I’ve always considered the nature of living to be to grow, to become more – and the nature of dying to be reduced, to become less. Sort of like taking the derivative of what you are, the rate of change…
This has the unusual consequence that when people tell me to ‘live a little’ e.g. with idle pastimes, it feels to me like they are asking me to ‘die a little’.
What do you consider the difference?
It’s true that I emphasize industry in my life (a bit of an understatement perhaps). I find it essential to know exactly who I am and what I need to be doing. So that narrow focus works well right now.
Perhaps one day, I’ll think about experiencing things more passively. There’s nothing wrong with it. On the other hand, I really do enjoy doing things. An alarming amount of things! So maybe I won’t really slow down later in life after all. It keeps me fit if nothing else!