Love, joy, humour, creativity, optimism and gratitude

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Greta
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Love, joy, humour, creativity, optimism and gratitude

Post by Greta »

Why do we forumites so often speak about the negative than the positive?

Is this because, it things are going well, then it's best to leave it alone and not talk about it? Nothing to resolve. Not much to say. Everyone agrees, move on.

Or is the negativity because things that worry us have potentially a greater consequence (death) more than good things can comfort us?

Sure, some chronically negative posting comes from seeking the stimulation of a fight. C'est la vie.

Is it that there's just a lot of lonely and/or unhappy people stalking the web in search of connections?

How much scope is there for philosophy forums to be uplifting? Or is that, like the news, the slant will always tend towards the negative for the above and other reasons?

How positive are you about yourself, life, existence generally? What uplifts you and what brings you down?
thedoc
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Re: Love, joy, humour, creativity, optimism and gratitude

Post by thedoc »

I live in the woods so when I need uplift I just go outside and sit on my deck. When I get on a forum there is a lot of negativity, but I don't know why, except that there are a lot of unhappy people who seem to want to reinforce their misery.

Perhaps it's like any other affliction, if you make everyone else feel miserable just like you, it makes it seem more normal.
Philosophy Explorer
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Re: Love, joy, humour, creativity, optimism and gratitude

Post by Philosophy Explorer »

Greta wrote: Wed Jul 05, 2017 1:02 am Why do we forumites so often speak about the negative than the positive?

Is this because, it things are going well, then it's best to leave it alone and not talk about it? Nothing to resolve. Not much to say. Everyone agrees, move on.

Or is the negativity because things that worry us have potentially a greater consequence (death) more than good things can comfort us?

Sure, some chronically negative posting comes from seeking the stimulation of a fight. C'est la vie.

Is it that there's just a lot of lonely and/or unhappy people stalking the web in search of connections?

How much scope is there for philosophy forums to be uplifting? Or is that, like the news, the slant will always tend towards the negative for the above and other reasons?

How positive are you about yourself, life, existence generally? What uplifts you and what brings you down?
Bad news sells.

PhilX
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Greta
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Re: Love, joy, humour, creativity, optimism and gratitude

Post by Greta »

thedoc wrote: Wed Jul 05, 2017 2:02 am I live in the woods so when I need uplift I just go outside and sit on my deck.
Yes, nature does it for me too. If it's not totally clear or cloudy, looking at the beauty of the sky tends to make me feel good. Trees, animals, even seeing pleasant, gentle interactions between humans walking their dogs or whatever.

So often it seems that people are just no damn good, but what I see for the most part are people who simply wish to lead peaceful lives and who are, for the most part, quite nice. Even the damned conservative voters in my local area seem like pretty nice and decent people :lol:

I think the problem is not people, but over-intensive contact with people. As with food, not enough human contact leaves us wanting and too much leaves us nauseated. Yet the desire to be peacefully alone is increasingly being pathologised today. As a result, people feel pressured to stay connected and feel status anxiety when disconnected for too long. Many don't want to be thought of as a Nigella or Nigel No-Friends.

In the past, retreating was respected. It was seen for what it was, an attempt to more deeply understand life. Now it's seen as social anxiety and depression. By the same token, eccentricity is pathologised, with conformity increasingly expected. From a big picture perspective, large societal systems are forming and bringing its errant "cells" in line.

I am all for creating greater organisation and structure when populations grow, but I'd sooner do as I please and fly under the radar. If others are increasingly finding conformism attractive, that doesn't suit me, but major changes rarely favour older generations accustomed to different ways of doing things. I think this latter aspect brings people down. I think the issue is resentment of the billionaires, politicians, corporate lawyers, accountants and major stockholders who create our problems (while usually naively just blaming politicians).

I resent the exploitation much less these days than before. I now see the exploiters and their humanitarian and environmentalist opponents as part of the Earth's and humanity's changing structures.
duszek
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Re: Love, joy, humour, creativity, optimism and gratitude

Post by duszek »

Only recently I attended a poets´meeting, the members being generation y (apart from me).
It was an atmosphere of candy. Nobody inclined to criticise, everybody beating about the bush, using lots of words to say as little as possible.

It was cute. I went home in a wonderful mood.

Peaceful coexistence without actually talking to each other can be just right.
You feel the presence of people, you feel in harmony with them.

How to put oneself in such a positive mood that one contributes to a general atmosphere of peacefulness ?
I repeat phrases from a French novel, I could move on to a guide to Husserl.
You peak into a book, smile and feel good.
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Hobbes' Choice
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Re: Love, joy, humour, creativity, optimism and gratitude

Post by Hobbes' Choice »

Greta wrote: Wed Jul 05, 2017 1:02 am Why do we forumites so often speak about the negative than the positive?

Is this because, it things are going well, then it's best to leave it alone and not talk about it? Nothing to resolve. Not much to say. Everyone agrees, move on.

Or is the negativity because things that worry us have potentially a greater consequence (death) more than good things can comfort us?

Sure, some chronically negative posting comes from seeking the stimulation of a fight. C'est la vie.

Is it that there's just a lot of lonely and/or unhappy people stalking the web in search of connections?

How much scope is there for philosophy forums to be uplifting? Or is that, like the news, the slant will always tend towards the negative for the above and other reasons?

How positive are you about yourself, life, existence generally? What uplifts you and what brings you down?
A beautiful, creative woman, bought me a bottle of wine today, for all my "help" and "inspiration" for assisting her to create some beautiful sculptural creations over the last 6 months.

I am easily able to say this because I have been absent from this Forum for most of that time. Maybe if I had continued to be a regular contributor I'd have hidden away that pleasant fact from those that would pour scorn on it.
marjoram_blues
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Re: Love, joy, humour, creativity, optimism and gratitude

Post by marjoram_blues »

Greta wrote: Wed Jul 05, 2017 1:02 am Why do we forumites so often speak about the negative than the positive?

Is this because, it things are going well, then it's best to leave it alone and not talk about it? Nothing to resolve. Not much to say. Everyone agrees, move on.

Or is the negativity because things that worry us have potentially a greater consequence (death) more than good things can comfort us?

Sure, some chronically negative posting comes from seeking the stimulation of a fight. C'est la vie.

Is it that there's just a lot of lonely and/or unhappy people stalking the web in search of connections?

How much scope is there for philosophy forums to be uplifting? Or is that, like the news, the slant will always tend towards the negative for the above and other reasons?

How positive are you about yourself, life, existence generally? What uplifts you and what brings you down?
Oh. I don't know if I like being called a 'forumite' - sounds a bit small and nasty. Oooops, is that a tad too negative ? I also don't know if what is spoken about is 'negative' - the content might be disagreeable from a certain perspective and can raise the hackles - but it allows discussion. Perhaps with a view to changing minds...moving hearts, uplifting souls.

I agree that the PN forum can be used to express personal aspects of life which are more troublesome than joyful. And that can be seen as irrelevant and negative by some. It kinda depends on what you see 'philosophy' as...I suppose.

The nature of philosophy - and the study of it - I think can make for some challenging 'fights'; the views, counter-arguments, replies and sometimes even some kind of a resolution. Even if it's to agree to disagree.
I wonder if it makes people more inclined to cherry pick some parts of a post and focus on some kind of a 'correction'. So, rather than start off with a positive 'fair/good/excellent points' - any useful and thoughtful content is omitted in a reply; the focus being on the negative. But even that can help - so sometimes there can be gratitude for that, even if not expressed. And the fact that someone has taken the time and energy to respond to one's thoughts is, of course, fantastic. And so, it is a 'connection' by 'correction'.

I don't know if it is the aim of the PN forum, in particular, to be uplifting - or to slant towards the negative. See headline.
How any discussion takes place can be mood-altering; also, the content and aim of the poster. There can be both positive and negative elements.
It is what the posters make of it.

Uplifting moments, recently, have been in talking to and meeting friends; walks; and sometimes even being on here. Oh, and eating ice-cream.
Downbringing moments - tragic news. Various personal loss. But recognised as part and parcel. Life goes on...

Hope this helps...
Walker
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Re: Love, joy, humour, creativity, optimism and gratitude

Post by Walker »

Hobbes' Choice wrote: Thu Jul 06, 2017 11:48 pm A beautiful, creative woman, bought me a bottle of wine today, for all my "help" and "inspiration" for assisting her to create some beautiful sculptural creations over the last 6 months.

I am easily able to say this because I have been absent from this Forum for most of that time. Maybe if I had continued to be a regular contributor I'd have hidden away that pleasant fact from those that would pour scorn on it.
Courage, Hobbes.

Would you kindly post a picture of your work again? Amazing talent.

Yesterday I happened upon wild vultures devouring a deer by the road. Twenty to thirty of them. What a sight. A fact-of-life with implications, but not discussed everywhere.
duszek
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Re: Love, joy, humour, creativity, optimism and gratitude

Post by duszek »

In certain cultures like in Tibet the dead bodies of humans are given to vultures instead of burying them.

Is it preferable to be eaten by worms or by vultures ? After one dies.
Walker
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Re: Love, joy, humour, creativity, optimism and gratitude

Post by Walker »

Yes, the sky burial. First the bodies are chopped up with long knives and left on the rocks. Talk about your non-attachment.

Burning a body dissipates all that energy collected from the sun that is form, into the atmosphere, all at once. Even sky burial joins the body to the earth more directly. Tibetan customs let a lot of time pass before taking action. What's the rush other than the modern need for speedy closure.
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Greta
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Re: Love, joy, humour, creativity, optimism and gratitude

Post by Greta »

Hobbes' Choice wrote: Thu Jul 06, 2017 11:48 pm
Greta wrote: Wed Jul 05, 2017 1:02 am Why do we forumites so often speak about the negative than the positive?

Is this because, it things are going well, then it's best to leave it alone and not talk about it? Nothing to resolve. Not much to say. Everyone agrees, move on.

Or is the negativity because things that worry us have potentially a greater consequence (death) more than good things can comfort us?

Sure, some chronically negative posting comes from seeking the stimulation of a fight. C'est la vie.

Is it that there's just a lot of lonely and/or unhappy people stalking the web in search of connections?

How much scope is there for philosophy forums to be uplifting? Or is that, like the news, the slant will always tend towards the negative for the above and other reasons?

How positive are you about yourself, life, existence generally? What uplifts you and what brings you down?
A beautiful, creative woman, bought me a bottle of wine today, for all my "help" and "inspiration" for assisting her to create some beautiful sculptural creations over the last 6 months.

I am easily able to say this because I have been absent from this Forum for most of that time. Maybe if I had continued to be a regular contributor I'd have hidden away that pleasant fact from those that would pour scorn on it.
That sounds like a more positive use of time. I stopped posting my music here because it started getting too many "dislikes", which had not happened before when I presented the music to others.

Aside from that, I consider the forum with its current crop of "expert haters" a less safe place than even FB to present one's vulnerabilities and things close to our hearts.
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Greta
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Re: Love, joy, humour, creativity, optimism and gratitude

Post by Greta »

Walker wrote: Mon Jul 10, 2017 6:02 pmYes, the sky burial. First the bodies are chopped up with long knives and left on the rocks. Talk about your non-attachment.

Burning a body dissipates all that energy collected from the sun that is form, into the atmosphere, all at once. Even sky burial joins the body to the earth more directly. Tibetan customs let a lot of time pass before taking action. What's the rush other than the modern need for speedy closure.
We can't leave bodies lying around. Just in the US there's 7,000 people every day have their date facing The Reaper (the number is 151k worldwide). That's a lot of food for dangerous bacteria lying out in the open.

Also, what happens to the matter of our bodies does not matter. After all, we don't worry about the matter that we excrete and slew off daily. The only cells that remain in you from your birth are some brain neurons and, even then, the matter doesn't matter [sic] nearly as much as the configuration. No matter which way we dispose of bodies, almost all of the stuff will end up as part of the Earth anyway and, ultimately, an extension of the Sun.
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Hobbes' Choice
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Re: Love, joy, humour, creativity, optimism and gratitude

Post by Hobbes' Choice »

Walker wrote: Mon Jul 10, 2017 8:58 am
Hobbes' Choice wrote: Thu Jul 06, 2017 11:48 pm A beautiful, creative woman, bought me a bottle of wine today, for all my "help" and "inspiration" for assisting her to create some beautiful sculptural creations over the last 6 months.

I am easily able to say this because I have been absent from this Forum for most of that time. Maybe if I had continued to be a regular contributor I'd have hidden away that pleasant fact from those that would pour scorn on it.
Courage, Hobbes.

Would you kindly post a picture of your work again? Amazing talent.

Yesterday I happened upon wild vultures devouring a deer by the road. Twenty to thirty of them. What a sight. A fact-of-life with implications, but not discussed everywhere.
Seems like you observed a metaphor for PhilNow, except that the deer that needs devouring, like Bob & Bill are too unpalatable for even the most tasteless vultures, so they continue to flourish and rot by the road side.
But sometimes metaphors go too far.
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Hobbes' Choice
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Re: Love, joy, humour, creativity, optimism and gratitude

Post by Hobbes' Choice »

Sent: Mon Jul 10, 2017 5:16 pm
From: iMod
Recipient: RickLewis AMod Hobbes' Choice

Hobbes' Choice wrote: ↑Sun Jul 09, 2017 3:57 pm
The Inglorious One wrote: ↑Wed Aug 12, 2015 7:35 am
The nice thing about a bumper-sticker mentality is that the brain doesn't burn many calories (though that could be a bad thing if you're trying to lose weight).
That's why PhilX is so fat.
Hobbes Choice

You have been asked not to engage with Philosophy Explorer at all, and you have been banned in the past for doing so. Can you give me a reason why you should not be banned for posting this?

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vegetariantaxidermy
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Re: Love, joy, humour, creativity, optimism and gratitude

Post by vegetariantaxidermy »

Just about everyone on here fights with PE. He has that effect on people. It would seem someone is on a power trip and shouldn't be a mod. I wonder what mick thinks of all this-- I mean Rick. I suppose I will be banned for this, so I will just say ta ta in advance. :D
Last edited by vegetariantaxidermy on Sun Jul 16, 2017 8:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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