But the best definition of existence ever saw did another philosopher who said： "To be is to be in relations." If this true， then the more relations a living thing has， the more it is alive. To live abundantly means simply to increase the range and intensity of our relations. Unfortunately we are so constituted that w e get to love our routine. But apart from our regular occupation how much are we alive？ If you are interest-ed only in your regular occupation， you are alive only to that extent. So far as other things are concerned——poetry and prose， music， pictures， sports， unselfish friendships， politics， international affairs——you are dead.
Contrariwise， it is true that every time you acquire a new interest——even more， a new accomplishment——you increase your power of life. No one who is deeply interested in a large variety of subjects can remain un-happy， the real pessimist is the person who has lost interest.
Bacon said that a man dies as often as he loses a friend. But we gain new life by conta cts， new friends. What is supremely true of living objects is only less true of ideas， which are also alive. Where your thoughts are， there will your live be also. If your thoughts are confined only to your business， only to your physical welfare， only to the narrow circle of the town in which you live， then you live in a narrow cir-conscribed life. But if you are interested in what is going on in China， then you are living in China~ if you‘re interested in the characters of a good novel， then you are living with those highly interesting people， if you listen intently to fine music， you are away from your immediate surroundings and living in a world of passion and imagination.
To be or not to be——to live intensely and richl y， merely to exist， that depends on ourselves. Let widen and intensify our relations. While we live， let live！
six-character famous saying
William. Leon. Phelps
"To be or not to be." If the Bible is excluded, these six words are the most famous in the whole world literature. These six words were said by Hamlet when he was muttering to himself, and these six words became the most famous words in Shakespeare's works, because Hamlet not only expressed his own feelings, but also represented all thoughtful men and women. To live or not to live-to live or not to live, to live full and full, full of enthusiasm, or just to live boring and trivial. A philosopher once wanted to find out whether he was alive or not, and each of us can ask ourselves this question from time to time. The philosopher's answer to this is: "I think, therefore I am."
But the definition of survival I have ever seen was given by another philosopher: "Life is connection." If this is true, then the more contacts a living person has, the more alive it will be. To live a rich and full life means to expand and strengthen our various contacts. Unfortunately, we tend to fall into our own stereotypes because our nature is not rich enough. How much is our real life except our daily work? If you are only interested in your daily work, your interest in life will be limited. As for other things-such as poetry, prose, music, art, sports, selfless friendship, politics and international affairs, and so on-you are just a dead man.
On the other hand, whenever you acquire a new interest-even a new accomplishment-you increase your life skills. A person who is deeply interested in many things can't always be unhappy. The real pessimists can only be those who have lost interest.
Bacon once said that a person who loses a friend is dead. But with contacts and new friends, we can be reborn. This truth, which is true for the living, is also fully applicable to people's minds to a certain extent, and they are all alive. Where your thoughts are, your life is there. If your thoughts are out of your business scope, out of your material interests, out of the narrow circle of your town, then your life will only be a narrow life with many limitations. But if you are interested in what is happening in China, then you can say that you are also living in China. If you are interested in the characters in a wonderful novel, you are living among a group of extremely interesting people; If you can concentrate on listening to some good music, you will get rid of your surroundings and live in a magical world full of passion and imagination.
To be or not to be-to live enthusiastically and richly, or simply to exist, it's all up to us. I hope we can all continue to expand and strengthen our various contacts. As long as we are alive, we must be alive for a day.