X-Message-Number: 10374 From: Date: Thu, 3 Sep 1998 12:53:51 -0500 (CDT) Subject: Fun has a purpose. Peter Merel (Message #10354) made some very remarkable observations regarding problem solving. He shocked me as this is how I learned and have taught aikido for years! Thank you, Peter Merel! I will admit to wanting to help move cryonics out of the "tomb and gloom" frame of mind and that this is a part of a very small effort to do so. Fear of death will attract fewer new members than love of life, and I see the greatest probability for success in cryonics generated by attracting more members = more money = more research. Those who wish to maintain a "war" mentality and find it empowering and motivating are welcome to do so. War has a long history of human success in (quite literally) rallying the troops! And I also agree that fun is a game worth playing and war can be viewed as a game (if you are not suffering in a real battle or its aftermath yourself, usually). I will also admit that war is not my personal cup of tea. For the rest of the human race and for the warriors on a coffee break, I feel we could benefit from forging more "Tips On Enjoying Immortality Now" not only because it is directly rewarding but because it will attract others to a POSITIVE view of a future they can join us to experience. After thinking it over, I think that immortals (remember you are immortal unless proven otherwise!) have more to gain from sharing tips on the enjoyment of life than short-lifers (those who view life as a veil of tears). In a thousand years those who chose to be miserable for a short lifespan of 75 years will be in all likelihood forgotten. Those who linger will be those who chose to do so. Make your lingering enjoyable and you will probably WANT to linger LONGER. Therefore I offer three fun tips for immortals driving in traffic: When finding I am in crushed bumper-to-bumper traffic and feel I am trapped behind thousands of cars, I pretend I am in the front of a line which wraps around the earth . They are now all waiting behind me. I look into the rearview mirror and smile. My wife prefers to do "zen driving" and remembers the words of Buckaroo Bonzai ("No matter where you go, there you are") and lets go of the NEED to arrive somewhere else at a certain time. (Marcus Aurelius would approve). If I need to merge into a slowed line of cars and am having trouble getting in, I roll down the window, seek eye contact with a driver I want to influence, and point to where I want to go. More often than not, the human contact breaks the problem up and I am let in. Otherwise I am just another faceless car competing to get in front of him. Forever is a very long time. Getting there should be at least half the fun. Cryonics is one way to help get there. -George Smith Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=10374