Megan Hali Ray

LE 1350
Personal Life Philosophy

According to Merriam Webster the definition of Philosophy of Life is an overall

vision of or attitude towards life and the purpose of life. Each of us have our own opinion
and when we think about our life philosophy, we all have something different, even if
very similar, come to mind. No two people have the same path. There are those in life
with similar philosophies of life but we all have different items that influence it. Most of
us from a very young are guided by our parents or families and I feel a lot of what we
believe, especially in our youth, comes from those influences and their life philosophies.
We start by having very similar, if not almost identical philosophies of life as those who
raised us then life happens and we make choices that change our outlook on life.
My parents we strong believers in family, I know that a lot of my outlooks on life
come from them. In speaking with my mother about her life philosophy, she said, Life,
is not always something we can control, but we can control how we react to the
situations that happen to us. I have this same opinion, there are many things in which
we can control in life but there are things outside of our control that happen. We can
choose how we react though.
I was in a car accident January 2015 that totalled my car, although it was not my
fault I choose not to be angry at the other driver, I want to make sure she was okay, that
was my first concern. I was a little shaken by the whole thing but I have become a more
aware driver through this. I choose to take this horrible situation and turn it positive, I got
to get a new car and I have become more aware of those around me.

My parents always put the family first, my parents life philosophy about what is
important in life is the relationships we build. I was thought to be thoughtful of others
and giving. Of course, we learned to look out for ourselves and my father made sure we
knew how to take care of ourselves. I am now married, and have been for almost 8
years. We have a marriage philosophy of being in this together. Our lives have been
intertwined by our decision to share a life together. We share some parts of our life
philosophies with each other. In our house we have a lot of the values from our families,
of course it is not exactly the same as either of our parents because we have both had
life happen to us and have both made choices both individually and together. My mother
LeAnn Johnson also stated, how much she values her family, her children, there has
never been anything more important to me then family.
When I think of life, I think of choices and fate. Our lives are made up of things
we can and cannot control. The parts we can control is where choice comes in and the
parts we cannot is where fate, or outside sources affect us beyond our control. When I
was younger I put everything into school and furthering my education. I was not a
believer in people falling in love in high school and staying together. I was not expecting
to find my soul mate in high school but life happened and here we are still in love. This
is an example of the unexpected happening then we made choices that have ensured
our continued relationship.
I value family and relationships highly in my life. I was brought up with a strong
foundation of family. My family growing up always ate dinner together and had open
conversation available when needed. These bonds, although tried in my teenage years,
are strong and are the basis I strive for my family to have.

In an article on the Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy website; The Meaning

of Life, which was first published Tue May 15 2007 states that the first thing to look at
when asking the question of what the meaning of life is, is to first determine what people
mean when they ask in virtue of what life has meaning. In reading this I would have to
say I probably fit with a soul-centered view, this is a theory that meaning in life comes
from relating in a certain way to an immortal, spiritual substance that supervenes on
ones body when it is alive and that will forever outlive its death. If one lacks a soul, or if
one has a soul but relates to it in the wrong way, then ones life is meaningless. I believe
our souls will live forever, Im not sure where they will reside but life to me does not feel
like it ends with death. There is a possibility that it does all just end but our souls live on
in those we affected and leave behind. I have lost 3 grandparents and 1 of my
husbands grandmothers and I feel they are someone and are living on in some sense
of the word.
What are philosophical theories, according to medicine,jrank.org they are
systematic accounts that can be used to provide a foundation for our beliefs and to sort
out those ideas that should be held with rational conviction from those that would be
discarded. Thus a philosophical theory of quality of life is an account of what makes
human life worth living and an attempt to single out those fundamental elements of
human experience or the human condition that provide the content for such an account.
Hedonic theories identify quality of life with states of awareness, consciousness, or
experience of the individual. Happiness or pleasure, however those terms are precisely
to be defined, are the sine qua non of quality of life. Different things make different
peoples happy.

I am working towards finding my happiness through hard work and good

decisions that positively affect my life, i also strive to control how I react to those
situation that happen to me and my family. I believe my life philosophy is an ever
changing process in which I do not feel will ever be permanent. There may be things I
value my whole life but my outlook on life is forever changing and I wont have it any
other way.

Work Cited
Metz, Thaddeus. The Meaning of Life. N.p., 2007. Web. 3, Apr. 2016.
Johnson, LeAnn. 15 Apr. 2016. What comes to mind when you think about your life
philosophy? What do you value?
"Philosophy of Life." Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2016.
Philosophical Quality of Life and Ethical Dimensions - Philosophical Theories Of
Quality
Of Life. -Developmental, Social, Human, and Capacities. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr
2016.