
That was so long ago. Since then, I’ve come full cycle to find that I’m not.
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PROMPT: Best Restaurant
I haven’t tried them all. Supposedly, there could be as many as 6,600 restaurants in the greater metropolitan area (but there are at least 2,700.) I eat out once or twice a week when at home, so… Plus, I have no idea what constitutes “best,” and I don’t trust single experiences as evidence. I once thought I’d had the best fried chicken in the world from a vendor cart in Bangkok. The chicken was probably okay, but I think the fact that I’d walked ten miles and hadn’t eaten in as many hours pushed said chicken into its exalted spot. And I very much don’t trust hype. Long story short, I guess we’ll never know.
Tiger Riding for Beginners 