Lucky to be here book

I don’t have a philosophy as such, but there are many ways to live that I think are good, and many ways that I think are bad, so I guess these could be summed us as, “my philosophy of life”.
I do not follow any religion and do not believe in a “god” who created everything, knows everything, and commands every aspect of our lives. I do think there have been some amazing men (we know them mostly as “prophets”) who have divulged many wisdoms to the human race, and who I respect. Jesus, Muhammad, Gautama Buddha, among many others. All of them taught that we should love one another. Most religions seem to me to be based on loving everyone who follows that particular religion but excluding from love anyone who does not follow that religion. This just cannot be right. I respect everyone’s right to follow any religion, as long as they respect everyone else’s right to follow any other religion, or no religion at all.
I once asked a great friend of mine, who is a minister in a Californian church but with whom I never discuss religion (we are usually too busy having fun), how he would define good and evil. He told me that good is always created out of love, and evil is what happens when there is a total lack of love. Love is hard to define, but you always know when you are giving it or receiving it, and the feeling is wonderful. Give it as often as you can and be opening to receive it whenever it is offered.
I have always wanted to be treated as equal to anyone else. By the same token, I must grant equality to everyone else, regardless of sex, race, skin colour, sexual orientation or any other differences that make up our varied and wonderful species. In Greece, I found that. Here people tend to look at other people in the eyes and sum them up based on what they see there, rather than on what they wear, or if they appear to be rich or poor, and all the other superficial judgments we make about people based on prejudice or class. The Greeks have a word, “Philotimo”, which is almost impossible to translate, but which is a combination of honour, dignity, true sense of self-worth, and face (as defined by Chinese thinking). If someone is defined as having philotimo, that is probably the highest honour that can be given by the Greek society. It is something worth striving for.
I have always loved learning, and always struggled against being taught (in the sense of schooling and learning by rote certain subjects at certain times of the day). Curiosity is what drives us to learn and what takes the human species (mostly) forward. Most schools kill (or at least, stifle) curiosity, as it doesn’t make for great exam results and might even (gods forbid) make classes slightly disruptive! I started my real education the day I left school (at the tender age of 15) and have been learning ever since. I ask questions, and I listen to people. Many people have taught me many things, and have my gratitude for that, but I learned lots of things by just doing them, making mistakes, acknowledging my mistakes, researching why I made the mistakes, and then getting it right (sometimes after several attempts!). They say you have to build 3 houses to get one right, well, I have built 5, and am still not sure that I have it absolutely right! I love criticism, as long as it is positive criticism and points me in a better direction. Negative criticism is just that, negative! I hope that I learn something new on the last day of my life. Maybe that thing will be what happens after death – who knows? The Internet has proved to be a great tool for learning as you can find answers to almost any question out there. Of course, you have to sift the answers to find out what is true, and what is propaganda. Like all tools, it can be used well or badly. A hammer can help you build a house, but it can also be used to kill someone! The Internet can bring people together by making communication a lot easier, but it can also separate people by allowing users to anonymously abuse others. Learning also requires discarding older beliefs, once you have discovered that they are only beliefs, and not based in fact. Of course, it is not possible to prove every fact, but as one gains knowledge (& hopefully, wisdom) it becomes easier to sift the truth from the false beliefs.
We were Hippies when we came to Skiathos. In many ways, we are still Hippies now. We grew up in the “permissive” 60’s, although those years were not much more permissive than nowadays. It was just that there were some radical changes, and a belief that one could achieve whatever you decided to do. The main change was “The Pill” which liberated women from the fear of an unwanted pregnancy, and co-incidentally, liberated men as well. Therefore, sex could be indulged in happily and was no longer a dirty or “smutty” word, designed to make people feel bad about it. Hippies were put down as “wasters” who were only interested in “sex & drugs & rock ‘n roll” (and of course we were interested in those things, they were fun!). But major aspects of the Hippie “philosophy” were sharing and caring. We shared everything from joints, to crash pads, to partners, to push bikes, to money. It was a fairly egalitarian society and as such, was frowned upon and undermined by “the system” which only wants willing wage slaves to keep the money rolling into the coffers of the fat cats. While we are not going to invite all and sundry to share our life in Zorbathes, we will share as much as possible with people who love to be here. We have many friends who come to stay with us, enjoy days out on the boat, enjoy walking to the northside beaches, and enjoy sharing food and drink and good conversation. We are always open to making new friends as well. We don’t waste our (precious) time on negative people. Let them be negative elsewhere.
Our family is European. None of us lives in the country we were born in. We all speak 3 languages (Mara and Lida speak 4) and Zoi, Mara and I have dual British and Dutch nationality. Only Lida is just Dutch (although her mother was Hungarian). We are proud to be European, living in several European countries. We love the mix of cultures, and the fact that we are all one people, while celebrating our differences; culturally, culinary, linguistically, and temperamentally.
One huge factor in the path we chose, which allowed us the freedom to have a choice, was that we never got into debt. A couple of times we borrowed small amounts from a bank, but we already had the money available, and paid off the loans within months. It was just expedient to take a loan at the time. Debt is what enslaves people. By getting into debt, you have sold your future and tied yourself into a system controlled by banks. Believe me, banks are not controlling it for your benefit, only for theirs! We have been lucky (that word again) in that we received some injections of capital through inheritance, which certainly helped us create our properties in Zorbathes, and allowed us some financial freedom. The downside was that we lost people we loved dearly. However, even when building our houses, we only spent money we had, never money we didn’t have. We also invested what money we inherited or earned in property, never speculative ventures like stock markets or other forms of gambling. I did invest in some crypto currency (which by chance, proved very lucrative), but not to “make” money, just because I think it is the form of exchange that will be used in the future and want to support that.

Love and receive love, as much as possible. Look for what you can share with everyone you meet (and we all have many things in common). Don’t look for what you could dislike in someone you meet. There are many people in this world who will not become good friends, but you will make less enemies if you find what you can share together. And each of us shares a lot; the need for love, the search for happiness and/or contentment, the hope to make life better for our children and the next generations, the wish to become a better person, a good laugh, a smile.