every example i thought of seemed not to be quite there.
- success in life (how much is required? can we have a more concrete definition?)
- action, not words (but if you haven't thought through it well, you're wasting your time)
- love and compassion (true, almost a bit of a cliche, but it is a bit vague and it sounds a bit too mushy for me)
- world peace (really a bit far removed from my day-to-day existence)
so, perhaps, self-reflection is what matters now. at the macro level, it is trying to understand ourselves, how we relate to this universe, and the point of our existence. at the day-to-day level, it is to reflect on what we are doing and whether that is in line with macro understanding.
yes, it is fluffy and non-specific and to a certain extent even encompasses all the possibilities above.
but actually, it's a lot easier than before. it's easier than ever to see how the great sages and contemporary philosophers and scientists thought about these questions that have been asked since humans started to ponder. the only hard part is finding the concentration and the time to digest these things and form our own opinions.
