Do you feel free?

[innonimatu]

There is a lesson here. Don't fear fear. Accept fear. Or you keep running away from what you are. You will basically live fear.

That's... deep. I mean it.

As for freedom... meh, I certainly can't complain. My limits are mostly self-imposed.

Sometimes I wish we all got several personnas to play - would be a kind of freedom to play different "roles", I guess I could call it. Some people do it. But it just doesn't feel right to me.

 

[PlutonianEmpire]

I feel oppressed.

I mean it.

It's why I'm so pissed off all the time, because I've felt utterly oppressed for literally my entire life, despite living in a so-called "free" country. The only thing that changed when I moved out of my folks' place was going from overbearing parents to overbearing mental health "professionals" and overbearing county social workers and all that crap.

And on top of that, society and the world and lately, for some reason, the supernatural, all also contribute to me feeling oppressed.

 

[Borachio]

I feel oppressed.

You have my sympathy.

I only wish I could help. Let me know if you think I might. But, hey, what could a feeble thing like me do about society, the world and the supernatural?

Really? The supernatural? That does - and don't think I'm being flippant - sound very interesting.

 

[LucyDuke]

Sadly, that is not the burden people usually face, nor is it the kind of burden I was referring to.

Then tell me what you were referring to!

 

[PlutonianEmpire]

You have my sympathy.

I only wish I could help. Let me know if you think I might. But, hey, what could a feeble thing like me do about society, the world and the supernatural?

Really? The supernatural? That does - and don't think I'm being flippant - sound very interesting.

Spoiler Spoilered for the skeptics who'd rather not read about supernatural stuff :

Yeah, my logical mind does indeed attempt to reject that notion, but growing up with a hell of a psychic mother, as well as interactions in the past couple years with others who appear to have similar abilities, causes me to doubt these rejections a lot of times. While my mother and the people I met have different ideas as to how the whole thing works, which by itself would make them seem to contradict each other, I remember hearing or reading somewhere that belief systems and ideas about the supernatural, as well as mythology and theology, are actually supposed to be complementary, not contradictory.

That, along with having read some of Zecharia Sitchin's works, inaccurate or not, just leads me to conclude it's all the work of fascist, authoritarian, murderous, domineering space aliens with magical supercomputers; especially after my interactions with said other psychics (who I've since cut of contact with them, because they turned out to be douches). Not to mention the occasional suggestions found online that the whole universe may all be just a hologram.

Spoiler :

Which gives me the image in my head of a "13"-year old kid sitting at a supercomputer being a troll. "Kid with the magnifying glass," so to speak.

Basically, the elements the douches introduced me to just seemed to prove to me that we're all oppressed, even by supposed supernatural forces.

 

[Borachio]

Um, what to say?

You seem to have retained a good measure of humour nevertheless.
So perhaps it doesn't much matter what I say.

Spoiler :

I have come across Sitchin's work before, and although of course I can't be sure, I would guess that this is fiction or fantasy, presented as fact.

It is not always easy to distinguish between fact and fiction, nor should it, I think, be necessarily easy - since this enables me to sharpen my skeptic skills.

However, I have to balance my skepticism with an open mind.

So, here I go gaily on through life wobbling this way and that, with not a clue what I'm really doing. But all in all enjoying the ride.

 

[Terxpahseyton]

That's... deep. I mean it.

Enough people keep doing it.

Then tell me what you were referring to!

The burden of viewing the accumulation and maintenance of material wealth as a central purpose of life to begin with. If you have "too much money", you don't need to accumulate or maintain it anymore.

 

[PlutonianEmpire]

Um, what to say?

You seem to have retained a good measure of humour nevertheless.
So perhaps it doesn't much matter what I say.

Spoiler :

I have come across Sitchin's work before, and although of course I can't be sure, I would guess that this is fiction or fantasy, presented as fact.

It is not always easy to distinguish between fact and fiction, nor should it, I think, be necessarily easy - since this enables me to sharpen my skeptic skills.

However, I have to balance my skepticism with an open mind.

So, here I go gaily on through life wobbling this way and that, with not a clue what I'm really doing. But all in all enjoying the ride.

That's good, man. That's probably one of the few things in life that's actually important, which is to enjoy the ride, if you can.

 

[Borachio]

What I have found is that there is really no good reason not to enjoy the ride.

 

[Aleksey_aka_al]

Until there are globalization and mass culture dominating the air where I live, NO.

 

[madviking]

Article

This article has been linked to me by a few friends and I think it has some worth in this thread.

The article discusses the apparent vicious cycle of busyness which no real good reason. The only reason, really, is that hard work and always doing something is some sort of existential good; "wasting time" is a sort of moral evil in this context. I think those who submit to this cycle are undoubtedly less free than those who resist it. Busyness also seems to contradict the essence of freedom, that of being able free to do whatever, whenever, by having the day partitioned for each individual activity, thereby simplifying our lives into a drab routine.

 

[rugbyLEAGUEfan]

Article

This article has been linked to me by a few friends and I think it has some worth in this thread.

The article discusses the apparent vicious cycle of busyness which no real good reason. The only reason, really, is that hard work and always doing something is some sort of existential good; "wasting time" is a sort of moral evil in this context. I think those who submit to this cycle are undoubtedly less free than those who resist it. Busyness also seems to contradict the essence of freedom, that of being able free to do whatever, whenever, by having the day partitioned for each individual activity, thereby simplifying our lives into a drab routine.

I agree and I certainly consider my time spent working to ultimately be a waste of time. If I was a scientist, teacher, artist etc I may feel otherwise.

However, my sole justification for working hard is I crave an exciting life of leisure and am prepared to work my ass off for just a couple more years then exit the rat race and begin my new existence.

 

[LucyDuke]

The burden of viewing the accumulation and maintenance of material wealth as a central purpose of life to begin with. If you have "too much money", you don't need to accumulate or maintain it anymore.

Well that's reasonable. The way I read Mise's post was money gives you options. And, more simply than that, how free can you really feel if you can't count on any lunch? Being consumed by a money obsession is a much less common problem than not being able to afford to take good care of yourself.

 

[G-Max]

This poll needs an option for "this poll has too many options"