The Three-Fold Path

What do I want? Why do I live? For eudaimonia.





Now, that term has usually been translated as “happiness,” which doesn’t even come close. It really means “flourishing” or “well-being.” Every human being – every existing thing of any type, actually – wants to flourish. It wants to have a good, satisfying life, not a miserable one. It wants to fulfill all its natural faculties and powers, rather than suffer through an existence of frustration. So, the issue for us is, how do we flourish?

So how do we flourish? The Greek answer is arête – excellence.  Strive to bring to full development ever human faculty. Become physically healthy and strong, intellectually wise, morally good, spiritually deep, and creative in as many of the arts as possible. Stifling or neglecting your personal development is a sure path to misery. So…get busy being all that you can be.

And this brings me to the last of my values – paideia. Also a Greek notion, this was the “program” of education and human development that was believed to be the path to arête. And don’t limit education to the kids, either. There is always something new I can learn or some talent I can develop.

So we have a great triple combination – like Tinker to Evers to Chance. From paideia to arete to eudaimonia. That’s the path I’ve chosen for myself.

I'll let you know how it goes.