some big categories

this entry a day is really incredibly taxing. i know i'm doing this, at least for 2010, but already i'm wondering what to do with it. possibly getting ahead of myself, we're only in march, but maybe a tad of planning is not such a bad thing.

given the plethora of websites and books on everything under the sun, doing this with the aim of writing a book is probably not a smart thing. but let's say i have the raw material (and yes it is very raw) - would it be possible to condense this into 36 questions and answers? this would imply 1 out of 10 entries would be somewhat meaningful. don't quite know about that.

are there large categories that i'd like to address? in no particular order...

the point of it all

existence

the meaning of life

the meaning of meaning

what we value as valuable - material goods, relationships, health

altruism and fairness

moral truth, moral clarity, moral progress

spiritualism/religion and humanism

reality, illusion, and perception

where to we go from here

there - ten categories, kind of.

or is everything linked together?

why it matters at all

because true peace of mind only comes when i really understand?

because if this truth and understanding existed (one that did not change according to my life experiences and worldview), once i had figured it out, i could simply live my life according to it and not be in a perpetual state of "what am i doing this for"?

because existential crises bother me, and would want to know once and for all, why i exist and for what purpose? (a definitive answer even such as "for no purpose whatsoever" might suit me too, but i'd like to know for sure)

because constant contentment sounds rather nice, seems much preferable to the mood swings due to the big and small disappointments in life (or due to things like general human nature)?

because if there really is a afterlife/nirvana/something good after death, i want to understand which exactly is the right thing to do and which "god" or "way" to follow? (even in the absence of such, being confident of the right way to follow during my earthly existence might be helpful)

because the promise of non-suffering sounds like a pretty good deal? (is that equivalent to the overall maximization of pleasure in fact?)