Les
Posts: 5,612 
Location: 50 acres in Kootenays BC
Location: 50 acres in Kootenays BC
April 26th, 2008, 11:42 PM
I would say so, Tall.
My wife used to have 33 or 34" long hair. She took about half of it off and donated it towards kids going through cancer treatments. Periodically she pops in and either reads or tells stories to the kids in horsespittle.Our oldest daughter coaches football (the real football) and our youngest is almost done her Bachelors in nursing. Hard not to feel connected with all that going on.
I liked China's comment. I'd like to add that whether you feel connected or not, you are. Everything in the universe is connected one way or the other. Focus on it and eventually you will feel it.Spend a couple hours outside watching the stars, or sit by a lake or river and watch nature perk.
I would say so, Tall.
My wife used to have 33 or 34" long hair. She took about half of it off and donated it towards kids going through cancer treatments. Periodically she pops in and either reads or tells stories to the kids in horsespittle.Our oldest daughter coaches football (the real football) and our youngest is almost done her Bachelors in nursing. Hard not to feel connected with all that going on.
I liked China's comment. I'd like to add that whether you feel connected or not, you are. Everything in the universe is connected one way or the other. Focus on it and eventually you will feel it.Spend a couple hours outside watching the stars, or sit by a lake or river and watch nature perk.
Knows No Bounds
Posts: 2,650
Location: Vancouver Island
Location: Vancouver Island
April 26th, 2008, 11:52 PM
Quoting L Gilbert
There is nothing better,' the connection of us to nature and the beauty of this earth.'
I would say so, Tall.
.Spend a couple hours outside watching the stars, or sit by a lake or river and watch nature perk.
.Spend a couple hours outside watching the stars, or sit by a lake or river and watch nature perk.
Mighty Intellect
Posts: 1,802
Location: in town
Location: in town
April 27th, 2008, 12:21 AM
They are all busy with their lives, just as I was some decades ago. The cycles keep repeating. I always had the feeling as if there was a special meaning to being a human, but now they say there is no God, there is no life after this one.... we are just pieces of meat thrown onto a conveyor belt, fulfilling our animalistic duty of multiplying ourselves, so the cycle can keep going. That specialness was an illusion. This earth is just a transitory place, we don't know, if and where we will be shipped to next. This could be our final destination. If we knew a bit more of our fate, our purpose for being, I think we might feel more relaxed, not be so possessive, and enjoy the adventure, because it all doesn't matter... nothing matters really, because all ends sooner or later.
Quoting talloola
Wonderful! I was blessed with a very handsome son as well, kind of as an afterthought! I have five boys and one beautiful girl as my grandkids. It's quite a journey with these daughters of mine, and now 7 grandchildren, 5 boys and 2 girls and yes, we are blessed.
They are all busy with their lives, just as I was some decades ago. The cycles keep repeating. I always had the feeling as if there was a special meaning to being a human, but now they say there is no God, there is no life after this one.... we are just pieces of meat thrown onto a conveyor belt, fulfilling our animalistic duty of multiplying ourselves, so the cycle can keep going. That specialness was an illusion. This earth is just a transitory place, we don't know, if and where we will be shipped to next. This could be our final destination. If we knew a bit more of our fate, our purpose for being, I think we might feel more relaxed, not be so possessive, and enjoy the adventure, because it all doesn't matter... nothing matters really, because all ends sooner or later.
Member
Posts: 143
Location: Malaysia but you can also find me somewhere in my alterego
Location: Malaysia but you can also find me somewhere in my alterego
April 27th, 2008, 06:29 AM
Wow! So many responses to this post. I dunno where to start.
Zan, you and I are kindred spirits. I saw your post this morning and I just had to print it out and read it on my way to work and it made me smile coz I would have wanted to yell at those inconsiderate drivers too.
Talloola, your daughter playing flute is a WONDERFUL thing! Tell her to keep doing that but don't stop informing your other daughters. As a person brought up by parents who were aware, even though I can't get along with them now, I am thankful that they planted a seed of conscientiousness in me. Somehow, you will affect them and one day, they may even be thankful you started getting them off the road to being informed.
But then again, it's not about reading the papers or just being informed. It's about being naturally aware. What I see in teens and young people today is tied in with what Johai said (Thank you Johai!) about television and technology desensitizing us in many ways over the last 50 years, emotionally and mentally and now even physically because so many people are becoming obese...why? Because we hardly get up off our asses to switch off the TV, or use our bare hands to do the laundry or even the dishes. That's how technology has made us sewwww apathetic. This apathy has creeped into our lives so subtly, we haven't even been aware that it robs us of drive, motivation, desire and OMG, passion...passion for life! Instead, we're manifesting it through apathy and 'so what?' attitudes.
Here's a funny story, I have to share. When I was living with a roomie in Little Rock, Arkansas, she was stunned that I used to wash my dishes by hand and my sneakers too. She said that wasn't the way Americans did it. I laughed and said, 'Well, we Malaysians wash our dishes by hand because 1. a dishwasher is expensive to buy and install. 2. My god, think of all the water and electricity you waste with that 3. It's simply unhygienic to leave dishes in the sink for a week. '
After living with me for about 2 years and seeing how much we saved on water and electricity, she began to wash dishes too and found it quite enjoyable to wash her sneaks every once in awhile because doing so made her more relaxed.
Monks in Asia report that doing routine chores like scrubbing floors and washing clothes by hand is an exercise in meditation and is int fact very relaxing and I tend to agree. Doing things the old-fashioned hard way, was really healthier for us mentally and physically because it gets us more active and more focused on our day-to-day activities. It even releases tension so that we become more disciplined, more driven instead of being apathetic, which brings me to my next point.
Are you aware we are becoming Borgs? Literally yes and like dancing loon, I have woke up many times wondering, well, I seem to have done it all, met all the people I've wanted to meet and eaten all the good stuff I've needed to eat, travelled to places where I mostly wanted to go, now all my mind is thinking is er....what next? I must've done it all, whether it be in my head or in reality that there really isn't much to look forward. I certainly have those times.
Darkbeaver, nature is also my way of reconnecting to the Spirit of Life. I yelp in delight at the thought of entering rural areas or forests. I feel connected to animals and I really feel relaxed and peaceful when I'm looking at trees and flowers and like you I feel quite sad to have to leave that and return to the city.
Actually, like a lot of you said, there are good people in the world but for me it's not just about comforting myself that there are good people, because that is something I already know, but to go to the next level. If we can take the road to apathy and disconnection, isn't there a way back...a way to snap out of it?
Surely, if there's an entrance, there must be an exit somewhere or are we going to continue giving power away to consumerism, the political and economic powers-that-be who are just as ignorant of the global situation as they are of themselves? Personally, I don't want to give any more energy and power to apathy and I find myself doing that by straying away from the Net as often as I can, from TV and even stopping myself from hanging out with people who are so into themselves, their gadgets, their complexities, their consumerist world and just hanging out with people (the few left) who have drive, motivation, creativity and passion because I realised that I continue like this, I will be more disconnected, more depressed and even more Borg-like.
I just can't continue to 'live' like this. I have to seek the courage somehow to break out of this horrible cycle I've created for myself.
I would love to hear some suggestions or experiences from people who've broken out of this apathy.
Wow! So many responses to this post. I dunno where to start.
Zan, you and I are kindred spirits. I saw your post this morning and I just had to print it out and read it on my way to work and it made me smile coz I would have wanted to yell at those inconsiderate drivers too.
Talloola, your daughter playing flute is a WONDERFUL thing! Tell her to keep doing that but don't stop informing your other daughters. As a person brought up by parents who were aware, even though I can't get along with them now, I am thankful that they planted a seed of conscientiousness in me. Somehow, you will affect them and one day, they may even be thankful you started getting them off the road to being informed.
But then again, it's not about reading the papers or just being informed. It's about being naturally aware. What I see in teens and young people today is tied in with what Johai said (Thank you Johai!) about television and technology desensitizing us in many ways over the last 50 years, emotionally and mentally and now even physically because so many people are becoming obese...why? Because we hardly get up off our asses to switch off the TV, or use our bare hands to do the laundry or even the dishes. That's how technology has made us sewwww apathetic. This apathy has creeped into our lives so subtly, we haven't even been aware that it robs us of drive, motivation, desire and OMG, passion...passion for life! Instead, we're manifesting it through apathy and 'so what?' attitudes.
Here's a funny story, I have to share. When I was living with a roomie in Little Rock, Arkansas, she was stunned that I used to wash my dishes by hand and my sneakers too. She said that wasn't the way Americans did it. I laughed and said, 'Well, we Malaysians wash our dishes by hand because 1. a dishwasher is expensive to buy and install. 2. My god, think of all the water and electricity you waste with that 3. It's simply unhygienic to leave dishes in the sink for a week. '
After living with me for about 2 years and seeing how much we saved on water and electricity, she began to wash dishes too and found it quite enjoyable to wash her sneaks every once in awhile because doing so made her more relaxed.
Monks in Asia report that doing routine chores like scrubbing floors and washing clothes by hand is an exercise in meditation and is int fact very relaxing and I tend to agree. Doing things the old-fashioned hard way, was really healthier for us mentally and physically because it gets us more active and more focused on our day-to-day activities. It even releases tension so that we become more disciplined, more driven instead of being apathetic, which brings me to my next point.
Are you aware we are becoming Borgs? Literally yes and like dancing loon, I have woke up many times wondering, well, I seem to have done it all, met all the people I've wanted to meet and eaten all the good stuff I've needed to eat, travelled to places where I mostly wanted to go, now all my mind is thinking is er....what next? I must've done it all, whether it be in my head or in reality that there really isn't much to look forward. I certainly have those times.
Darkbeaver, nature is also my way of reconnecting to the Spirit of Life. I yelp in delight at the thought of entering rural areas or forests. I feel connected to animals and I really feel relaxed and peaceful when I'm looking at trees and flowers and like you I feel quite sad to have to leave that and return to the city.
Actually, like a lot of you said, there are good people in the world but for me it's not just about comforting myself that there are good people, because that is something I already know, but to go to the next level. If we can take the road to apathy and disconnection, isn't there a way back...a way to snap out of it?
Surely, if there's an entrance, there must be an exit somewhere or are we going to continue giving power away to consumerism, the political and economic powers-that-be who are just as ignorant of the global situation as they are of themselves? Personally, I don't want to give any more energy and power to apathy and I find myself doing that by straying away from the Net as often as I can, from TV and even stopping myself from hanging out with people who are so into themselves, their gadgets, their complexities, their consumerist world and just hanging out with people (the few left) who have drive, motivation, creativity and passion because I realised that I continue like this, I will be more disconnected, more depressed and even more Borg-like.
I just can't continue to 'live' like this. I have to seek the courage somehow to break out of this horrible cycle I've created for myself.
I would love to hear some suggestions or experiences from people who've broken out of this apathy.
Steven Hawking's Tutor
Posts: 4,604
April 27th, 2008, 08:53 AM
Rail against the darkness.
I will not go softly into that dark
I will not curse the vision of these eyes that bare my soul to a babies wrinkled mirth
That gift me with a silent rainbow’s joy in the mists of the steaming cauldron of water’s raging fall
Nor rue the playful simile of gentle waves that play across vast fields of golden wheat they’ve borrowed from the oceans grey-green anonymity.
The vision of laughing dancing cherubs in fires’ crackling hunger
Secret promises camouflaged in morning’s crimsom smile.
And pristine virginity of a moon-lit winter’s blanket.
I will not close my ears to the loon’s mournful song
Nor regret the welling in my soul as tiny scribbles transformed through symphony pluck the heart-strings of my being.
A canaries fluttering cadence realizing resonance within my spirit given me like lemon drops of smiles that shine through the cacophony of the trivial.
The great booming voice of thunder’s pronouncement of rebirth and the near silent wihispers of trees ancient memories.
Silly songs and laughter rising through a summers heat borne on the wings of childhood’s happiness.
And long echoing crystaline notes like tears that hang on the air as pearls from the flautists fingers.
I will not go silently into the abyss
I do not have to imagine a better place, a finer table
A sweeter nectar than life itself.
Just a few thoughts from the “bitter old man”….
Rail against the darkness.
I will not go softly into that dark
I will not curse the vision of these eyes that bare my soul to a babies wrinkled mirth
That gift me with a silent rainbow’s joy in the mists of the steaming cauldron of water’s raging fall
Nor rue the playful simile of gentle waves that play across vast fields of golden wheat they’ve borrowed from the oceans grey-green anonymity.
The vision of laughing dancing cherubs in fires’ crackling hunger
Secret promises camouflaged in morning’s crimsom smile.
And pristine virginity of a moon-lit winter’s blanket.
I will not close my ears to the loon’s mournful song
Nor regret the welling in my soul as tiny scribbles transformed through symphony pluck the heart-strings of my being.
A canaries fluttering cadence realizing resonance within my spirit given me like lemon drops of smiles that shine through the cacophony of the trivial.
The great booming voice of thunder’s pronouncement of rebirth and the near silent wihispers of trees ancient memories.
Silly songs and laughter rising through a summers heat borne on the wings of childhood’s happiness.
And long echoing crystaline notes like tears that hang on the air as pearls from the flautists fingers.
I will not go silently into the abyss
I do not have to imagine a better place, a finer table
A sweeter nectar than life itself.
Just a few thoughts from the “bitter old man”….
Steven Hawking's Tutor
Posts: 4,604
April 27th, 2008, 10:22 AM
Our focus on how we "are" as human beings is intentionally and perhaps even organically/genetically biased in the direction of looking at what's wrong before we look at what's "right".
Our survival as organisms relies on fear. We learn to fear both legitimate fears of what might be around us that could bring us to harm or injury and bogus phoney-fears predicated on prejudices that serve particular interest. Fear is something that has to be managed. A pilot or a ship's captain is responsible for everyone aboard...I'd far rather have that individual be aware of any looming difficulties or equipment failures or threatening weather conditions, but I also want him to be able to "shut that part of himself off" that magnifies fear and anxiety into unmanageable monsters that cripple decision making and frustrate response. Happily the long history of commercial air-travel and ocean travel is a testament to the facility we have to see both the terrible possibilities and put that fear and emotionalism aside to engage the problems and issues with clarity of thought and skilled judgment.
Our focus on how we "are" as human beings is intentionally and perhaps even organically/genetically biased in the direction of looking at what's wrong before we look at what's "right".
Our survival as organisms relies on fear. We learn to fear both legitimate fears of what might be around us that could bring us to harm or injury and bogus phoney-fears predicated on prejudices that serve particular interest. Fear is something that has to be managed. A pilot or a ship's captain is responsible for everyone aboard...I'd far rather have that individual be aware of any looming difficulties or equipment failures or threatening weather conditions, but I also want him to be able to "shut that part of himself off" that magnifies fear and anxiety into unmanageable monsters that cripple decision making and frustrate response. Happily the long history of commercial air-travel and ocean travel is a testament to the facility we have to see both the terrible possibilities and put that fear and emotionalism aside to engage the problems and issues with clarity of thought and skilled judgment.
Hawkings former plumber
Posts: 8,444
Videos: 1
Location: RR1 Distopia 666 Discordia Drive Apt 911
Videos: 1
Location: RR1 Distopia 666 Discordia Drive Apt 911
April 27th, 2008, 10:43 AM
Quoting MikeyDB
Closet sweeties always pull the "bitter old man" act, we're on to you MickyDB. If someone licked you would it be like lemons or a big old piece of chocky fudge? Rail against the darkness.
I will not go softly into that dark
I will not curse the vision of these eyes that bare my soul to a babies wrinkled mirth
That gift me with a silent rainbow’s joy in the mists of the steaming cauldron of water’s raging fall
Nor rue the playful simile of gentle waves that play across vast fields of golden wheat they’ve borrowed from the oceans grey-green anonymity.
The vision of laughing dancing cherubs in fires’ crackling hunger
Secret promises camouflaged in morning’s crimsom smile.
And pristine virginity of a moon-lit winter’s blanket.
I will not close my ears to the loon’s mournful song
Nor regret the welling in my soul as tiny scribbles transformed through symphony pluck the heart-strings of my being.
A canaries fluttering cadence realizing resonance within my spirit given me like lemon drops of smiles that shine through the cacophony of the trivial.
The great booming voice of thunder’s pronouncement of rebirth and the near silent wihispers of trees ancient memories.
Silly songs and laughter rising through a summers heat borne on the wings of childhood’s happiness.
And long echoing crystaline notes like tears that hang on the air as pearls from the flautists fingers.
I will not go silently into the abyss
I do not have to imagine a better place, a finer table
A sweeter nectar than life itself.
Just a few thoughts from the “bitter old man”….
I will not go softly into that dark
I will not curse the vision of these eyes that bare my soul to a babies wrinkled mirth
That gift me with a silent rainbow’s joy in the mists of the steaming cauldron of water’s raging fall
Nor rue the playful simile of gentle waves that play across vast fields of golden wheat they’ve borrowed from the oceans grey-green anonymity.
The vision of laughing dancing cherubs in fires’ crackling hunger
Secret promises camouflaged in morning’s crimsom smile.
And pristine virginity of a moon-lit winter’s blanket.
I will not close my ears to the loon’s mournful song
Nor regret the welling in my soul as tiny scribbles transformed through symphony pluck the heart-strings of my being.
A canaries fluttering cadence realizing resonance within my spirit given me like lemon drops of smiles that shine through the cacophony of the trivial.
The great booming voice of thunder’s pronouncement of rebirth and the near silent wihispers of trees ancient memories.
Silly songs and laughter rising through a summers heat borne on the wings of childhood’s happiness.
And long echoing crystaline notes like tears that hang on the air as pearls from the flautists fingers.
I will not go silently into the abyss
I do not have to imagine a better place, a finer table
A sweeter nectar than life itself.
Just a few thoughts from the “bitter old man”….
Hawkings former plumber
Posts: 8,444
Videos: 1
Location: RR1 Distopia 666 Discordia Drive Apt 911
Videos: 1
Location: RR1 Distopia 666 Discordia Drive Apt 911
April 27th, 2008, 12:57 PM
"nickle plated marshmallow"
"nickle plated marshmallow"
Knows No Bounds
Posts: 2,650
Location: Vancouver Island
Location: Vancouver Island
April 27th, 2008, 01:11 PM
What exactly is apathy!
I watched Wolf Blitzer this morning interviewing several different people, 'in pairs', one
an obama 'expert' and of course the other a clinten 'expert', by the time it was over I had
a big knot in my chest, as the frustration I felt watching/listening to the both of them,all of them, over a one hour period,
finally pushed me to 'change the channel'. Now, none of my daughters would have watched that program, they would have been doing something which touches them in
an entirely different way, eg. listening to music while having breaky, spending time with
children on a sunday morning, out jogging then off to a soccer game, composing a bit of
music for upcoming performance, gathering wood up on the mountain, and none of them
would give one single thought to what either of the above candidates thought at all.
Is that apathy, or are they a lot smarter than I, and know how to spend their time in a more comfortable way.
I am in 'reverse', I don't want to know and be so interested in what is going on in the world any longer, I am going to work very hard to deprogram myself, and get back to
basics, the rest of the world will do what it does whether I pay attention or not, so I
will leave it up to those who cannot stay out of it, and I will 'get' out of it.
I have always been tuned in to all the political stuff all round the world, from a very young
girl, something my daughters have not inherited from me.
Nothing much has changed
in the basic way that countries exchange thoughts with one another, I remember world
war two, watching my brother go off to war, then come home, (thankfully), and although
we are better off technically , it's the same ole same ole, as far as the powerful
wanting to be more powerful, and the religious pushing their agenda, and the racists pushing their hate, so, I'm getting off the bus, this is my stop, I'm going to shrink my
borders of thought, I don't need to get a knot in my chest over a couple of people who
are rich, powerful, driven, and tell all of us what they know we want to hear, so that they
can sit in the oval office.
So, if that is apathy, bring it on.
What exactly is apathy!
I watched Wolf Blitzer this morning interviewing several different people, 'in pairs', one
an obama 'expert' and of course the other a clinten 'expert', by the time it was over I had
a big knot in my chest, as the frustration I felt watching/listening to the both of them,all of them, over a one hour period,
finally pushed me to 'change the channel'. Now, none of my daughters would have watched that program, they would have been doing something which touches them in
an entirely different way, eg. listening to music while having breaky, spending time with
children on a sunday morning, out jogging then off to a soccer game, composing a bit of
music for upcoming performance, gathering wood up on the mountain, and none of them
would give one single thought to what either of the above candidates thought at all.
Is that apathy, or are they a lot smarter than I, and know how to spend their time in a more comfortable way.
I am in 'reverse', I don't want to know and be so interested in what is going on in the world any longer, I am going to work very hard to deprogram myself, and get back to
basics, the rest of the world will do what it does whether I pay attention or not, so I
will leave it up to those who cannot stay out of it, and I will 'get' out of it.
I have always been tuned in to all the political stuff all round the world, from a very young
girl, something my daughters have not inherited from me.
Nothing much has changed
in the basic way that countries exchange thoughts with one another, I remember world
war two, watching my brother go off to war, then come home, (thankfully), and although
we are better off technically , it's the same ole same ole, as far as the powerful
wanting to be more powerful, and the religious pushing their agenda, and the racists pushing their hate, so, I'm getting off the bus, this is my stop, I'm going to shrink my
borders of thought, I don't need to get a knot in my chest over a couple of people who
are rich, powerful, driven, and tell all of us what they know we want to hear, so that they
can sit in the oval office.
So, if that is apathy, bring it on.
Steven Hawking's Tutor
Posts: 4,604
April 27th, 2008, 01:30 PM
Taloolla
"Apathy" is that phenomenon that politicians and political pundits point to when voter turnout is low. Apathy is part of the arsenel of postmodernities political agenda that numbs the minds of people by saturating the TV airwaves and print media with useless and never-ending speculation and nonsense about the color of a candidates socks or their bowling scores or their employment history or their...get the point? Apathy is something the modern politician invites and energetically encourages the captive media of a "free" nation to cultivate through somnambulism of "I know the "truth" talking-head bullshoot artists who are paid ten times the salary of the person who hands them their coffee through the drive-through-window. Apathy is the condition most sought-after by those convinced of their superior view on what's good for everyone in the world and the horse's teats that claim to produce and provide "entertainment" on television are the lackeys paid to turn everyone off from the process that the assumptions are made early about who can or can't "win".
The fact is that the voter and the "believer" in the electoral systems in Canada and America haven't been the winners for decades...and apathy is that component of this realization that compels people to watch hockey or Gilligan's Island instead of contributing to the myth of "democracy" by registering their votes.
Taloolla
"Apathy" is that phenomenon that politicians and political pundits point to when voter turnout is low. Apathy is part of the arsenel of postmodernities political agenda that numbs the minds of people by saturating the TV airwaves and print media with useless and never-ending speculation and nonsense about the color of a candidates socks or their bowling scores or their employment history or their...get the point? Apathy is something the modern politician invites and energetically encourages the captive media of a "free" nation to cultivate through somnambulism of "I know the "truth" talking-head bullshoot artists who are paid ten times the salary of the person who hands them their coffee through the drive-through-window. Apathy is the condition most sought-after by those convinced of their superior view on what's good for everyone in the world and the horse's teats that claim to produce and provide "entertainment" on television are the lackeys paid to turn everyone off from the process that the assumptions are made early about who can or can't "win".
The fact is that the voter and the "believer" in the electoral systems in Canada and America haven't been the winners for decades...and apathy is that component of this realization that compels people to watch hockey or Gilligan's Island instead of contributing to the myth of "democracy" by registering their votes.
Knows No Bounds
Posts: 2,650
Location: Vancouver Island
Location: Vancouver Island
April 27th, 2008, 08:00 PM
they don't deserve our time or energy.
Quoting MikeyDB
Thank you, so well said, and true, so lets ignore them and talk about something else,
Taloolla
"Apathy" is that phenomenon that politicians and political pundits point to when voter turnout is low. Apathy is part of the arsenel of postmodernities political agenda that numbs the minds of people by saturating the TV airwaves and print media with useless and never-ending speculation and nonsense about the color of a candidates socks or their bowling scores or their employment history or their...get the point? Apathy is something the modern politician invites and energetically encourages the captive media of a "free" nation to cultivate through somnambulism of "I know the "truth" talking-head bullshoot artists who are paid ten times the salary of the person who hands them their coffee through the drive-through-window. Apathy is the condition most sought-after by those convinced of their superior view on what's good for everyone in the world and the horse's teats that claim to produce and provide "entertainment" on television are the lackeys paid to turn everyone off from the process that the assumptions are made early about who can or can't "win".
The fact is that the voter and the "believer" in the electoral systems in Canada and America haven't been the winners for decades...and apathy is that component of this realization that compels people to watch hockey or Gilligan's Island instead of contributing to the myth of "democracy" by registering their votes.
"Apathy" is that phenomenon that politicians and political pundits point to when voter turnout is low. Apathy is part of the arsenel of postmodernities political agenda that numbs the minds of people by saturating the TV airwaves and print media with useless and never-ending speculation and nonsense about the color of a candidates socks or their bowling scores or their employment history or their...get the point? Apathy is something the modern politician invites and energetically encourages the captive media of a "free" nation to cultivate through somnambulism of "I know the "truth" talking-head bullshoot artists who are paid ten times the salary of the person who hands them their coffee through the drive-through-window. Apathy is the condition most sought-after by those convinced of their superior view on what's good for everyone in the world and the horse's teats that claim to produce and provide "entertainment" on television are the lackeys paid to turn everyone off from the process that the assumptions are made early about who can or can't "win".
The fact is that the voter and the "believer" in the electoral systems in Canada and America haven't been the winners for decades...and apathy is that component of this realization that compels people to watch hockey or Gilligan's Island instead of contributing to the myth of "democracy" by registering their votes.
they don't deserve our time or energy.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Posts: 6,464
Videos: 5
Location: Newfoundland!
Videos: 5
Location: Newfoundland!
April 28th, 2008, 05:27 AM
Quoting jellyfarm
I've been in that kind of situation before, my friend. The only cure is to step outside the fields in which you are an expert and do something new and refreshing. Go somewhere you've never been before, take up a new hobby, change your career or take on a challenge. And yes, it will probably require that you take some time away from the internet.
Is it just me or is anyone else feeling disconnected lately?
I have been feeling disconnection for a number of years even though I'm being more spiritually aware but as the years grow on me, it's hard to feel excited about a lot of things.
I'm feeling computerized, all logged into cyberspace and making connections online but feeling at the end of the day, all this is leading me nowhere.
I go out with friends and at times, there's a nice laugh or two and then the rest of the time, I feel dull. Muted, almost.
BORED with the Net, Bored with friends offline, bored with my filmaking, bored with my scriptwriting, my job, my country, my photography...just at one Bored Central Station and feeling disconnected.
I wonder if it's because I'm too drawn into my cyberspace world and being logged in all the time through work, play.
Even my attention span is short. I do nothing but work, work, work, sleep, sleep, work, sleep, work, sleep.
Drive car, work, sleep, computer, work, sleep, bleah....like who cares?
I have been feeling disconnection for a number of years even though I'm being more spiritually aware but as the years grow on me, it's hard to feel excited about a lot of things.
I'm feeling computerized, all logged into cyberspace and making connections online but feeling at the end of the day, all this is leading me nowhere.
I go out with friends and at times, there's a nice laugh or two and then the rest of the time, I feel dull. Muted, almost.
BORED with the Net, Bored with friends offline, bored with my filmaking, bored with my scriptwriting, my job, my country, my photography...just at one Bored Central Station and feeling disconnected.
I wonder if it's because I'm too drawn into my cyberspace world and being logged in all the time through work, play.
Even my attention span is short. I do nothing but work, work, work, sleep, sleep, work, sleep, work, sleep.
Drive car, work, sleep, computer, work, sleep, bleah....like who cares?
Mass'Debater
Posts: 2,738
Location: Atlantic Canada
Location: Atlantic Canada
April 28th, 2008, 09:08 AM
The problem is most will just tell you to suck it up, that's life and this is what you're supposed to do. That what you are currently feeling is a "Mental Illness" and then they load you up with Anti-Depressants to make you no longer think about the problems and so that you can continue working your rat race-way of life.... that's what life is supposed to be like...... who the hell says so?!
Why the hell do I or anybody else need to go through school, college, all for work.... work day in and day out on a redundant job, to help contribute to a society which was already pre-designed and pre-determined before you or I were born?
The reason why you feel this empty sensation is because you are like many other people.... doing ant work, to work for someone else's overall goals..... "To Contribute to Society" if you're ever so lucky in between now and when you die, you just might get a few things done for yourself.... but for the most part your desires and goals are secondary, due to living costs, bills, taxes, and the job you need in order to pay for all that.
Your parents had to do all this, their parents had to do all this and so on and so forth...... So where do we get off complaining about the way things are?
We get off complaining about this because we're the ones taking over the world and the BS screwups of the past.... the environment.... debts.... wars.... all of it.
Apparently our way of life isn't perfect, it isn't working as well as it could be and if we continue living the way everybody else has been for the last few decades or centuries, then we are only going to create more of the same problems for our children and their own children to follow..... all because we're just willing to suck up the way life is as being the norm....
You know it isn't the normal, I know it isn't normal, and many many other people around the world know this..... if they don't know it, then they feel it just as you do. Something is missing, something isn't right..... you're not feeling fulfilled with your life.... you're not where you want to be right now.... things are taking much longer then expected, or just not getting anywhere period.
So then what? We know there's a problem, then what is the solution to this problem?
Here's Mine:
New Direct Democracy - Government Revamp Theory:
http://forums.canadiancontent.net/ca...nt-revamp.html
Quoting jellyfarm
I think a lot of people, infact probably 90% of the civilized population in the world feel like this.
Is it just me or is anyone else feeling disconnected lately?
I have been feeling disconnection for a number of years even though I'm being more spiritually aware but as the years grow on me, it's hard to feel excited about a lot of things.
I'm feeling computerized, all logged into cyberspace and making connections online but feeling at the end of the day, all this is leading me nowhere.
I go out with friends and at times, there's a nice laugh or two and then the rest of the time, I feel dull. Muted, almost.
BORED with the Net, Bored with friends offline, bored with my filmaking, bored with my scriptwriting, my job, my country, my photography...just at one Bored Central Station and feeling disconnected.
I wonder if it's because I'm too drawn into my cyberspace world and being logged in all the time through work, play.
Even my attention span is short. I do nothing but work, work, work, sleep, sleep, work, sleep, work, sleep.
Drive car, work, sleep, computer, work, sleep, bleah....like who cares?
I have been feeling disconnection for a number of years even though I'm being more spiritually aware but as the years grow on me, it's hard to feel excited about a lot of things.
I'm feeling computerized, all logged into cyberspace and making connections online but feeling at the end of the day, all this is leading me nowhere.
I go out with friends and at times, there's a nice laugh or two and then the rest of the time, I feel dull. Muted, almost.
BORED with the Net, Bored with friends offline, bored with my filmaking, bored with my scriptwriting, my job, my country, my photography...just at one Bored Central Station and feeling disconnected.
I wonder if it's because I'm too drawn into my cyberspace world and being logged in all the time through work, play.
Even my attention span is short. I do nothing but work, work, work, sleep, sleep, work, sleep, work, sleep.
Drive car, work, sleep, computer, work, sleep, bleah....like who cares?
The problem is most will just tell you to suck it up, that's life and this is what you're supposed to do. That what you are currently feeling is a "Mental Illness" and then they load you up with Anti-Depressants to make you no longer think about the problems and so that you can continue working your rat race-way of life.... that's what life is supposed to be like...... who the hell says so?!
Why the hell do I or anybody else need to go through school, college, all for work.... work day in and day out on a redundant job, to help contribute to a society which was already pre-designed and pre-determined before you or I were born?
The reason why you feel this empty sensation is because you are like many other people.... doing ant work, to work for someone else's overall goals..... "To Contribute to Society" if you're ever so lucky in between now and when you die, you just might get a few things done for yourself.... but for the most part your desires and goals are secondary, due to living costs, bills, taxes, and the job you need in order to pay for all that.
Your parents had to do all this, their parents had to do all this and so on and so forth...... So where do we get off complaining about the way things are?
We get off complaining about this because we're the ones taking over the world and the BS screwups of the past.... the environment.... debts.... wars.... all of it.
Apparently our way of life isn't perfect, it isn't working as well as it could be and if we continue living the way everybody else has been for the last few decades or centuries, then we are only going to create more of the same problems for our children and their own children to follow..... all because we're just willing to suck up the way life is as being the norm....
You know it isn't the normal, I know it isn't normal, and many many other people around the world know this..... if they don't know it, then they feel it just as you do. Something is missing, something isn't right..... you're not feeling fulfilled with your life.... you're not where you want to be right now.... things are taking much longer then expected, or just not getting anywhere period.
So then what? We know there's a problem, then what is the solution to this problem?
Here's Mine:
New Direct Democracy - Government Revamp Theory:
http://forums.canadiancontent.net/ca...nt-revamp.html
Steven Hawking's Tutor
Posts: 4,604
April 28th, 2008, 09:31 AM
Praxius
I understand that it's easier to point a finger at government or "big-business" or something else when it comes to identifying the underlying angst lonliness and separation that as you say most people feel.
We've put our "faith" in structures of government and social institiutions that...as long as everything rolls along fairly smoothly....let's us get on with our lives.
This "rolling along smoothly" is the underlying critical factor in realizing where the calamity actually arises. It's us Prax!
We've become so comfortable with abbrogating our responsibilities for everything from baldness to annorexia and hair-loss to out of control children and rampant corruption and deceit in those very social institutions we've come to rely on. If you draw a line between the thread that Karrie's started in discussing steps to be taken in the event of social colapse...food shortages...power outages....etc. you'd see that it is our way of thinking about what we accept as "normal" is at the root of a great deal of the situation we're all trying to deal with.
I don't think in a linear fashion, and that experesses as sometimes (perhaps often) confusing for other folk here at CC. When we discuss the loss of security through mismanaged government, I've raged against the apathy that's apparent in holding government responsible....while we discuss racism and prejudice, these ideas are what alienate and build walls around each other and allowing the perversity of a particular religious dogma to go unaccountable before the law is a glaring example of how our ideas about prejudice and racism are reinforced through our social institutions. Whe I think about global warming and so many other things, those conditions and situations aren't the creation of some discrete body or person, they're the product of millions of people's willingness to let someone else do their thinking! When we let governments roll out the line that we need gun-control because we have violence on our streets...that's a half-measure hiding a lie. What we need is social institutions to respond to the needs of the poor the disabled the weak the unemployed the uneducated the needy in our society instead of providing the sociopath with victims for their psychopathy. Defeating substance abuse is achieveable if we didn't spend out time money and energy on frivolous silly things that ultimately change nothing! Poverty is addressable but like the dynamic of criminality and prejudice, these structures within our social organizing principles exist because we allow them to exist! We choose to ignore when governments hand money out to the wealthy to protect their interests while the homeless and the poor are left with nothing. When you gather a mob of the homeless the poor the infirm the uneducated the unemployed the recipe for disaster is right there. No single legislation or single law or single action by any one person or any one "group" can remedy the situation and yet we embrace this nonsense provided by short-sighted self-absorbed disingenuous nabobs of industry that "guns" are the problem so we all should be prepared to give up our freedoms in the name of the "greater good"....when in fact it is the successive failures of government and social institutions for decades and generations that has yoked us with the poverty the substance abuse the criminality etc...that's given these arseholes their platform.
It's we who've acceptted that the painter and the plumber and the electrician and the garbage man do work unworthy of the respect we ladle onto computer geeks and lawyers and proffessionals we're only beginning to recognize as grifters and con-artists.
It's US Prax!
Praxius
I understand that it's easier to point a finger at government or "big-business" or something else when it comes to identifying the underlying angst lonliness and separation that as you say most people feel.
We've put our "faith" in structures of government and social institiutions that...as long as everything rolls along fairly smoothly....let's us get on with our lives.
This "rolling along smoothly" is the underlying critical factor in realizing where the calamity actually arises. It's us Prax!
We've become so comfortable with abbrogating our responsibilities for everything from baldness to annorexia and hair-loss to out of control children and rampant corruption and deceit in those very social institutions we've come to rely on. If you draw a line between the thread that Karrie's started in discussing steps to be taken in the event of social colapse...food shortages...power outages....etc. you'd see that it is our way of thinking about what we accept as "normal" is at the root of a great deal of the situation we're all trying to deal with.
I don't think in a linear fashion, and that experesses as sometimes (perhaps often) confusing for other folk here at CC. When we discuss the loss of security through mismanaged government, I've raged against the apathy that's apparent in holding government responsible....while we discuss racism and prejudice, these ideas are what alienate and build walls around each other and allowing the perversity of a particular religious dogma to go unaccountable before the law is a glaring example of how our ideas about prejudice and racism are reinforced through our social institutions. Whe I think about global warming and so many other things, those conditions and situations aren't the creation of some discrete body or person, they're the product of millions of people's willingness to let someone else do their thinking! When we let governments roll out the line that we need gun-control because we have violence on our streets...that's a half-measure hiding a lie. What we need is social institutions to respond to the needs of the poor the disabled the weak the unemployed the uneducated the needy in our society instead of providing the sociopath with victims for their psychopathy. Defeating substance abuse is achieveable if we didn't spend out time money and energy on frivolous silly things that ultimately change nothing! Poverty is addressable but like the dynamic of criminality and prejudice, these structures within our social organizing principles exist because we allow them to exist! We choose to ignore when governments hand money out to the wealthy to protect their interests while the homeless and the poor are left with nothing. When you gather a mob of the homeless the poor the infirm the uneducated the unemployed the recipe for disaster is right there. No single legislation or single law or single action by any one person or any one "group" can remedy the situation and yet we embrace this nonsense provided by short-sighted self-absorbed disingenuous nabobs of industry that "guns" are the problem so we all should be prepared to give up our freedoms in the name of the "greater good"....when in fact it is the successive failures of government and social institutions for decades and generations that has yoked us with the poverty the substance abuse the criminality etc...that's given these arseholes their platform.
It's we who've acceptted that the painter and the plumber and the electrician and the garbage man do work unworthy of the respect we ladle onto computer geeks and lawyers and proffessionals we're only beginning to recognize as grifters and con-artists.
It's US Prax!
Member
Posts: 143
Location: Malaysia but you can also find me somewhere in my alterego
Location: Malaysia but you can also find me somewhere in my alterego
April 28th, 2008, 09:48 AM
You know Praxius may have a point and I do agree that our obsession with the rat race and a predetermined mode of living has caused us much stress and depression that has led us to rely too much on anti-depressants to help you 'cope' with the daily rigours of modern life.
There is also much to be said about governments having a hand in this disconnectedness. They work you so hard so that you fall into this thing called 'the middle class' such that you have enough, but not really, but enough to get you comfortable enough so you stop really consciously thinking about if what the government is doing in society is really beneficial to the people in the long-term.
But again, that may only be a theory I whipped out from my jelly-arse. Many will probably disagree.
But as Mikey DB says, we must claim self-responsibility for our aches and pains. The 'government' didn't create them. I LET THEM.
That's the point I'm trying to make. That's my reasoning for apathy.
I'm disconnected because I ALLOWED myself to be and I see this happening to so many others who are giving away their power. By giving away that power, by allowing ourselves to be billed, taxed unfairly by our governments is really our fault because we can actually vote lousy politicians off the face off the earth, you know. Malaysia just did that, thank god.
For years since 1955 when the country gained independence from the Brits, Malays have claimed rights over the minority Chinese and Indians and for years Chinese and Indians were marginalised from getting perks economically and socially till 2008 when the new Indians, Chinese and even the Malays voted for 82 candidates in the opposition denying the ruling party, which was rife with corruption and bureaucracy for decades, their 2/3 majority in parliament. Hurrah! Times are-a-changing because why?
Malaysians were fed up. We claimed back our power.
In this way, I truly feel people can claim their power and hence their sanity, their joy and their well-being.
We don't need to follow the herd. Only cows do that. We're human beings. We should be 'being' more than that.
Once again, I reiterate....why am I disconnected? Because I'm sad to see all of us allowing ourselves to stop thinking for ourselves, to stop feeling our real feelings, to stop our natural out pouring of love for our fellowman and I don't just mean 'intimate, relationship love' - it's something more than that. That's why I'm disconnected. I don't see enough of that love around me.
Even when I do see it, it feels very 'privileged'. 'My family, my husband, my kids...' Yeah, really not an open, unconditional love that I see in animals..haha!
I wonder if we are all robots at the end of the day. It feels cold these days....
You know Praxius may have a point and I do agree that our obsession with the rat race and a predetermined mode of living has caused us much stress and depression that has led us to rely too much on anti-depressants to help you 'cope' with the daily rigours of modern life.
There is also much to be said about governments having a hand in this disconnectedness. They work you so hard so that you fall into this thing called 'the middle class' such that you have enough, but not really, but enough to get you comfortable enough so you stop really consciously thinking about if what the government is doing in society is really beneficial to the people in the long-term.
But again, that may only be a theory I whipped out from my jelly-arse. Many will probably disagree.
But as Mikey DB says, we must claim self-responsibility for our aches and pains. The 'government' didn't create them. I LET THEM.
That's the point I'm trying to make. That's my reasoning for apathy.
I'm disconnected because I ALLOWED myself to be and I see this happening to so many others who are giving away their power. By giving away that power, by allowing ourselves to be billed, taxed unfairly by our governments is really our fault because we can actually vote lousy politicians off the face off the earth, you know. Malaysia just did that, thank god.
For years since 1955 when the country gained independence from the Brits, Malays have claimed rights over the minority Chinese and Indians and for years Chinese and Indians were marginalised from getting perks economically and socially till 2008 when the new Indians, Chinese and even the Malays voted for 82 candidates in the opposition denying the ruling party, which was rife with corruption and bureaucracy for decades, their 2/3 majority in parliament. Hurrah! Times are-a-changing because why?
Malaysians were fed up. We claimed back our power.
In this way, I truly feel people can claim their power and hence their sanity, their joy and their well-being.
We don't need to follow the herd. Only cows do that. We're human beings. We should be 'being' more than that.
Once again, I reiterate....why am I disconnected? Because I'm sad to see all of us allowing ourselves to stop thinking for ourselves, to stop feeling our real feelings, to stop our natural out pouring of love for our fellowman and I don't just mean 'intimate, relationship love' - it's something more than that. That's why I'm disconnected. I don't see enough of that love around me.
Even when I do see it, it feels very 'privileged'. 'My family, my husband, my kids...' Yeah, really not an open, unconditional love that I see in animals..haha!
I wonder if we are all robots at the end of the day. It feels cold these days....
Mass'Debater
Posts: 2,738
Location: Atlantic Canada
Location: Atlantic Canada
April 28th, 2008, 10:18 AM
Mikey:
I'm fully aware that it is us that is also responsible for these same problems.... it is us who is playing this game set out by the rules pre-determined and pre-designed before we were born.
All I'm saying is to change the rules in which we play the game. Our current laws, rules, government, method of living our lives isn't just US ..... it is us in accepting the laws and rules in how we're supposed to live set out by others before us.
When we all change the way things are run and it all fails miserably in our faces, then I'll accept Us as being the problem..... if we just sit around and do nothing and suck it up and living the way we currently are, not bringing any new change or improvements to the way in which we currently live, then it is still Us that is the problem and contributing to it.
I'm not trying to blame the people in the government, I'm not trying to blame our bosses that we report to everyday..... I'm blaming the system we all live by that makes us who we currently are.... that makes us do and not do the things we want and don't want.
We as humans and we, based on how our minds work.... should be the one's deciding what we can and can not do in our lives..... not pre-set limitations by others such as described in my supplied link above and what I already have mentioned.
They say you can not escape two things in life.... Death and Taxes.
Death? True for the most part.... Taxes? That is a man-made creation, created for greed and redistribution of your own wealth for basically existing, or buying your everyday needs, or living where you were born and raised, or starting a family in your new home, once again.... just for existing.
JFK said it the worst..... "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." ~ Well sorry Johnny, but that's the damn point of being in a country.... the people in power are there to do what we need... that's why we elected them in there in the first place. They are there to do what we ask them to do..... yet now it's all backwards and now we're bending over backwards for the country and what those in power need and/or want.
It is indeed Us responsible for this way of life. It is Us in power, in politics, playing by the same pre-determined rules and laws.... the same loopholes, expectations and demands given in certain positions that we have grown acustomed to being exploited and being the Norm.
Is it all perfect? Nope.... nothing is perfect..... but if we all see a problem, isn't it logical to actually try and improve it here and there, rather then just shrugging our sholdiers and going "meh.... that's life" and then just allowing it to keep going on and getting worse?
We are part of the problem, because we keep allowing ourselves to play the game with the same flawed set of rules set out by someone long dead and their own agendas.
This is our life and this is our time... it should be run as we see it should be, not just because it's the norm or the way things always have been.
Evolve.....
Mikey:
I'm fully aware that it is us that is also responsible for these same problems.... it is us who is playing this game set out by the rules pre-determined and pre-designed before we were born.
All I'm saying is to change the rules in which we play the game. Our current laws, rules, government, method of living our lives isn't just US ..... it is us in accepting the laws and rules in how we're supposed to live set out by others before us.
When we all change the way things are run and it all fails miserably in our faces, then I'll accept Us as being the problem..... if we just sit around and do nothing and suck it up and living the way we currently are, not bringing any new change or improvements to the way in which we currently live, then it is still Us that is the problem and contributing to it.
I'm not trying to blame the people in the government, I'm not trying to blame our bosses that we report to everyday..... I'm blaming the system we all live by that makes us who we currently are.... that makes us do and not do the things we want and don't want.
We as humans and we, based on how our minds work.... should be the one's deciding what we can and can not do in our lives..... not pre-set limitations by others such as described in my supplied link above and what I already have mentioned.
They say you can not escape two things in life.... Death and Taxes.
Death? True for the most part.... Taxes? That is a man-made creation, created for greed and redistribution of your own wealth for basically existing, or buying your everyday needs, or living where you were born and raised, or starting a family in your new home, once again.... just for existing.
JFK said it the worst..... "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." ~ Well sorry Johnny, but that's the damn point of being in a country.... the people in power are there to do what we need... that's why we elected them in there in the first place. They are there to do what we ask them to do..... yet now it's all backwards and now we're bending over backwards for the country and what those in power need and/or want.
It is indeed Us responsible for this way of life. It is Us in power, in politics, playing by the same pre-determined rules and laws.... the same loopholes, expectations and demands given in certain positions that we have grown acustomed to being exploited and being the Norm.
Is it all perfect? Nope.... nothing is perfect..... but if we all see a problem, isn't it logical to actually try and improve it here and there, rather then just shrugging our sholdiers and going "meh.... that's life" and then just allowing it to keep going on and getting worse?
We are part of the problem, because we keep allowing ourselves to play the game with the same flawed set of rules set out by someone long dead and their own agendas.
This is our life and this is our time... it should be run as we see it should be, not just because it's the norm or the way things always have been.
Evolve.....
Steven Hawking's Tutor
Posts: 4,604
April 28th, 2008, 10:35 AM
Absolutely right Praxius and how do we change that?
I've offered a scheme for re-designing and eliminating the love-affair with the automobile that's been cultivated by big business and supported by big governement. Here and there throughout these threads I've said "Stop playing the game"...and although no one has seemed interested enough to question what I mean by that statement, a great deal of what I mean by that statement is exactly what you've outlined in your last contribution.
We may not be able to change things without something more than passive resistance, but even a passive resistance is preferable to blindly accepting the status quo! For instance Karrie talked about the amount of homework that her children were receiving...and I think you felt as I if it is possible, homeschool your kids and take them out of the grinding-mill of public education that panders to the corporate stooges and perpetuates the myth of employment career and long-term prosperity...when these are as vacuous as policies and agreements endorsed by governments who lie to us and to themselves! There are many other ways of not playing the game, but like anything worthwhile in life there's a cost involved. And it seems obvious to me that we don't have the quality of people today who have that willingness to invest in something other than their own comfort their own cathedrals of denial.
Any change has to take place at the grass-roots level of how we conceptualize our society and our existence as elements within the larger mosaic of life and the world. We will either take the bull by the horns or we will whimper and die, unhappy and alone.
Absolutely right Praxius and how do we change that?
I've offered a scheme for re-designing and eliminating the love-affair with the automobile that's been cultivated by big business and supported by big governement. Here and there throughout these threads I've said "Stop playing the game"...and although no one has seemed interested enough to question what I mean by that statement, a great deal of what I mean by that statement is exactly what you've outlined in your last contribution.
We may not be able to change things without something more than passive resistance, but even a passive resistance is preferable to blindly accepting the status quo! For instance Karrie talked about the amount of homework that her children were receiving...and I think you felt as I if it is possible, homeschool your kids and take them out of the grinding-mill of public education that panders to the corporate stooges and perpetuates the myth of employment career and long-term prosperity...when these are as vacuous as policies and agreements endorsed by governments who lie to us and to themselves! There are many other ways of not playing the game, but like anything worthwhile in life there's a cost involved. And it seems obvious to me that we don't have the quality of people today who have that willingness to invest in something other than their own comfort their own cathedrals of denial.
Any change has to take place at the grass-roots level of how we conceptualize our society and our existence as elements within the larger mosaic of life and the world. We will either take the bull by the horns or we will whimper and die, unhappy and alone.
