My Philosophy

If this list doesn't change, I will either have found some ultimate truth (which I don't believe exists), or I have stopped learning. Discussion is welcome. Tell me you love it and agree with every word; tell me you can't disagree more and you hate me for writing it. Whatever you tell me, tell me the truth.


1) Nobody is ever right about everything. That includes me.

2) “Should,” when used outside of personal opinion, is a highly offensive word.

3) Perspective is one of the most valuable assets one can own.

4) If you never try, you never know.

5) I always approach my plans with the hope that they will work and the knowledge that they might not.

6) Absolutes generally can’t express the full value of a situation.

7) Turning argument into discussion is almost always the best way to argue.

8) People should be allowed to hold whatever beliefs they wish, so long as it isn’t harmful to others.

9) Religion can be the most wonderful, powerful, hopeful institution on the face of the Earth, but it can also be the most harmful.

10) The practical definition of normality is questionable, at best.

11) The ways of acceptable society have never been inherently better than any one individual’s ways. Any one individual’s ways have never been inherently better than society’s.

12) There were never any “Good Old Days.” People were just as stupid in the past as they are now – just in different ways.

13) There is no "Ultimate Truth."

14) Those that believe in any one or many god(s) that created Earth and don't believe in evolution severely limit their god(s)' power and creativity.

15) Truth is a valuable tool in lying.

16) The nature of fear makes it one of the worst ways to handle a scary situation.

17) Swear words are a product of society. They're just words. It's our perception of them that make them bad.

18) Homosexual relationships are just as legitimate as heterosexual relationships. To say that gay couples shouldn't have the same rights as straight couples is tantamount to saying that "colored" people don't deserve the same rights as "white" people, or women don't deserve the same rights as men.

19) Other people's opinions, possessions, feelings, and rights are important to consider in any action one takes.

20) The issue of respect from one person to another is not a function of how one dresses, looks, or conforms to the social norm.

21) There are always blessings within curses, and curses within blessings.

22) Challenge is what transforms our weaker traits, buffers our stronger traits, and makes us better people.

23) Possibility is a much bigger realm than most people seem to think it is.

24) Change is almost always worth the effort one puts into it.

25) The people who crush your dreams are often the ones who think they know you best.

26) Unhappiness often leads to inaction. Inaction often leads to unhappiness. Though there are a billion things to hold you back, try doing something drastically different.


Dear reader,

I hope you know what you believe. I don't care if it's the same as what I believe. In fact, it's fine by me if you disagree with every statement I made here. But I give you a challenge - and it's not going to be easy. I challenge you to write down what you believe, to take the time to dig into your own consciousness, and to question why you believe it. After all, "Challenge is what transforms our weaker traits, buffers our stronger traits, and makes us better people." If you choose to make a list like this one, please share it with me, and expect some discussion. Who knows? Maybe we'll both come out of the whole experience with a new friend, even if we don't agree.

Question yourself on a regular basis, and do it more often than you question other people. One purpose of this list for me was to define what I believe, and the other purpose was to question what I believe. Every time I look at this list, I ask myself "Would I be willing to define myself as a person with this list?" And the answer is always yes.

Aardvark