Livng with Meaning and Value
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About this ebook
Human beings are all on an extraordinary journey through life and, ultimately, no-one knows quite why. Yet in this publication the author argues that individuals can live in a meaningful way and find peace and harmony. He suggests a rational approach to living which focusses on the need for self-knowledge, the need to live simply and in an environmentally sustainable way and on the need to love, respect and be of service to others.
David Lambourne
David Lambourne was born in 1946 in Hastings in southern England. He has a good honours degree in History and Education and had a long career in teaching in secondary education. His published works include 'Living with Meaning and Value'; 'How to Pass Exams - A Parent's Guide'; 'Slaney's Act and the Christian Socialists'; 'The Lambournes of Ashdown Farm, St. Leonards-on-Sea' and 'Boston St Mary's Guildhall - A History' (with John Almond). He contributed to 'Political Education and Political Literacy' which was edited by Bernard Crick and Alex Porter and has written various articles on aspects of 18th and 19th Century Britain and on the local history of both Sussex and Lincolnshire. He has two sons, Tim and Chris, and two grandchildren, Jessica and Thomas. For many years he lived in Boston, Lincolnshire, with his wife Sue, where their Victorian home overlooked the river and the town's magnificent parish church, but in 2018 the couple returned to live quietly in the beautiful countryside of his native East Sussex.
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Livng with Meaning and Value - David Lambourne
LIVING WITH
MEANING AND VALUE
David Lambourne
Published by Ash and Oak Books
Copyright © David Lambourne, 2015
© David Lambourne, 2015
All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without the prior permission in writing from the publisher.
Revised eBook edition, 2015
(First published in the United Kingdom in 2010 in print form by
Ash and Oak Books, York, England, ISBN 978-0-9507668-5-0)
Email: ashandoakbooks@tiscali.co.uk
This essay is dedicated to all those who seek the truth and are open-minded even when cherished ideas are called into question.
Living With Meaning and Value
Preface
Introduction
A Personal Journey
Physical Well-being
Living with a Different Perspective
Reflection and Meditation
Relationships with Others
The Teachings of Jesus
The Modern World
Conclusion
Summary
Preface
I was born and brought up in southern England in an environment in which a rather straightforward and self-contained view of the world seemed to prevail, a view that was greatly influenced by Methodist beliefs and values. Yet, although it was inevitable that my life would in many ways be informed by that simple nonconformist background with its emphasis on frugality, industry, discipline and sobriety, I needed to find my own, more liberal, path. So, my ideas on what is of meaning and value in life came to be formulated many years ago in response to this personal quest for a rational approach to all aspects of living, including the moral and spiritual dimensions, that does not depend on organised religion, that values the life of every human being and that does not place unsustainable demands on planet earth. It was clear then and remains so still that, in this troubled world, money, recognition, status and influence offer no certainties of happiness. I was brought up on a small tenanted farm in an old run down farmhouse without electricity, hot running water, modern sanitation or central heating and in which there was a measure of material impoverishment. The members of my extended family with which I lived had long physically hard working days with little material reward. Yet those close to me were clearly much happier and more contented than many who have so much more appear to be now: many who feel unfulfilled and that life is in some senses unsatisfactory and lacking in worth.
Similarly, it was clear, too, that formal education offers no guarantees either. It seems quite appalling that, even in this age of mass education, so many are driven not by reason but by ignorance, prejudice, superstition and just pure wishful thinking. Formal education is of course to be valued very highly, but I know of those who have had the benefits of a great deal of it who, as well as having considerable intellectual gifts, have been unable to use these advantages to prevent themselves from remaining deeply troubled by life. On the other hand, I know of others who have had only a basic elementary education who are truly happy. Indeed, one friend, who lived in the village where I brought up my sons and who left school at the age of fourteen and never enjoyed any of the apparent advantages of status, wealth or recognition, was, until his death in old age, amongst the wisest, happiest and most contented persons that I have ever met.
I believe that each of us stands to benefit from setting time aside to find out who we really are, how we fit in to the world and how we should live in relation to our fellow human beings. I believe also that, if we are to engage fully in life, we need to curb our extraordinary capacity for selfishness and our inclinations