If I could describe my ideal life in terms of three activities, it would be these:
These three words distill just about everything I want to get out of life. Anything else is just Life Support.
Let's break these down a little more. Otherwise, this wouldn't be an essay ;-)
I love to think; ponder; cogitate; contemplate; analyze;
etc. It's easy to do, doesn't require any tools, and can be done at virtually any time. I just let my mind wander from place to place. When I have a tool (namely, the internet), I latch onto
Wikipedia and let the winds of "See Also" links buffet me from page to page. It's often very soothing and meditative.
I love to play. I've always enjoyed board games but lately they're becoming a huge part of my life. I also play tabletop roleplaying games whenever I get the chance. Collectible card games interest me a lot. And a smattering of (mostly strategic) computer games round out the list. There's nothing like sitting down to an enjoyable time of structured social interaction or systematic/strategic thought (see first acitivity, above).
I love to learn. From my first days of school, I was very good at it. I could memorize facts and figures, ace the teacher's tests, and earn the best grades. All the way through the end of undergrad I would love to go to the classroom, sit at my desk, and absorb the vast stores of knowledge presented to me there. Homework problems already had solutions, and were carefully patterned off of what had been shown to me in class. These questions would go on to be asked on the tests, and I would get them right there, too. I store and retrieve trivia like Google stores and retrieves web pages; after skimming a World Almanac I could probably recall upwards of 70-80% of the general trends of what was there. That's pretty fun.
I think this list is very telling. There's nothing up there about creating anything. Nothing really constructive at all. No achievements, not even discovery or invention. Most of it is passive, solitary pursuits. Even what I termed play, above, only sometimes has to involve being active with other people. It can often just as easily be playing Civilization IV by myself into the late evening hours.
But if I was given
Peter Gibbon's proverbial $1,000,000, it's probably a combination of the above that I would do as much as I can. But to many, doing that would look awfully close to the "Nothing" that Peter Gibbons would want to do.
I didn't start out with this, but it's interesting how these three activities map back to the three goals I set out for myself this year. Beyond just learning through being taught, I can write down what I learn and share and teach it to others. You can learn a lot more that way. Along with playing other people's games, I can tinker with my own projects and maybe produce something interesting of my own. And since thinking can be done anytime anywhere, I can do it while also enjoying the benefits of health and good exercise, which studies show can help clarify one's thoughts. In fact lately I have some of my best thoughts while walking my circuit around the campus at my job.
Now we're getting productive :-)
If anyone out there is interested, I'm curious what three words describe YOUR ideal activities?