Do you rest on things getting better or on things staying the same?

[Terxpahseyton]

Dame straight.
Are you fine? Or only fine for your picture of things to come? Or to have passed and to persist?

Where is your anchor of achievement and being?

Streamline your outlook, make us feel among some.

 

[GoodEnoughForMe]

Happiness is ephemeral, sadness is forever.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

I count on things being exactly as they ought, and continuing to be that way. Note that this has no direct connection to how I might think they ought.

 

[Terxpahseyton]

I count on things being exactly as they ought, and continuing to be that way. Note that this has no direct connection to how I might think they ought.

Yeah the title is a bit misleading [read: catchy!] I moved from total relativity to absolute bottom line. Forgive me gods of earnestsness.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

Yeah the title is a bit misleading [read: catchy!] I moved from total relativity to absolute bottom line. Forgive me gods of earnestsness.

Being earnest is important.

 

[Terxpahseyton]

You are right. And the Internet is all too forgiving in not meeting that value. I am guilty.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

You are right. And the Internet is all too forgiving in not meeting that value. I am guilty.

I'll let Oscar Wilde be the judge of that.

I suspect he would not be impressed with me either.

 

[Terxpahseyton]

Okay, I am hocked.
What did he say?

 

[Timsup2nothin]

Okay, I am hocked.
What did he say?

He wrote The Importance of Being Earnest

 

[Terxpahseyton]

Well that is general.
I told myself The Importance of cutting toe nails
Repeatedly
Not always listened. But I did listen.

Sorry.... Is it any good? I mean ... I do not need no moralizing. As in: This is good behavior because its good! Honestly, I do not care about good for its own sake. That is clearly for more simple arguments and I am all for the hard and good and confusing and ill-straying and fracked up stuff making me question why I am not for the good stuff, at times. Anyway, since I am not for the good stuff: Is this book, like, meaningful? Does he get into the nitty- gritty details of human and social interactions?

Or is it more like "LOOOL don't be bum!"??

Because I read Twain. And while I kinda or pretty kinda liked him, he got still this old-timey limited scope, methinks. Or he may charmingly and old-timy saitire that old-timey limited scope. Not sure. Probably the latter.
Okay maybe I am just making a fuzz for the sake of it.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

I find Oscar Wilde to be generally hilarious. The characters in The Importance of Being Earnest are so excruciatingly, painfully earnest while plodding through their absolutely mundane activities that I pretty much rolled the whole time when I was reading it. The best part being that I read it for a class and got to watch my classmates earnestly discuss how deeply meaningful it all was until we reached the end and even the most earnest of them finally got the joke.

 

[civver_764]

Reminds me of this story:

There is a Taoist story of an old farmer who had worked his crops for many years. One day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit. "Such bad luck," they said sympathetically.

"Maybe," the farmer replied. The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it three other wild horses. "How wonderful," the neighbors exclaimed.

"Maybe," replied the old man. The following day, his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown, and broke his leg. The neighbors again came to offer their sympathy on his misfortune. "Maybe," answered the farmer. The day after, military officials came to the village to draft young men into the army. Seeing that the son's leg was broken, they passed him by. The neighbors congratulated the farmer on how well things had turned out. "Maybe," said the farmer.

 

[warpus]

Every day is a personal growth opportunity.

Doesn't mean you have to go out on an inner self meditative adventure every day, but there's always something new to be learned, and every new piece of information you have about yourself or the world around you can be used in the future to better yourself.

 

[Narz]

Planet Earth (from a human habitation perspective) and the prospects of harmonious global human civilization are f-ed in the near future (I'll reckon 20 more years max of our current golden age), whether I'll be 'fine' is unknown. As for how I'm doing now, I'm muddling thru. I'm very curious as to what the future holds.

 

[Perfection]

 

[Lexicus]

I gave up when I got done reading the poll options

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Some things get better, a lot stays the same, some stuff gets worse.

I just had to submit paperwork to renew my eligibility for using the handi-bus (transit for disabled people). I felt like saying, "Just look up my old application - change my suite number and that's all that needs to be done because everything else is either unchanged or worse."

 

[Mechanicalsalvation]

Reminds me of this story:

My personal favorite:

A beautiful girl in the village was pregnant. Her angry parents demanded to know who was the father. At first resistant to confess, the anxious and embarrassed girl finally pointed to Hakuin, the Zen master whom everyone previously revered for living such a pure life. When the outraged parents confronted Hakuin with their daughter's accusation, he simply replied "Is that so?
When the child was born, the parents brought it to the Hakuin, who now was viewed as a pariah by the whole village. They demanded that he take care of the child since it was his responsibility. "Is that so?" Hakuin said calmly as he accepted the child. For many months he took very good care of the child until the daughter could no longer withstand the lie she had told. She confessed that the real father was a young man in the village whom she had tried to protect. The parents immediately went to Hakuin to see if he would return the baby. With profuse apologies they explained what had happened. "Is that so?" Hakuin said as he handed them the child.

 

[warpus]

That Zen master is just a hippy who goes along with whatever

 

[civver_764]

That takes it to another level for sure.