Cross roads..

Discussions about personal psychology for the individual trader.
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Sir G
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Cross roads..

Post by Sir G »

I recently received an email from a distressed acquaintance, which lead me to this pondering/response. I thought I would share it with the forum.

Life is like cruising on a highway. Sometimes, we find ourselves on an “exit onlyâ€
NeueZiel
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Post by NeueZiel »

Thank you Sir G for sharing that since at this point in time with my life your story/analogy have hit the spot in so many ways that I can relate.

Why can't I have messages like this in my e-mail........
AFJ Garner
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Post by AFJ Garner »

At middle age, life for many becomes a spiritual journey in the broadest sense. You enter the world with nothing and leave with nothing and yet most of us spend (or have to spend) our entire lives in the pursuit of material gain or at least material subsistence. As life wears on, more of us seek answers to the questions which have plagued mankind since consciousness first emerged: why are we here? Who or what are we? Where are we going? Is there anything beyond what we can perceive with our senses?

Some are lucky: some have an unshakeable faith in a deity who shows them "The Way": Yahweh perhaps, Christ or the Hindu deities. Most of us I suspect lean rather towards agnosticism. We accept that we simply do not know the answers to these questions.

But to be on Sir G's highway is the only place we CAN be, it is all we have; it is life's journey. So we need to make the best of what we have before it is too late.

In a way it is best to go through life without ever considering the metaphysical. Some of the happiest people never seem to entertain these questions. They run their hedge funds, they buy their Bentleys and their country estates, they pile up money in the bank.

Or at the other extreme some lead a life devoted to their faith and to good works and find serenity and purpose that way.

Others are driven, if not by angst, at least by an intense and almost overwhelming desire to discover some order or purpose in their lives and the cosmos as a whole.

For the undecided, the agnostic, contemplation and meditation while on Sir G's highway is essential. Learning to accept what is, learning to live in the present without fixating on past or future, learning to "feel" and accept the impermanence of life and the material universe. Learning to be unselfish, to help and encourage those around us, to develop compassion.

Contemplation while on Sir G's road may well lead in surprising and unlooked for directions. In trading and in life in general.

All I do know is that without thought, without pondering the spiritual, the metaphysical, the philosophical, without silent and persistent reflection on our life and our goals, we are in danger of journeying in a blanket of dense fog and will be unable to even see Sir G's exits and crossroads, let alone take them.

What on earth is the relevance of all this to trading? Well, the traders I know are solitary people, thoughtful people, intent on ploughing their own course. It is in many ways a pretty lonely path but we do it because we choose to and we want to make our own way, our own decisions.

And when we come across thoughts like Sir G's above, we recognise them as our own, we empathise, we greet a fellow human being and hope that our message can show some support along the way.
Forum Mgmnt
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Post by Forum Mgmnt »

How true...

One of the most important lessons life teaches us is that the path set before us by others, whether our parents, our teachers, our friends, or society in general, may not be the right path for us.

We need to make our own path; and we need to take ownership of our life being the product of the decisions we make; if we are to be truly happy. If we go down the path that other's set before us, we will not be happy. We will live a life of regret.

So by all means take those detours that seem interesting, and don't be afraid to live your life, even if it means that the others around you might be perplexed or worried.
AFJ Garner wrote:In a way it is best to go through life without ever considering the metaphysical. Some of the happiest people never seem to entertain these questions. They run their hedge funds, they buy their Bentleys and their country estates, they pile up money in the bank.
In my experience, these people don't really exist. I've not known anyone who does not consider the metaphysical, or at least the philosophical, and is at the same time truly happy.

At the end of the day, I don't think Bentley's and country estates bring much happiness at all if you don't have a handle on the other, more important things in life.

The people in your life matter far more than the things you accumulate along the way.

Your perspective on your circumstances matters far more than the absolute circumstances themselves.

- Forum Mgmnt
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