I first read this book of Schopenhauer back in college and enjoyed very much. I just did complete listening to the audio book twice. Again, most enjoyable; matter of fact, I had to laugh a number of times as I found what Sir Arthur was saying so much in accord with my own hard knocks through the years. To share a taste of what a reader will find in the writing of this nineteenth German philosopher’s little book of wisdom and maxims, here are several direct quotes along with my own observations:

“And just for the same reason we can more easily bear a misfortune which comes to us entirely from without, than one which we have drawn upon ourselves; for fortune may always change, but not character. Therefore, subjective blessings - a noble nature, a capable head, a joyful temperament, bright spirits, a well-constituted, perfectly sound physique, in a word, mens sana in corpore sano, are the first and most important elements in happiness; so that we should be more intent on promoting and preserving such qualities than on the possession of external wealth and external honor. ---------- Schopenhauer’s essay on The Wisdom of Life is broken down into three categories: 1) What a man is; 2) What a man has; and 3) How a man stands in the estimation of others (apologies for Schopenhauer’s sexist language). His overarching observation: what we are as people in and of ourselves is of supreme importance, far outweighing our possessions or our reputation. Ironically, as Schopenhauer notes, so much of our time and energy is expended in amassing wealth or worrying about how we look in other people’s eyes. Much more preferable to cultivate our internal resources.

“Cheerfulness is a direct and immediate gain,- the very coin, as it were, of happiness, and not, like all else, merely a check upon the bank; for it alone makes us immediately happy in the present moment, and that is the highest blessing for beings like us, whose existence is but an infinitesimal moment between two eternities. To secure and promote this feeling of cheerfulness should be the supreme aim of all our endeavors after happiness. Now it is certain that nothing contributes so little to cheerfulness as riches, or so much, as health.” ---------- Emphasis on our health, particularly physical health, provides a firm foundation, with exercise, proper diet and a disposition of “good cheer” as the first steps to a fruitful, rewarding, full life. Schopenhauer states directly his essay is no lofty metaphysics or detailed analytic theory but a manual for practical day-to-day living.

“From the essential nature of the philistine it follows, secondly, in regard to others, that, as he possesses no intellectual, but only physical need, he will seek the society of those who can satisfy the latter, but not the former. The last thing he will expect from his friends is the possession of any sort of intellectual capacity; nay, if he chances to meet with it, it will rouse his antipathy and even hatred; simply because in addition to an unpleasant sense of inferiority, he experiences, in his heart, a dull kind of envy, which has to be carefully concealed even from himself.” --------- With “philistine” Schopenhauer has in mind hardheaded business types who are all business and only take time out to eat, drink, and talk about things like games or sports. According to Schopenhauer, if someone is a seeker of wisdom, a lover of philosophy, art, music or literature, best to steer clear of such philistines, or, if forced to be in their presence, maintain a noble silence as much as possible and keep your interests to yourself.

“Riches, one may say, are like sea-water; the more you drink the thirstier you become; and the same is true of fame. The loss of wealth and prosperity leaves a man, as soon as the first pangs of grief are over, in very much the same habitual temper as before; and the reason of this is, that as soon as fate diminishes the amount of his possessions, he himself immediately reduces the amount of his claims.” --------- Forever the intellectual and philosopher, Schopenhauer judged people who stake their personal identity and sense of self on things like prestige or wealth as fools walking on thin ice.

“By a peculiar weakness of human nature, people generally think too much about the opinion which others form of them; although the slightest reflection will show that this opinion, whatever it may be, is not in itself essential to happiness.” ---------- From my own experience, I’ve never understood how anybody can worry about what other people think of them. The longer I live, the more I realize most people are drowning in their own chatter.

“If the teaching of experience bears fruit in us, we soon give up the pursuit of pleasure and happiness, and think much more about making ourselves secure against the attacks of pain and suffering. We see that the best the world has to offer is an existence free from pain—a quiet, tolerable life; and we confine our claims to this, as to something we can more surely hope to achieve. For the safest way of not being very miserable is not to expect to be very happy.” ---------- I’m all for keeping pain and suffering at arm’s length and there is great wisdom in Schopenhauer’s words here. However, we are well to consider another angle: creativity requires courage, courage to move beyond safety and security. As anybody on a spiritual or artistic path quickly recognizes, there is much more to life than simply creating a quiet, tolerable space for ourselves.

“To live a life that shall be entirely prudent and discreet, and to draw from experience all the instruction it contains, it is requisite to be constantly thinking back,—to make a kind of recapitulation of what we have done, of our impressions and sensations, to compare our former with our present judgments—what we set before us and struggle to achieve, with the actual result and satisfaction we have obtained. To do this is to get a repetition of the private lessons of experience,—lessons which are given to everyone.” ---------- Schopenhauer puts great emphasis on learning from one’s mistakes. If possible, he advises, we are well to keep a daily journal or, at the very least, before we go to sleep, review the events of the day.

“The more a man has in himself, the less others can be to him. The feeling of self-sufficiency! it is that which restrains those whose personal value is in itself great riches, from such considerable sacrifices as are demanded by intercourse with the world, let alone, then, from actually practicing self-denial by going out of their way to seek it. Ordinary people are sociable and complaisant just from the very opposite feeling;—to bear others' company is easier for them than to bear their own. Moreover, respect is not paid in this world to that which has real merit; it is reserved for that which has none. So retirement is at once a proof and a result of being distinguished by the possession of meritorious qualities. It will therefore show real wisdom on the part of any one who is worth anything in himself, to limit his requirements as may be necessary, in order to preserve or extend his freedom, and,—since a man must come into some relations with his fellow-men—to admit them to his intimacy as little as possible. As a general rule, it may be said that a man's sociability stands very nearly in inverse ratio to his intellectual value: to say that "so and so" is very unsociable, is almost tantamount to saying that he is a man of great capacity.” ---------- Not exactly a perspective in vogue today, but one we would do well considering: Are we friends with ourselves? How much do we cherish our own silence and solitude? Do we consider ourselves blessed for those times we can read in peace?

“In a young man, it is a bad sign, as well from an intellectual as from a moral point of view, if he is precocious in understanding the ways of the world, and in adapting himself to its pursuits; if he at once knows how to deal with men, and enters upon life, as it were, fully prepared. It argues a vulgar nature. On the other hand, to be surprised and astonished at the way people act, and to be clumsy and cross-grained in having to do with them, indicates a character of the nobler sort.” --------- Schopenhauer urges us not to come down hard on ourselves if we made mistakes in our interactions with others when we were younger. For such mistakes, as it turn out, could be an indication we have a noble rather than a vulgar nature! ( )

I first read this book of Schopenhauer back in college and enjoyed very much. I just did complete listening to the audio book twice. Again, most enjoyable; matter of fact, I had to laugh a number of times as I found what Sir Arthur was saying so much in accord with my own hard knocks through the years. To share a taste of what a reader will find in the writing of this nineteenth German philosopher’s little book of wisdom and maxims, here are several direct quotes along with my own observations:

“And just for the same reason we can more easily bear a misfortune which comes to us entirely from without, than one which we have drawn upon ourselves; for fortune may always change, but not character. Therefore, subjective blessings - a noble nature, a capable head, a joyful temperament, bright spirits, a well-constituted, perfectly sound physique, in a word, mens sana in corpore sano, are the first and most important elements in happiness; so that we should be more intent on promoting and preserving such qualities than on the possession of external wealth and external honor. ---------- Schopenhauer’s essay on The Wisdom of Life is broken down into three categories: 1) What a man is; 2) What a man has; and 3) How a man stands in the estimation of others (apologies for Schopenhauer’s sexist language). His overarching observation: what we are as people in and of ourselves is of supreme importance, far outweighing our possessions or our reputation. Ironically, as Schopenhauer notes, so much of our time and energy is expended in amassing wealth or worrying about how we look in other people’s eyes. Much more preferable to cultivate our internal resources.

“Cheerfulness is a direct and immediate gain,- the very coin, as it were, of happiness, and not, like all else, merely a check upon the bank; for it alone makes us immediately happy in the present moment, and that is the highest blessing for beings like us, whose existence is but an infinitesimal moment between two eternities. To secure and promote this feeling of cheerfulness should be the supreme aim of all our endeavors after happiness. Now it is certain that nothing contributes so little to cheerfulness as riches, or so much, as health.” ---------- Emphasis on our health, particularly physical health, provides a firm foundation, with exercise, proper diet and a disposition of “good cheer” as the first steps to a fruitful, rewarding, full life. Schopenhauer states directly his essay is no lofty metaphysics or detailed analytic theory but a manual for practical day-to-day living.

“From the essential nature of the philistine it follows, secondly, in regard to others, that, as he possesses no intellectual, but only physical need, he will seek the society of those who can satisfy the latter, but not the former. The last thing he will expect from his friends is the possession of any sort of intellectual capacity; nay, if he chances to meet with it, it will rouse his antipathy and even hatred; simply because in addition to an unpleasant sense of inferiority, he experiences, in his heart, a dull kind of envy, which has to be carefully concealed even from himself.” --------- With “philistine” Schopenhauer has in mind hardheaded business types who are all business and only take time out to eat, drink, and talk about things like games or sports. According to Schopenhauer, if someone is a seeker of wisdom, a lover of philosophy, art, music or literature, best to steer clear of such philistines, or, if forced to be in their presence, maintain a noble silence as much as possible and keep your interests to yourself.

“Riches, one may say, are like sea-water; the more you drink the thirstier you become; and the same is true of fame. The loss of wealth and prosperity leaves a man, as soon as the first pangs of grief are over, in very much the same habitual temper as before; and the reason of this is, that as soon as fate diminishes the amount of his possessions, he himself immediately reduces the amount of his claims.” --------- Forever the intellectual and philosopher, Schopenhauer judged people who stake their personal identity and sense of self on things like prestige or wealth as fools walking on thin ice.

“By a peculiar weakness of human nature, people generally think too much about the opinion which others form of them; although the slightest reflection will show that this opinion, whatever it may be, is not in itself essential to happiness.” ---------- From my own experience, I’ve never understood how anybody can worry about what other people think of them. The longer I live, the more I realize most people are drowning in their own chatter.

“If the teaching of experience bears fruit in us, we soon give up the pursuit of pleasure and happiness, and think much more about making ourselves secure against the attacks of pain and suffering. We see that the best the world has to offer is an existence free from pain—a quiet, tolerable life; and we confine our claims to this, as to something we can more surely hope to achieve. For the safest way of not being very miserable is not to expect to be very happy.” ---------- I’m all for keeping pain and suffering at arm’s length and there is great wisdom in Schopenhauer’s words here. However, we are well to consider another angle: creativity requires courage, courage to move beyond safety and security. As anybody on a spiritual or artistic path quickly recognizes, there is much more to life than simply creating a quiet, tolerable space for ourselves.

“To live a life that shall be entirely prudent and discreet, and to draw from experience all the instruction it contains, it is requisite to be constantly thinking back,—to make a kind of recapitulation of what we have done, of our impressions and sensations, to compare our former with our present judgments—what we set before us and struggle to achieve, with the actual result and satisfaction we have obtained. To do this is to get a repetition of the private lessons of experience,—lessons which are given to everyone.” ---------- Schopenhauer puts great emphasis on learning from one’s mistakes. If possible, he advises, we are well to keep a daily journal or, at the very least, before we go to sleep, review the events of the day.

“The more a man has in himself, the less others can be to him. The feeling of self-sufficiency! it is that which restrains those whose personal value is in itself great riches, from such considerable sacrifices as are demanded by intercourse with the world, let alone, then, from actually practicing self-denial by going out of their way to seek it. Ordinary people are sociable and complaisant just from the very opposite feeling;—to bear others' company is easier for them than to bear their own. Moreover, respect is not paid in this world to that which has real merit; it is reserved for that which has none. So retirement is at once a proof and a result of being distinguished by the possession of meritorious qualities. It will therefore show real wisdom on the part of any one who is worth anything in himself, to limit his requirements as may be necessary, in order to preserve or extend his freedom, and,—since a man must come into some relations with his fellow-men—to admit them to his intimacy as little as possible. As a general rule, it may be said that a man's sociability stands very nearly in inverse ratio to his intellectual value: to say that "so and so" is very unsociable, is almost tantamount to saying that he is a man of great capacity.” ---------- Not exactly a perspective in vogue today, but one we would do well considering: Are we friends with ourselves? How much do we cherish our own silence and solitude? Do we consider ourselves blessed for those times we can read in peace?

“In a young man, it is a bad sign, as well from an intellectual as from a moral point of view, if he is precocious in understanding the ways of the world, and in adapting himself to its pursuits; if he at once knows how to deal with men, and enters upon life, as it were, fully prepared. It argues a vulgar nature. On the other hand, to be surprised and astonished at the way people act, and to be clumsy and cross-grained in having to do with them, indicates a character of the nobler sort.” --------- Schopenhauer urges us not to come down hard on ourselves if we made mistakes in our interactions with others when we were younger. For such mistakes, as it turn out, could be an indication we have a noble rather than a vulgar nature! ( )

In these two essays, which first appeared in his final work, Parerga and Paralipomena (1851), Schopenhauer offers his wisdom on the methods of maximizing one's productivity, fulfillment, and contentment. Above all, he recommends independence of mind and spirit, clear judgment, avoidance of frivolous society, and elevation of thought and action to a deeper sense of personal significance.