Sta Hungry Stay Foolish

Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

A blog by Leon Oudejans

Life is a series of separation events

I heard the phrase above in the crime series Instinct (eg, IMDB). It caught my immediate attention. Its focus is on separation, which usually has a negative connotation. I noticed a neutral perspective by Deeepak Subedi: “Life is a series of events, and with each event, we attach meaning.”

“Life is a series of events, and with each event, we attach meaning. With each event, we decide upon an interpretation. It is with these interpretations or attached meanings that we define who and what we are and what we can have and do. Then we go about life collecting evidence to confirm and validate these interpretations.”

First paragraph of 2019 Facebook post by Dr. Deeepak Subedi

If I recall well, the full Instinct quote was something like: “Our entire life is a series of separation events, including death”. Indeed, events like birth, school, divorce, burnout and death could qualify as separation events. A more positive summary would be: children, friendship, job, marriage, relationship.

I’ve never seen life as a series of – bonding or separation – events. In my view, life is a series of choices based upon individual and/or group priorities. There are several milestones that qualify as important events in my life (eg, children, graduation, house, jobs). Not every event is relevant to remember.

In my view, the most important issue is not to have regret or remorse over your choices in life. Hence, I will probably take more time to come to a decision than others (eg, Medical Xpress-2023). Not having regrets or remorse is more important to me than time.

Most of all, life is a journey along several destinations – or events – in life (eg, school, sport, study, family, work, retirement). Viewing those as separation events displays a negative focus on life, similar to memento mori versus carpe diem. Latter reveals a positive focus.

To quote Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, abolitionist, and poet: “Life is a journey, not a destination.”

A quote by Michael Crichton (1942-2008), author and filmmaker
A quote by Mignon McLaughlin (1913-1983), author

Live A Life Worth To Remember (2021) by Gabriel Salcedo
artist, instrumental, video, no Wikipedia info

Note: all markings (bolditalicunderlining) by LO unless in quotes or stated otherwise.

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