What makes you puke?

[Dontaskme]

Overeating makes me puke.

[Greta]

Metaphorically: our (including me) inability to stay grounded in reality or, if drifting into the mental world, to use the imagination positively.

DAM, please pardon me if I use your thread to get something off my chest. I look at this forum and see a gaggle of nobodies pointlessly trying to tear each other down. The hostility, anger, fragility, misrepresentations and quickness to freak out over nothing continues to amaze me. I don't even know why I am here. I suspect it's ghoulishness, like watching the aftermath of a car crash. Or a character-building exercise.

It's as though most here are little tinderboxes ready to blow, seemingly reflective of the US's deteriorating mood in recent years. What makes me metaphorically puke most is the frustration of finding myself responding negatively to someone else's negativity - that even at my age experience I have not yet grown enough to not let silly bullshit affect me. Duh.

It's difficult to maintain high spirits when so many around you are struggling, miserable or full of anger - locally, online, all of the news, our increasingly irrational, corrupt and myopic polity etc.

Yet this is madness. Even if our situation is deteriorating (and yes, there are immediate issues on both individual and social scales) most of us still live in some of the best and safest conditions experienced by human beings in history. Most of human history was truly awful - short lives, high infant mortality, predators, parasites, sacrifices and so on. The take home message is that, generally, life sucks enormously and it's amazing that we humans have managed to eke out relatively gentle existences for themselves at all, even if the gentleness is seemingly short-lived and never managed to quite go global (at this stage).

The histories of the universe and Earth that we've learned about so far suggest that reality over time becomes more complex, sophisticated and interesting, so even our demise will probably lead to something better than us. Hopefully whatever replaces humankind will make even better and more sustainable lives for themselves.

Even the fact that people are becoming increasingly negative, anxious and depressed might play into this process somehow, being necessary to bring about much-needed significant global change. Those who are content and relaxed in life have something to lose and are less likely to make waves than those feeling a sense of loss.

// end rant. Ahhh :) Sorry for babbling on.

[Dontaskme]

Metaphorically: our (including me) inability to stay grounded in reality or, if drifting into the mental world, to use the imagination positively.

DAM, please pardon me if I use your thread to get something off my chest. I look at this forum and see a gaggle of nobodies pointlessly trying to tear each other down. The hostility, anger, fragility, misrepresentations and quickness to freak out over nothing continues to amaze me. I don't even know why I am here. I suspect it's ghoulishness, like watching the aftermath of a car crash. Or a character-building exercise.

It's as though most here are little tinderboxes ready to blow, seemingly reflective of the US's deteriorating mood in recent years. What makes me metaphorically puke most is the frustration of finding myself responding negatively to someone else's negativity - that even at my age experience I have not yet grown enough to not let silly bullshit affect me. Duh.

It's difficult to maintain high spirits when so many around you are struggling, miserable or full of anger - locally, online, all of the news, our increasingly irrational, corrupt and myopic polity etc.

Yet this is madness. Even if our situation is deteriorating (and yes, there are immediate issues on both individual and social scales) most of us still live in some of the best and safest conditions experienced by human beings in history. Most of human history was truly awful - short lives, high infant mortality, predators, parasites, sacrifices and so on. The take home message is that, generally, life sucks enormously and it's amazing that we humans have managed to eke out relatively gentle existences for themselves at all, even if the gentleness is seemingly short-lived and never managed to quite go global (at this stage).

The histories of the universe and Earth that we've learned about so far suggest that reality over time becomes more complex, sophisticated and interesting, so even our demise will probably lead to something better than us. Hopefully whatever replaces humankind will make even better and more sustainable lives for themselves.

Even the fact that people are becoming increasingly negative, anxious and depressed might play into this process somehow, being necessary to bring about much-needed significant global change. Those who are content and relaxed in life have something to lose and are less likely to make waves than those feeling a sense of loss.

// end rant. Ahhh Sorry for babbling on.

I hear you Greta. I could have written this myself... It's very poignant what you've addressed here, and I agree with everything you've said.

Please remember, what doesn't kill you make you stronger, your strength of character will grow and grow...never give in to the Bric-brats by lowering yourself to their level,we are strong women today Greta, and I'm deeply sorry if I've ever been mean to you here. I believe people are walking around in a sort of quiet desperation these days.Not knowing what's going to happen next, it's very scary the climate of fear is growing. We unleash our fears and unwanted emotional garbage off over the internet at complete strangers, because it's an easy dumping ground where no one knows anybody else, so it's not going to matter that much what I say or who gets hurt ..
Within you Greta there is a free spirit that refuses to be defined by social stereotypes that's why you are here..never give up on your search for truth.You are part of a revolution happening on this planet. It's a revolution of love triumphing over fear, of creativity over the same-old same-old, of individuality instead of toeing the line, of creating new consciousness even if it means breaking old rules.

I love you Greta. You are always loved and safe. Trust your inner guide. I can see your heart.

[commonsense]

I liked reading your post, G. Thanks for mentioning many of my own metaphorically nauseating complaints about negativity. I also liked your post because your babbling (your phrase, not mine) raised an intriguing question hidden near the end of your post, one that will require the use of positive imagination: when something better replaces humankind, what will it look like? Will it be an entity that creates sustainable living just by not doing everything that humankind does now? Will it be a society comprised entirely of beings that are relaxed and contented? Will it have some type of universal formula for hope? What obstacles might lie in its path to some kind of enlightenment? How might this replacement thing handle those hazards? What exactly would happen to hostility and anxiety? Would these replacement beings eventually wear out and need to be replaced by something else?

P.S. Overeating makes me bloat.

[thedoc]

what doesn't kill you make you stronger,

Bull Shit, that is just an excuse for stupid people to survive doing stupid things. You get stronger by resisting the urge to do stupid things.

[vegetariantaxidermy]

what doesn't kill you make you stronger,

Bull Shit, that is just an excuse for stupid people to survive doing stupid things. You get stronger by resisting the urge to do stupid things.

I agree. I've always thought that was a particularly stupid expression.

[Greta]

Metaphorically: our (including me) inability to stay grounded in reality or, if drifting into the mental world, to use the imagination positively.

DAM, please pardon me if I use your thread to get something off my chest. I look at this forum and see a gaggle of nobodies pointlessly trying to tear each other down. The hostility, anger, fragility, misrepresentations and quickness to freak out over nothing continues to amaze me. I don't even know why I am here. I suspect it's ghoulishness, like watching the aftermath of a car crash. Or a character-building exercise.

It's as though most here are little tinderboxes ready to blow, seemingly reflective of the US's deteriorating mood in recent years. What makes me metaphorically puke most is the frustration of finding myself responding negatively to someone else's negativity - that even at my age experience I have not yet grown enough to not let silly bullshit affect me. Duh.

It's difficult to maintain high spirits when so many around you are struggling, miserable or full of anger - locally, online, all of the news, our increasingly irrational, corrupt and myopic polity etc.

Yet this is madness. Even if our situation is deteriorating (and yes, there are immediate issues on both individual and social scales) most of us still live in some of the best and safest conditions experienced by human beings in history. Most of human history was truly awful - short lives, high infant mortality, predators, parasites, sacrifices and so on. The take home message is that, generally, life sucks enormously and it's amazing that we humans have managed to eke out relatively gentle existences for themselves at all, even if the gentleness is seemingly short-lived and never managed to quite go global (at this stage).

The histories of the universe and Earth that we've learned about so far suggest that reality over time becomes more complex, sophisticated and interesting, so even our demise will probably lead to something better than us. Hopefully whatever replaces humankind will make even better and more sustainable lives for themselves.

Even the fact that people are becoming increasingly negative, anxious and depressed might play into this process somehow, being necessary to bring about much-needed significant global change. Those who are content and relaxed in life have something to lose and are less likely to make waves than those feeling a sense of loss.

// end rant. Ahhh :) Sorry for babbling on.

I hear you Greta. I could have written this myself... It's very poignant what you've addressed here, and I agree with everything you've said.

Please remember, what doesn't kill you make you stronger, your strength of character will grow and grow...never give in to the Bric-brats by lowering yourself to their level,we are strong women today Greta, and I'm deeply sorry if I've ever been mean to you here. I believe people are walking around in a sort of quiet desperation these days.Not knowing what's going to happen next, it's very scary the climate of fear is growing. We unleash our fears and unwanted emotional garbage off over the internet at complete strangers, because it's an easy dumping ground where no one knows anybody else, so it's not going to matter that much what I say or who gets hurt ..
Within you Greta there is a free spirit that refuses to be defined by social stereotypes that's why you are here..never give up on your search for truth.You are part of a revolution happening on this planet. It's a revolution of love triumphing over fear, of creativity over the same-old same-old, of individuality instead of toeing the line, of creating new consciousness even if it means breaking old rules.

Yep, there is a dynamic going on ATM that I find saddening on a personal level but fascinating in a David Attenborough-ish way. Is it a good thing that people have this outlet or is the outlet just feeding back and whipping them up more? Studies in psychology suggest the latter.

No need for apologies. I've given you plenty too. All rather silly and pointless to snipe in hindsight but what the heck :)

I think the missing piece for many is gratitude, logically because it's hard to count one's blessings when one's privileged modern lifestyles are declining. It's also hard to be grateful for basics like having a roof over your head or running water when others around you lead opulent lives with all the latest and greatest stuff, especially so when one's status is so often related to some extent to materialist display behaviour - how we dress, our suburb, our home, garden and car, etc.

I find it liberating to ignore humans' inwardness and focus more on humanity's evolution and roles on the broader stage of the Earth. To step back from the hurly burly and seek meaning in broader perspectives.

The more I look at the layers of reality from subatomic particles to the movement of Laniakea, the whole edifice looks like "turtles all the way down". That is, no matter what the scale of reality, there's always the same dynamics - aggregation, emergence, dissolution, and reforming. What's the point? Over and over it happens, with the result being ever more complex emergences with ever larger voids between them.

Each layer - from atoms in molecules, to molecules in cells, cells in bodies, people in societies, etc to stars in galaxies - appears to have a "purpose" of serving the "higher" layer. Note that at our scale this is the POV of the higher layer. Rather convenient, hmm.

In truth, there is constant conflict of interest - with higher level entities controlling and harnessing their constituent, with the latter always "trying to make a break for freedom". In less anthropomorphic terms, unless they are controlled, constituent entities will normally tend to either push away from, or not react to, controlling entities. A good example of the relationship is seen in death, where our gut microbes consume our bodies (since there's no more other food to eat). If we are not strong enough to control our constituents then they will consume us; our microbes obviously only help us because they are captive, not because they give a damn about us :)

So in this way, nature seems to basically consist of countless overlapping systems, each a relatively uneasy balancing acts, generally existing on the precipice of annihilation. All of these precarious systems are destined to eventually fall into disequilibrium and feed whatever systems that remain.

Sorry, babbling again :)

[ken]

Overeating makes me puke.

Do you like puking?

If not, then why do you continue to overeat?

[ForCruxSake]

Metaphorically: our (including me) inability to stay grounded in reality or, if drifting into the mental world, to use the imagination positively.

DAM, please pardon me if I use your thread to get something off my chest. I look at this forum and see a gaggle of nobodies pointlessly trying to tear each other down. The hostility, anger, fragility, misrepresentations and quickness to freak out over nothing continues to amaze me. I don't even know why I am here. I suspect it's ghoulishness, like watching the aftermath of a car crash. Or a character-building exercise.

It's as though most here are little tinderboxes ready to blow, seemingly reflective of the US's deteriorating mood in recent years. What makes me metaphorically puke most is the frustration of finding myself responding negatively to someone else's negativity - that even at my age experience I have not yet grown enough to not let silly bullshit affect me. Duh.

It's difficult to maintain high spirits when so many around you are struggling, miserable or full of anger - locally, online, all of the news, our increasingly irrational, corrupt and myopic polity etc.

Yet this is madness. Even if our situation is deteriorating (and yes, there are immediate issues on both individual and social scales) most of us still live in some of the best and safest conditions experienced by human beings in history. Most of human history was truly awful - short lives, high infant mortality, predators, parasites, sacrifices and so on. The take home message is that, generally, life sucks enormously and it's amazing that we humans have managed to eke out relatively gentle existences for themselves at all, even if the gentleness is seemingly short-lived and never managed to quite go global (at this stage).

The histories of the universe and Earth that we've learned about so far suggest that reality over time becomes more complex, sophisticated and interesting, so even our demise will probably lead to something better than us. Hopefully whatever replaces humankind will make even better and more sustainable lives for themselves.

Even the fact that people are becoming increasingly negative, anxious and depressed might play into this process somehow, being necessary to bring about much-needed significant global change. Those who are content and relaxed in life have something to lose and are less likely to make waves than those feeling a sense of loss.

// end rant. Ahhh Sorry for babbling on.

You have no idea how pertinent this is.*
Like coming across a sandwich, with your name on it, when you're hungry. Thank you.

*Or maybe you do. You did, after all, write it.

[WendyDarling]

Spinning in circles, smog, and an overactive gag reflex.

[Greta]

Metaphorically: our (including me) inability to stay grounded in reality or, if drifting into the mental world, to use the imagination positively.

DAM, please pardon me if I use your thread to get something off my chest. I look at this forum and see a gaggle of nobodies pointlessly trying to tear each other down. The hostility, anger, fragility, misrepresentations and quickness to freak out over nothing continues to amaze me. I don't even know why I am here. I suspect it's ghoulishness, like watching the aftermath of a car crash. Or a character-building exercise.

It's as though most here are little tinderboxes ready to blow, seemingly reflective of the US's deteriorating mood in recent years. What makes me metaphorically puke most is the frustration of finding myself responding negatively to someone else's negativity - that even at my age experience I have not yet grown enough to not let silly bullshit affect me. Duh.

It's difficult to maintain high spirits when so many around you are struggling, miserable or full of anger - locally, online, all of the news, our increasingly irrational, corrupt and myopic polity etc.

Yet this is madness. Even if our situation is deteriorating (and yes, there are immediate issues on both individual and social scales) most of us still live in some of the best and safest conditions experienced by human beings in history. Most of human history was truly awful - short lives, high infant mortality, predators, parasites, sacrifices and so on. The take home message is that, generally, life sucks enormously and it's amazing that we humans have managed to eke out relatively gentle existences for themselves at all, even if the gentleness is seemingly short-lived and never managed to quite go global (at this stage).

The histories of the universe and Earth that we've learned about so far suggest that reality over time becomes more complex, sophisticated and interesting, so even our demise will probably lead to something better than us. Hopefully whatever replaces humankind will make even better and more sustainable lives for themselves.

Even the fact that people are becoming increasingly negative, anxious and depressed might play into this process somehow, being necessary to bring about much-needed significant global change. Those who are content and relaxed in life have something to lose and are less likely to make waves than those feeling a sense of loss.

// end rant. Ahhh :) Sorry for babbling on.

You have no idea how pertinent this is.*
Like coming across a sandwich, with your name on it, when you're hungry. Thank you. :)

*Or maybe you do. You did, after all, write it.

Cheers, I'm glad it resonated. I'd have been surprised if at least some others didn't feel similarly. The discontent is hard to miss!

You expect competition for influence in the meme pool, but the intensity is increasingly disproportionate IMO. Most of the stuff we talk about isn't as important as paying bills, maintaining health and relationships, being mindful of consumption, and other vital practical everyday things, it's just more interesting. And that's why I am here :)

[Dontaskme]

what doesn't kill you make you stronger,

Bull Shit, that is just an excuse for stupid people to survive doing stupid things. You get stronger by resisting the urge to do stupid things.

I agree. I've always thought that was a particularly stupid expression.

Well I'm guessing that's what makes you puke, listening to other peoples stupid clichés.

Stupid is as stupid does....

Ooops, there's goes another one.

[vegetariantaxidermy]

Bull Shit, that is just an excuse for stupid people to survive doing stupid things. You get stronger by resisting the urge to do stupid things.

I agree. I've always thought that was a particularly stupid expression.

Well I'm guessing that's what makes you puke, listening to other peoples stupid clichés.

Stupid is as stupid does....

Ooops, there's goes another one.

It doesn't make me puke. I can't remember the last time I puked. I must have a strong stomach.

[Dontaskme]

In truth, there is constant conflict of interest - with higher level entities controlling and harnessing their constituent, with the latter always "trying to make a break for freedom". In less anthropomorphic terms, unless they are controlled, constituent entities will normally tend to either push away from, or not react to, controlling entities. A good example of the relationship is seen in death, where our gut microbes consume our bodies (since there's no more other food to eat). If we are not strong enough to control our constituents then they will consume us; our microbes obviously only help us because they are captive, not because they give a damn about us

So in this way, nature seems to basically consist of countless overlapping systems, each a relatively uneasy balancing acts, generally existing on the precipice of annihilation. All of these precarious systems are destined to eventually fall into disequilibrium and feed whatever systems that remain.

Thanks for your comments.

Your comment that nature seems to basically consist of countless overlapping systems is true in the sense that there are multiple other living organisms that are also competing for their position in the same game of life, it's like they want to succeed at life as well and will continue to fight by resisting any human intervention by building up their own resistant strategies making them stronger and more resilient than they were before. These organisms don't seem to have a mind comparable to that of a human, but they must have some level of conscious mind for them to be surviving and evolving the way they do.
Lets not forget that life feeds off life, and life cannot come from none life,life is basically eating itself to death, and that humans too are rotting, decaying, dying creatures in the same moment they are living, we are dying as we are living, we take, take, take from our host, our mother earth who birthed us, and we do this with no moral regard for her efforts to sustain us....this to me is selfish vanity. . . some of us do feel an overwhelming gratitude for our natural mother earth, while others don't, this is what we do to our sustainer of our life > >.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zyizEz9XUs

Is human sentient mind as good as it's ever going to get, or are we the custodial keepers of a higher mind that has overall absolute power and control of life?....if not the latter then what is it that makes us different from the rest of natures wild animals, where did we get our conscience from? if there's no higher order? why bother caring about anything, if we're all just going to end up in the fertilizer pit at the end of our meaningless life?


.

[Dontaskme]

Overeating makes me puke.

Do you like puking?

If not, then why do you continue to overeat?

I don't overeat because I know it makes me puke, so I have to be careful not to take in too much food at one time, my stomach is overly sensitive.

Lots of people do overeat. Evidenced in the ever increasing rise of not just average weigh gain but to the proportionate state of morbid obesity. I'm wondering why they do this...are they genuinely constantly hungry all the time, or is there some underlying problem they are not able to deal with?

Also, food is so cheap, especially junk food. Here in the UK ..you can buy 5 jam doughnuts for 50p..or spend up to a £1 for a decent branded banana, apple or orange. ...also, there is all the buy one get one free offers that are tempting us to overeat. There is much more choice of foods today to the point of too much choice. I see in the world a lot of people who are literally eating and drinking themselves to death with no appearent care for their health, or showing the capacity to adopt some kind of self control. Food has also become readily available 24/7 in conveniently wrapped lunch to go packets. No one seems to have any time to cook a decent nutritious meal for themselves anymore. Too busy working for money to buy more food and more stuff they don't need or want. Oh the stress of modern day living, call this progress, send my back to the Victorian age any day.

.