SLOMO!

Maybe just a hint of idealism. But yeah.

And he certainly is a wise man. True wisdom takes time.

Some good insights here.
 
At least he was able to recognize it, find a way out, and had enough money left to go out and execute the reinvention... bravo SloMo!
 
I would say he went from one form of self indulgence to another. It's old school hedonism. Life is just about seeking pleasure. It's all still "me" oriented. That has no appeal to me. I'd rather be pouring myself into others.

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Now THAT'S an interesting perspective!

Didn't think of it that way.

I teach. Do I always love it? Eh... Do I always love practicing? You know how it is.

Would I love to get back on my bike and ride for hours? Of course. Kids are the priority right now.
 
Phostenix said:
I would say he went from one form of self indulgence to another. It's old school hedonism. Life is just about seeking pleasure. It's all still "me" oriented. That has no appeal to me. I'd rather be pouring myself into others.

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That may be true but in all fairness it does sounds like he started out that way, helping others. It wasn't until it became something else and he didn't like what he had become. I don't know about you but I would think it would be pretty hard to pour your self into others if you don't like your self to beging with which sounds like it was the case with this guy. Who knows maybe it will transform into something that will benefit others, life is a journey not distention and something tells me that this guy is still walking the path.
 
pima1234 said:
Kids are the priority right now.
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Exactly. The "natural course" of life is that we become less self-absorbed and more outwardly focused as we grow older. We have to go out on our own & work with others; we get married and have someone else in our lives; we have kids and have even more things that draw our focus away from ourselves. In order to be "successful" in life (not just monetarily), we have to work with others, care about others, sacrifice for others, love others. I don't think it's a surprise that he wants to see himself as an 11 year old boy. It's the time when we have the least amount of responsibilities and can be the most self-focused.

My favorite definition of a "man" is: one who is responsible for his responsibilities.

And, my favorite definition of love is: I'm making a commitment to put your needs above my own.

What I see in SloMo is a man who rightly saw that money, stuff, and success aren't ultimately satisfying and then traded that for a life of escapism and pleasure. The lives look very different, but the god is still the same: yourself.
 
Sixstring said:
life is a journey not distention and something tells me that this guy is still walking the path.
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This gave me an idea for a new catch phrase: If your journey in life only brings you back to yourself, then you went nowhere. :)

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Phostenix said:
This gave me an idea for a new catch phrase: If your journey in life only brings you back to yourself, then you went nowhere. :)

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I guess that would all depend on wether or not you found your self, if your still lost then ya you went nowhere. :lol
 
Phostenix said:
Exactly. The "natural course" of life is that we become less self-absorbed and more outwardly focused as we grow older. We have to go out on our own & work with others; we get married and have someone else in our lives; we have kids and have even more things that draw our focus away from ourselves. In order to be "successful" in life (not just monetarily), we have to work with others, care about others, sacrifice for others, love others. I don't think it's a surprise that he wants to see himself as an 11 year old boy. It's the time when we have the least amount of responsibilities and can be the most self-focused.

My favorite definition of a "man" is: one who is responsible for his responsibilities.

And, my favorite definition of love is: I'm making a commitment to put your needs above my own.

What I see in SloMo is a man who rightly saw that money, stuff, and success aren't ultimately satisfying and then traded that for a life of escapism and pleasure. The lives look very different, but the god is still the same: yourself.
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Phostenix,

I think you are projecting too much of yourself into this man. "Slomo" was a neurologist/psychiatrist, a medical doctor. Do you know how draining that work is? The vast majority of the pathology you encounter is impossible to truly fix like in basic internal medicine. There is very little job satisfaction because you can't "solve" most of your patient's issues. Add on top of that patient personality/character issues, difficulty communicating with others and oftentimes rudeness/anger towards the practitioner and you have a very uncomfortable, sad work-life. There is a reason why psychiatrists have the highest rate of suicide of all medical doctors. Slomo entered a career that is dedicated to helping others. That was not selfish, and if you think people become doctors to be wealthy: well not anymore. Those days are over for most. They do it for security.

What you see is a man that selfishly regressed back into childhood. Perhaps this is instead a man that was tired of pleasing others? His mentors, his parents, his ex-wife, society... Perhaps he wants to feel happiness by pleasing himself first. I might add, you cannot (or really should not) focus on helping others without first helping yourself. This was a man that WAS helping others, and ignoring helping himself feel the happiness that he always wanted for himself.

Frankly, your attitude towards him comes off as self-righteous, and I don't think you were really listening to him in his interview. You were projecting onto him.
 
^ Also a very good point. He made the right choice for himself, and he is clearly healthier for it.
 
claxor said:
Frankly, your attitude towards him comes off as self-righteous, and I don't think you were really listening to him in his interview. You were projecting onto him.
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I watched it twice, so I listened to him just fine. :) My wife watched it with no setup or prompting & came to the exact same conclusion, which just goes to show that we think alike, I guess. :)

I don't think I projected anything more on him than knowing human nature. Stories like this appeal to middle-aged guys who dream of chucking it all & going to the beach - permanently. He thinks people see him as someone who escaped. I see him as someone who ran away. Whether he had good reasons to run is not really developed in that short. He wants us to know that he was rich, lived in a mansion, had lots of toys, and was "an asshole". American culture tells you that a life like his will bring you happiness. We seem surprised when it doesn't. If the New York Times wants to give me a story that inspires me or moves me, give me a guy like that who makes the U-turn & mentors kids to find their passion, love God, and love others.

The point of these threads is for people to give opinions, is it not? We aren't all going to agree. :) You are free to see me as self-righteous. We probably just have different worldviews.
 
Phostenix said:
I wonder what happens when he can no longer skate. What happens when the one thing that seems to bring him joy in life (by his admission) is gone?
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Alright, and what happens when you are senile? What benefit can you provide mankind then? Will you be selfish in not finding a way to serve God then?

You display classic black and white thinking. A severity of thought that hurts you ultimately. What perpetuates all psychopathology, from basic depression to recurrent psychotic episodes is rigidity of thought. Slomo is showing adaptability of thought, and living happier by it.

Would you be better satisfied if he killed himself earlier as an unhappy psychiatrist? Or merely approve of his living in a sad life like so many others? Is that the honorable way that you think God wants for us all? Furthermore, on religion, since that is a personal subject that matters greatly to you: how do you know that this path and this conclusion for Slomo isn't God's plan for him? Or even the example he wants for us all? You don't. So, I would suggest that you leave the judgement business for God. In the meantime, treat others as you would have them treat you.
 
claxor said:
In the meantime, treat others as you would have them treat you.
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I could parse your post line by line, but I'll just focus on that last line. What I'm doing here is exactly that. I didn't become a follower of Christ until my early 30's and I was perplexed (and annoyed, honestly) why the people around me who *were* believers hadn't done more to share their faith with me. The main reason I started playing guitar again in my late 20's (I'll be 50 this year) was to try to find some joy in my cynical, angry, unsatisfying life. What I've come to believe is that we (as humans) are all looking for the same thing - reconciliation with God. Anything else without that falls short. You don't have to agree with me, but that is what I sincerely believe at my core. And, *if* I really believe that is true (you don't have to agree that it is), the most loving thing I can do is share what I believe with others when I get the opportunity. The most hateful thing I can do is keep it to myself and wish you well on your journey. "I've got mine, good luck out there." That's what drives us "religious" people (I don't use that word, but that's another story :) ). I'm not asking you to agree with that, just understand it and be a little more tolerant of it. See me as a psychopath, that's fine, but also see me as someone who is motivated from a desire to share what I believe is truth - just like anyone else might.

When I watch a story like the story of SloMo, I understand why it appeals to us. Who doesn't have times when they want to chuck it all and run away? I've never said that people should stay in places that are unhealthy for them. But, I do believe that simply escaping from an unsatisfying life is a counterfeit joy. The NYT didn't give us a story of a man who radically re-oriented his life, they gave us a story of a man ran away. What if we all just ran away? What kind of country (or world) would it be if everyone just went to beach & skated all day? That sounds like a disaster to me. I'm all for people reassessing what is really of value and making life changes, but I'm not inspired by this story. What I see is a man who found a high with lateral acceleration. As long as he's skating, he experiences the high and it makes him happy. Makes perfect sense. Is it ultimately satisfying? Only time will tell.
 
Phoestenix, I understand what you are saying, believe me. But, he is on a quest, he may even be on a good path. Think about C.S. Lewis, for instance.


It seems to me as though he has "served his time". Does he not deserve to focus on himself? He is not hurting anyone. And although I hope he will leave much behind when he goes, it is up to him.

With his impaired vision, he can't really do much of what the rest of us can.

And, he is inspiring people (at least some people) in a positive way.

His message is to not get caught up in the rat race. That is wisdom.
 
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