Accepting Life

For all things philosophical.

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Atla
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Re: Accepting Life

Post by Atla »

Gary Childress wrote: Thu Jul 22, 2021 12:21 am Life and the way things are are difficult to accept sometimes. If I had one wish I think it would be to be happy with the way things are. Discontentment doesn't seem to be helping me any.
Life isn't all that great, so we have to lower our expectations of life. Fighting through it while holding onto our initial expectations doesn't really work, there is nothing to fight through.
AlexW
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Re: Accepting Life

Post by AlexW »

simplicity wrote: Thu Jul 22, 2021 8:34 pm You seem to be concerned about things you have little control over. Don't worry about what the future holds one way or another. Instead, do the best you can in all you do NOW. Excel at your work and use your time productively. Leave everything better than you found it. Help others when you can and spend a great deal of your time on things that will make you a better person [however you see that]. NEVER feel sorry for yourself or worry about the past. It's over so move on. And life is truly what you make it.

If you want to live a successful, contented life, here are couple of tips the sages have passed down over the millennia. Eat well, sleep well, exercise regularly, and pray/meditate every day. Remember, it's just doing the everyday things well that leads to a good life.
I fully agree, well said!

@Gary:
Even we all hate the difficult dark times in life, it’s the time where we can grow most and come out much stronger at the other side. I know (from my own experience) that we do not always like to hear that at the time, but it is nevertheless true - take the opportunity, grab it, transform yourself like a caterpillar (even if you have to enter a cocoon for a while) - the result can change you and with it will change the world as you perceive it. The world is a mirror, it reflects whatever you project onto it.
Gary Childress
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Re: Accepting Life

Post by Gary Childress »

AlexW wrote: Thu Jul 22, 2021 11:18 pm
simplicity wrote: Thu Jul 22, 2021 8:34 pm You seem to be concerned about things you have little control over. Don't worry about what the future holds one way or another. Instead, do the best you can in all you do NOW. Excel at your work and use your time productively. Leave everything better than you found it. Help others when you can and spend a great deal of your time on things that will make you a better person [however you see that]. NEVER feel sorry for yourself or worry about the past. It's over so move on. And life is truly what you make it.

If you want to live a successful, contented life, here are couple of tips the sages have passed down over the millennia. Eat well, sleep well, exercise regularly, and pray/meditate every day. Remember, it's just doing the everyday things well that leads to a good life.
I fully agree, well said!

@Gary:
Even we all hate the difficult dark times in life, it’s the time where we can grow most and come out much stronger at the other side. I know (from my own experience) that we do not always like to hear that at the time, but it is nevertheless true - take the opportunity, grab it, transform yourself like a caterpillar (even if you have to enter a cocoon for a while) - the result can change you and with it will change the world as you perceive it. The world is a mirror, it reflects whatever you project onto it.
Yes. That does seem to be the case a lot. It seems to get harder to change as I get older, though. But I suppose I still can.
AlexW
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Re: Accepting Life

Post by AlexW »

Gary Childress wrote: Fri Jul 23, 2021 12:31 am But I suppose I still can.
Agree - there is nothing to lose by trying (besides some of your time), only to gain (otherwise the "fight" is already lost).

At the end it all comes down to perseverance - once we give in, the darkness wins, as long as we fight (and by that I mean: stay focussed, alert and aware of your thoughts, feelings and sensations) there is a good chance to "win" and experience a real transformation.

I think the process works a bit like that (allow me to wrap it into a story):
There is this old, grumpy, mean relative who comes to visit you often. He just sits on a chair in the corner and stares at you.
He makes you uncomfortable, yet, you have no idea how to change that or even get rid of him. The more you look at him when passing the more you dislike him, you even are afraid of him.
What can you do?
After some time, you have had enough of this situation, so you sit down next to him and actually have your first really good look. Up closer, contrary to what you had expected, he doesn't actually seem to be too frightening at all. He actually looks more sad than dangerous. This peaks your curiosity and after studying him some more you suddenly feel a pang of compassion. He is not frightening at all! He really only is a sad old man looking for some attention. You have given him the attention by simply sitting by his side and "listening" to him - that is all that was required. He suddenly smiles at you, gets up and leaves. He might come back again later, maybe tomorrow, but he wont be as scary anymore - and soon, the less you actually reject him the less often he (= the suffering) will "grace" you with his presence...
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Dontaskme
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Re: Accepting Life

Post by Dontaskme »

Life is a horror, a cold blooded mindless curdling baby blender. You have no choice but to accept it. Suffering is not optional, it was never an option, it's real and it's rife among all sentient creatures. Suffering was never an option, or a choice you can make to just magically switch it off. What choice did ''every new life form'' have to be born into this impersonal meat grinder.

Language is a meaningless illusory story made up by the species that learnt it, but it's value and worth has no more significance than that of a barking dog, or the chipping of a bird...it's all just noise within a mindless emotionally detached swirling mass of crude chemical forces making up nature's universe, a place absolutely devoid of any intention or reason to be.

The spiritual assholes of course have a different take on reality, they believe this battle ground is all worth saving, they love their suffering so much, they intentionally impose it on others. That's the evil right there, knowing you are making more evil. It's the worse kind of criminal offense.

Yes, life for sentient creatures is a daily onslaught of pointless purposeless survival all just to die horrible undignified deaths. Humans especially.

Love is a made up idea, a saviour Jesus Christ is a made up idea. The believers of such folly and nonsense are in denial of their own made up bs stories, they will believe just about any bs story they can muster to distract them away from what's really going on here, because what's really happening here is too horrific and unthinkable for the sentitive conditioned human brain, a brain that was conditioned to think only one way...and that was ''I think therefore I have to make the best of ''my life'' ...

Only the rare and lucky few know the truth.

Resistance is futile.
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Dontaskme
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Re: Accepting Life

Post by Dontaskme »

AlexW wrote: Fri Jul 23, 2021 1:01 am the darkness wins
Yes it does, it's the only winner here.

Y/our wishy washy dreamy BS stories will not wash away the darkness. As if blood can be cleaned away using blood.

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Dontaskme
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Re: Accepting Life

Post by Dontaskme »

Gary Childress wrote: Thu Jul 22, 2021 8:05 pm I don't have any children, siblings nor loved ones other than my parents to lose. In some sense, I suppose that makes me lucky but in others, it's sometimes very lonely and isolating and when my parents are gone, I'll be alone. And there will be no one to take care of me when I reach old age either. In that sense, I think I can identify to some extent with at least a small part of your loss (unless you have other children to help you along when the time comes).
With all due respect Gary. I personally cringe when I hear things like that.

I think it is wrong to impose the burden of responsibilty upon a child to be there for it's lonely, aging and dying parent. No child signs up for the job of caring for their elderly parent. It is a selfish idea to force such expectation on a child. It's not a childs moral duty to carry out what they never consented or signed up for.

It's like those selfish 600 lb overweight people, who just cannot stop eating, who then place the responsibilty of their personal hygiene general care and well being upon the tiny immature innocent shoulders of their children, all because they are too fat to care for themselves, it's the epitomy of pure selfish evil, that only exists in the human species.

If we are having children, just for the fear of being alone in the world, then we should not be having them. No child signs up for the job of wiping the slobber away from old peoples mouths, or wiping the shit from their arse. Those kind of jobs are for the already living, who have consented to the job in the first place, namely the nurses and care workers.

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Dontaskme
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Re: Accepting Life

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vegetariantaxidermy
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Re: Accepting Life

Post by vegetariantaxidermy »

Dontaskme wrote: Fri Jul 23, 2021 8:42 am
Gary Childress wrote: Thu Jul 22, 2021 8:05 pm I don't have any children, siblings nor loved ones other than my parents to lose. In some sense, I suppose that makes me lucky but in others, it's sometimes very lonely and isolating and when my parents are gone, I'll be alone. And there will be no one to take care of me when I reach old age either. In that sense, I think I can identify to some extent with at least a small part of your loss (unless you have other children to help you along when the time comes).
With all due respect Gary. I personally cringe when I hear things like that.

I think it is wrong to impose the burden of responsibilty upon a child to be there for it's lonely, aging and dying parent. No child signs up for the job of caring for their elderly parent. It is a selfish idea to force such expectation on a child. It's not a childs moral duty to carry out what they never consented or signed up for.

It's like those selfish 600 lb overweight people, who just cannot stop eating, who then place the responsibilty of their personal hygiene general care and well being upon the tiny immature innocent shoulders of their children, all because they are too fat to care for themselves, it's the epitomy of pure selfish evil, that only exists in the human species.

If we are having children, just for the fear of being alone in the world, then we should not be having them. No child signs up for the job of wiping the slobber away from old peoples mouths, or wiping the shit from their arse. Those kind of jobs are for the already living, who have consented to the job in the first place, namely the nurses and care workers.

Image
I totally agree. There's nothing worse than a selfish, self-absorbed, demanding parent. Children don't owe their parents a thing. If they want to look after them when they are drooling with dementia then that's fine, but they shouldn't feel that they have to. That's why we have aged care facilities. Some people like that kind of work.
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RCSaunders
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Re: Accepting Life

Post by RCSaunders »

vegetariantaxidermy wrote: Fri Jul 23, 2021 9:25 am Children don't owe their parents a thing.
Absolutely right!

No one is born into this world with any unearned debt or obligation to anyone else.
simplicity
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Re: Accepting Life

Post by simplicity »

RCSaunders wrote: Fri Jul 23, 2021 2:16 pm
vegetariantaxidermy wrote: Fri Jul 23, 2021 9:25 am Children don't owe their parents a thing.
Absolutely right!

No one is born into this world with any unearned debt or obligation to anyone else.
Tough crowd.

Are any of you guys parents?
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RCSaunders
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Re: Accepting Life

Post by RCSaunders »

simplicity wrote: Fri Jul 23, 2021 4:50 pm
RCSaunders wrote: Fri Jul 23, 2021 2:16 pm
vegetariantaxidermy wrote: Fri Jul 23, 2021 9:25 am Children don't owe their parents a thing.
Absolutely right!

No one is born into this world with any unearned debt or obligation to anyone else.
Tough crowd.

Are any of you guys parents?
Parent (five children), grandfather, and great-grandfather.

Life is tough, which is what makes it worth living.
simplicity
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Re: Accepting Life

Post by simplicity »

RCSaunders wrote: Fri Jul 23, 2021 6:02 pm
simplicity wrote: Fri Jul 23, 2021 4:50 pm
RCSaunders wrote: Fri Jul 23, 2021 2:16 pm
Absolutely right!

No one is born into this world with any unearned debt or obligation to anyone else.
Tough crowd.

Are any of you guys parents?
Parent (five children), grandfather, and great-grandfather.

Life is tough, which is what makes it worth living.
I am also the parent of five children.

Debt or obligation should not be the motivating factors which cause people to take care of each other. Communities that work particularly well are those where people have invested themselves in others' welfare [to some degree]. After all, one of the main ingredients in getting ones own act together is learning to help others.

The road to hell is lined with folks who allow their egos to supersede their compassion.
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RCSaunders
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Re: Accepting Life

Post by RCSaunders »

simplicity wrote: Fri Jul 23, 2021 7:00 pm I am also the parent of five children.

Debt or obligation should not be the motivating factors which cause people to take care of each other. Communities that work particularly well are those where people have invested themselves in others' welfare [to some degree]. After all, one of the main ingredients in getting ones own act together is learning to help others.

The road to hell is lined with folks who allow their egos to supersede their compassion.
What a load of sickly sentimental collectivist pap.

Compassion, sympathy, empathy:
Do you know what those slimy sentimental words mean? They all mean the same thing. They mean, to feel with: compassion: com (with) passion (feeling); sympathy: sym (together) pathy (feel); empathy: em (with) pathy (feel). They all mean having feelings that are the same as or like someone else's feelings, but they only pertain to feelings of human failure like suffering, sadness, grief, misfortune, and despair.

They only ever pertain to the pathetic. You will not find any words that describe, "feeling with," or, "sharing the joy," of the successful, the happy, the achievers, the normal, the healthy, and the triumphant.
I ran across the following question during my research: "Don't you want nurses to be compassionate?" I was suddenly aware of the relevance to the whole question of compassion.

NO! I want any nurse who tends to me to be competent, knowledgable, and efficient. The nurse's "feelings" are absolutely worthless to me. The nurse may be dripping with compassion but if that nurse screws up my IV, I'm dead.

Your Feelings Don't Matter

With regard to principles, especially one's values, feelings do not matter. Principles, if they are right principles, are determined by reality and discovered by objective reason. Feelings are irrelevant to all principles of what is true and false, what is right and wrong, what is or is not important.

The problem is that most people do not know what feelings are. For example, one dictionary definition of sentiment is: "A thought, view, or attitude, especially one based mainly on emotion instead of reason." Dictionary definitions are often inaccurate, but this one is perfectly correct.
Instead Of Virtue

Most of the people who promote themselves as empathetic and compassionate, consider their pathetic feelings to be some kind of virtue, a virtue that makes them superior to those who do not have the, "right kind of feelings." But their feelings are worth exactly nothing to anyone else, or even to themselves.

Nobody's compassion ever fed the starving, nobody's empathy every relieved the suffering of the sick, and nobody's sentiments ever provided a product or service of any real value to anyone.

Real virtue is difficult. Growing, transporting, and marketing food requires very hard work. Discovering and producing drugs, providing real medical services, and performing life-saving operations require the kind of discipline and acquired knowledge the sentimental have neither the will or ability to achieve. Those who produce and make the products and services that truly benefit human beings frequently have little feeling for those who benefit from their efforts. What they feel strongly about is their achievement and accomplishment, which is what any who benefits from their ruthless dedication to principle ought to really appreciate.

It is much easier to "feel" than to "do," and pat oneself on the back because one, "cares about others," while being absolutely worthless to themselves or anyone else.
From: Sentimental Journey
Positive And Negative Human Relationships

The advantages of society are, however, only potential, not guaranteed. The history of the world is sadly a history of human interactions dominated by cruelty and oppression. While human beings can obviously be of great value to one another, they are also capable of being great threats to one another. Social relationships are not automatically benevolent, and many are disastrously malevolent.

Whether or not social relationships are benevolent or malevolent is determined by the kinds of individuals in those relationships.

Negative Human Relationships

Positive human relationships are only possible between individuals who are not a threat or danger to one another and have something of value to offer one another. There is no advantage to any social relationship with others who would use force to harm us or interfere in our lives. Social relationships in which one's own life is endangered or compromised by the intent or actions of others are negative social relationships. They are relationships we would be better off without.

There is no advantage to a relationship with those who produce nothing of value and take, by threat or force, what others have produced. There is no advantage to a relationship with others who threaten to force us to do what they like against our will. There is no advantage to any relationship with others who have nothing of value to offer and only want to use us for their own gratification.

Positive Human Relationships

In any society, it is only the egoistic independent productive individuals who are capable of positive social relationships and deserve the benefits of society because they are the only individuals in any society who are never a threat to others and have anything of value to offer others in that society. All other members of a society are, at some level, a threat to others' lives and freedom and have nothing of positive value to offer.
...

Only independent individuals are benevolent in all their relationships with others, because they neither seek or desire any relationships others do not freely choose to be a part of. Only independent individuals make no demands of others or ever interfere in how others choose to live their lives. Only independent individuals are capable of enjoying the success of others knowing that other's success can only be a benefit to themselves.
From: Why Live In Society?—And who is worthy of it?
simplicity
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Re: Accepting Life

Post by simplicity »

RCSaunders wrote: Sat Jul 24, 2021 12:43 am
simplicity wrote: Fri Jul 23, 2021 7:00 pm I am also the parent of five children.

Debt or obligation should not be the motivating factors which cause people to take care of each other. Communities that work particularly well are those where people have invested themselves in others' welfare [to some degree]. After all, one of the main ingredients in getting ones own act together is learning to help others.

The road to hell is lined with folks who allow their egos to supersede their compassion.
What a load of sickly sentimental collectivist pap.

Compassion, sympathy, empathy:
Do you know what those slimy sentimental words mean? They all mean the same thing. They mean, to feel with: compassion: com (with) passion (feeling); sympathy: sym (together) pathy (feel); empathy: em (with) pathy (feel). They all mean having feelings that are the same as or like someone else's feelings, but they only pertain to feelings of human failure like suffering, sadness, grief, misfortune, and despair.

They only ever pertain to the pathetic. You will not find any words that describe, "feeling with," or, "sharing the joy," of the successful, the happy, the achievers, the normal, the healthy, and the triumphant.
I ran across the following question during my research: "Don't you want nurses to be compassionate?" I was suddenly aware of the relevance to the whole question of compassion.

NO! I want any nurse who tends to me to be competent, knowledgable, and efficient. The nurse's "feelings" are absolutely worthless to me. The nurse may be dripping with compassion but if that nurse screws up my IV, I'm dead.

Your Feelings Don't Matter

With regard to principles, especially one's values, feelings do not matter. Principles, if they are right principles, are determined by reality and discovered by objective reason. Feelings are irrelevant to all principles of what is true and false, what is right and wrong, what is or is not important.

The problem is that most people do not know what feelings are. For example, one dictionary definition of sentiment is: "A thought, view, or attitude, especially one based mainly on emotion instead of reason." Dictionary definitions are often inaccurate, but this one is perfectly correct.
Instead Of Virtue

Most of the people who promote themselves as empathetic and compassionate, consider their pathetic feelings to be some kind of virtue, a virtue that makes them superior to those who do not have the, "right kind of feelings." But their feelings are worth exactly nothing to anyone else, or even to themselves.

Nobody's compassion ever fed the starving, nobody's empathy every relieved the suffering of the sick, and nobody's sentiments ever provided a product or service of any real value to anyone.

Real virtue is difficult. Growing, transporting, and marketing food requires very hard work. Discovering and producing drugs, providing real medical services, and performing life-saving operations require the kind of discipline and acquired knowledge the sentimental have neither the will or ability to achieve. Those who produce and make the products and services that truly benefit human beings frequently have little feeling for those who benefit from their efforts. What they feel strongly about is their achievement and accomplishment, which is what any who benefits from their ruthless dedication to principle ought to really appreciate.

It is much easier to "feel" than to "do," and pat oneself on the back because one, "cares about others," while being absolutely worthless to themselves or anyone else.
From: Sentimental Journey
Positive And Negative Human Relationships

The advantages of society are, however, only potential, not guaranteed. The history of the world is sadly a history of human interactions dominated by cruelty and oppression. While human beings can obviously be of great value to one another, they are also capable of being great threats to one another. Social relationships are not automatically benevolent, and many are disastrously malevolent.

Whether or not social relationships are benevolent or malevolent is determined by the kinds of individuals in those relationships.

Negative Human Relationships

Positive human relationships are only possible between individuals who are not a threat or danger to one another and have something of value to offer one another. There is no advantage to any social relationship with others who would use force to harm us or interfere in our lives. Social relationships in which one's own life is endangered or compromised by the intent or actions of others are negative social relationships. They are relationships we would be better off without.

There is no advantage to a relationship with those who produce nothing of value and take, by threat or force, what others have produced. There is no advantage to a relationship with others who threaten to force us to do what they like against our will. There is no advantage to any relationship with others who have nothing of value to offer and only want to use us for their own gratification.

Positive Human Relationships

In any society, it is only the egoistic independent productive individuals who are capable of positive social relationships and deserve the benefits of society because they are the only individuals in any society who are never a threat to others and have anything of value to offer others in that society. All other members of a society are, at some level, a threat to others' lives and freedom and have nothing of positive value to offer.
...

Only independent individuals are benevolent in all their relationships with others, because they neither seek or desire any relationships others do not freely choose to be a part of. Only independent individuals make no demands of others or ever interfere in how others choose to live their lives. Only independent individuals are capable of enjoying the success of others knowing that other's success can only be a benefit to themselves.
From: Why Live In Society?—And who is worthy of it?
I consider myself a philosophical anarchist so no need to school me. Compassion is not feeling sorry for another, it is seeing things clearly and helping people in that way which will result in the best outcome. Not everybody is as highly developed as you appear to be, so put some of your philosophy [ego] aside and see people as they are, not as you wish they would be.
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