I've made a couple of "Woe is me" threads in my 10 years here. One time I woke up, read what I posted, winced, and didn't log on again for about four years. I was going through a rough time though shortly after my wife's death. I felt like I was losing it, and I hit rock bottom about 4 years ago with a drug overdose. It was my wake up call and I've been able to move on. I didn't plan on ever coming back here though. Anyway. Learn from yourself. Read what you posted and say to yourself you're better than that and overcome it.
I lost my father 2 years ago to pancreatic cancer...and THIS comment is exactly what I've turned into... Seeing the truth in the world is painful...carrying that around is even worse.
I try to remain humble and realistic. If I ever get delusions of being smarter than everybody else, I have to stop that train of thought. It doesn't help anything. The fact is I'm not smarter. I'm just Logan. some of us are a bit wiser and world weary from experiencing hardship that many do not have to deal with at our age, but you gotta find a rock and for me that's my family.
dude we're like the same person. I too was put on ritalin in kindergarten, got tested into Junior Mensa and advanced classes, where we did brain teasers and crap all day. Odyssey of the Mind competitions, the whole 9. I also seem to attract the selfish people to hang out with. I think your solution, rat, is that you need a girlfriend. like a real live together girlfirend.
Sadly Rat is a victim of the times in which he lives In 100 years he’ll be able to purchase a robot girlfriend based on then principles of rotomagnetics, so lifelike you won’t be able to tell the difference between the fembot and a real flesh and blood all-american cheerleader type :2thumbsup: Hotwater
Too be honest, the ignorance is bliss thing is kind of annoying indeed. If I would have known that it is one of the biggest essensces for a happy (carefree) life I might have not tried so much to look outside of the box Now I know the whole rat race for what it is but have a hard time playing along let alone use it to my advantage. Other peeps look at life in our society in the most subjective way and play their cards much better. Perhaps it is just a matter of being pragmatic and conform or adapt our actions to get what we want (a feeling of complacency, fullfillment or 'just' love etc.) the most common way but when your convictions on life are once based from an out of the box perception it seems not always easy to change your behaviour in what seems to be the most succesful in todays society...
I'd say, screw it, don't let the engineers of the rat race define success for you. When I think of humanity on a planet in a solar system in a galaxy in the universe; success is a highly subjective term. But that doesn't stop our social rat engineers of advertisement from defining it for us in a highly subliminal form across a wide variety of media. They pay good money to get into our heads to define success for us ... so we'll buy their products. Life is hard.
I don't have a problem determining my own success happily but sometimes the most practical way to get it would be to conform to certain behaviour which I am unwilling/not able to do.
Well written. Achieving peace of mind seems to be a never ending quest. I guess it comes with balance of principles, behavior, ambitions. How much for some peace of mind? Contentment. Living in an uber competitive capitalist culture runs counter to the intellectual. Seen any philosophy job openings lately? Not valued in our society. Most are oblivious to why the do what they do and think what they think. Cheers to our cognitive curse!
I had read this thread earlier today and then I was reading this to Sophia and thought of you, maybe no one ever read you this book when you were little? I never read it either until Sophia was born, it simplifies the problem you're having, but I think it's a simple problem with an easy solution is just a matter of taking action and well, sometimes while unhappy we're comfortable enough with what we know not to change it. Congratulations! Today is your day. You're off to Great Places! You're off and away! You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go. You'll look up and down streets. Look 'em over with care. About some you will say, "I don't choose to go there." With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet, you're too smart to go down any not-so-good street. And you may not find any you'll want to go down. In that case, of course, you'll head straight out of town. It's opener there in the wide open air. Out there things can happen and frequently do to people as brainy and footsy as you. And then things start to happen, don't worry. Don't stew. Just go right along. You'll start happening too. OH! THE PLACES YOU'LL GO! You'll be on y our way up! You'll be seeing great sights! You'll join the high fliers who soar to high heights. You won't lag behind, because you'll have the speed. You'll pass the whole gang and you'll soon take the lead. Wherever you fly, you'll be best of the best. Wherever you go, you will top all the rest. Except when you don't. Because, sometimes, you won't. I'm sorry to say so but, sadly, it's true that Bang-ups and Hang-ups can happen to you. You can get all hung up in a prickle-ly perch. And your gang will fly on. You'll be left in a Lurch. You'll come down from the Lurch with an unpleasant bump. And the chances are, then, that you'll be in a Slump. And when you're in a Slump, you're not in for much fun. Un-slumping yourself is not easily done. You will come to a place where the streets are not marked. Some windows are lighted. But mostly they're darked. A place you could sprain both your elbow and chin! Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in? How much can you lose? How much can you win? And IF you go in, should you turn left or right... or right-and-three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite? Or go around back and sneak in from behind? Simple it's not, I'm afraid you will find, for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind. You can get so confused that you'll start in to race down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace and grind on for miles cross weirdish wild space, headed, I fear, toward a most useless place. The Waiting Place... ...for people just waiting. Waiting for a train to go or a bus to come, or a plane to go or the mail to come, or the rain to go or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow or the waiting around for a Yes or No or waiting for their hair to grow. Everyone is just waiting. Waiting for the fish to bite or waiting for the wind to fly a kite or waiting around for Friday night or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake or a pot to boil, or a Better Break or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants or a wig with curls, or Another Chance. Everyone is just waiting. NO! That's not for you! Somehow you'll escape all that waiting and staying You'll find the bright places where Boom Bands are playing. With banner flip-flapping, once more you'll ride high! Ready for anything under the sky. Ready because you're that kind of a guy! Oh, the places you'll go! There is fun to be done! There are points to be scored. There are games to be won. And the magical things you can do with that ball will make you the winning-est winner of all. Fame! You'll be as famous as famous can be, with the whole wide world watching you win on TV. Except when they don't Because, sometimes they won't. I'm afraid that some times you'll play lonely games too. Games you can't win 'cause you'll play against you. All Alone! Whether you like it or not, Alone will be something you'll be quite a lot. And when you're alone, there's a very good chance you'll meet things that scare you right out of your pants. There are some, down the road between hither and yon, that can scare you so much you won't want to go on. But on you will go though the weather be foul. On you will go though your enemies prowl. On you will go though the Hakken-Kraks howl. Onward up many a frightening creek, though your arms may get sore and your sneakers may leak. On and on you will hike, And I know you'll hike far and face up to your problems whatever they are. You'll get mixed up, of course, as you already know. You'll get mixed up with many strange birds as you go. So be sure when you step. Step with care and great tact and remember that Life's a Great Balancing Act. Just never foget to be dexterous and deft. And never mix up your right foot with your left. And will you succeed? Yes! You will, indeed! (98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.) KID, YOU'LL MOVE MOUNTAINS! So... be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea, You're off the Great Places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So...get on your way!
i rather like that place where the streets are not marked. it lacks several things i will grant, but several of those are not greatly missed, and some not at all.
This kind of makes things seem worse for me, not me personally, but just everything in general, knowing that practically everyone in the world is suffering in one way or another. It eats me alive, and I live almost everyday feeling that way. I just can't feel comfortable in a place that lacks so much empathy, even insinct, that we allow so much avoidable suffering to continue.