well you see it's like this

Well, you see, it's like this. First you have to become aware that, in addition to the ever present information from all the various and continuous formings of the basic everyday elements of earth, air, fire, and water, people who think have been writing about this stuff for centuries. You read the writings of one, or maybe just excerpts to start, digest it, put it with whatever you have already come up with. Then you read the thinking trail left by another person giving their best and most sincere shot on the meaning of being a human. Let that ricochet and bounce around on the previous accumulation, go to another, and so on. Eventually you find yourself going outside your culture to see what thinking folk in other cultures have made of the world and the cosmos. You get lost. You backtrack. You circle around. And, this is important now, so listen up, you take it all personally. It's not just abstract fluff in your head like you are studying for an exam and looking to dump your load at the earliest opportunity. No, you become what you know. Along the way, you don't abandon the world that folk who don't want to think too much live in. You learn how to drive truck, slam tequilas, kick ass, cook good food, dance, and all that other physical-social stuff that is so highly esteemed. This goes on for several decades or so and almost before you know it, you have become a philosopher.