To be or not to be have always been the ultimate decision.
Be attentive
We pay attention to the data of our experience and our consciousness. This is where curiosity begins, and where we gather the materials for insight. As we go through further steps in the transcendental method, we may have to come back here to double-check or reexamine our data.
Be intelligent
To be intelligent means first of all to let the questions arise from within one’s natural wonder and curiosity,
These questions often take the form, “what is it?” We mustn’t engage in obscurantism, which is the shutting down or limiting of questions. To limit questioning limits our natural desire to know, and interferes with the pursuit of truth.
Be Reasonably Responsible
There are questions to be asked here, too, but these take the deeper form necessary to prepare us for judgment. As opposed to the question “what is it?,” questions oriented around reasonableness sound more like “is it so?” This approach helps us avoid rash judgments and allows us to more deeply scrutinize the data of our experience. We come now to the point where it’s time to do something with the knowledge we’ve developed. To be responsible pertains to the proper implementation of knowledge.
If we’ve been truly attentive, intelligent, and reasonable all this time, the chances are that we will be able to take action in a way that reflects the good.
Be in love
Being-in-love means caring for our lifelong partner, those in our families and communities, those to whom we are committed, even those we find difficult. But these loves point to a broader idea, an ultimate ground of being in love in an unrestricted manner, or the love of transcendent value.