life help: — - Help.com

Its going to be a religious argument, no question, just give it some time.

If there is a god he has probably heard this one before. Tell a joke, that’ll get to him more.

What’s brown and sticky.

Yes! I bet he’s heard that too :|

*shakes fist at heavens*
Seems like he’s got all the answers eh? I think, like the good book says (the Hitchhikers Guide to teh Galaxy) that we are asking the wrong questions, and misusing our towels.

One could argue that suffering teaches compassion.

Tyrants were usually waiting to happen - they wouldn’t have ended up giving knitting classes in better circumstances. Most you could hope for they wouldn’t have killed more than a few vagrants or family members.

I think we are that way due to a combination of the dogged misuse of Freudian theory coupled to a relentless flow of advertising. Throw off the shackles of consumerism and be free.

Setto wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Tyrants were usually waiting to happen - they wouldn’t have ended up giving knitting classes in better circumstances. Most you could hope for they wouldn’t have killed more than a few vagrants or family members.

what i was referring to, was the theory that we as a race are so self-destructive and harmful now, because of the emotional suffering we feel due to being so seperated from the natural world.

Ugh, I had to camp for 2 days and let me tell you that was some hardcore emotional suffering! I think the only reason we’re so self-destructive is we’re selfish and simply love our stuff cause they make life so easy and we’ll do anything to keep it that way (at the expense of animals and the natural world); much in the same way that a heroin addict is so self-destructive.

im having the same problem and,as much as i try to find the answer,are appearing more and more question.i tried even to make up a new religion with some friends,didnt work,as they start their own religion.yes,the woeld is a f***d place and s**t i happening,but the people are doing this cause is all comfortable.not doing anything is enough to make this world an insecure place for the years to come.is stupid,but is life.dont try to think at religion,not only one has the answers.we are doing this cause we dont want to think at the future or at the bigger picture,but at present and our own little and ‘perfect’ world,as we want to consider it.no one has the answers u need,no one really cares.but sites like this are making us unite and think of possibilities to fix these problems

first of all *hug*

now, this may sound really apathetic but when natural disasters or the fail of some grand man-made structure takes out large numbers of humans, aside from the obvious sadness i feel for the individuals & their families, i am always a little relieved.

we’re not the first species to exploit the earth. the dinosaurs did just that, the earth couldn’t support them and their dietary habits…there just wasn’t enough. they lived for an era, and died off. we’ll do the same. eventually we’ll become extinct. that’s how it works. the earth cannot be exploited forever, eventually it will fight back be it an ice age, nasty storms (caused by global warming…go us) etc.

i’m more spiritual than religious. but i’ve learned to accept that there are some things i (we) just can’t understand and we aren’t meant to. that might be a little humble…but we can still fight back against all of this.

please get a new tutor, by the way. we will run out of fossil fuels and that will be a beautiful thing. well, it could be bad because wars might break out and what not. but think about it: it will finally get people motivated to find other renewable sources of energy. only because they have no other choice, but whatever, i’ll take it. every time gas prices go up (as much as it totally sucks and is completely adding to my debt) it’s a great thing. because people will eventually get fed up enough to demand alternative energy. you know Brazil is only something like 11% reliant on outside oil? ever since the oil crisis in the 70s their government has put tons of money into alternative energy research. they now fuel almost their entire country off ethanol made from sugarcane grown right there. it can be done. people just have to get scared enough to do it. so good. you’re scared. scare others…roarrr! just kidding. but this is how you make a difference. slowly but surely.

what is your major in college? have you thought about politics. i know they’re horrible and gross and corrupt and… you get the point. but you could be different, you could make a difference, you could stop some of this. it’d be nice to see a well thought intelligent politician. eh?

Well, you know I’ve felt the way your feeling right now. But I’ve learned two things…

1) If I try to change things on too big a scale I’m doing nothing but making my life miserable. (Worrying, stress, anger.)

2) Life is an enigma, and the “Why?”s of today will never be answered tomorrow…or ever for that matter. So dont stress over it.

the traditionalist evangelical christian answer would be that time is chronological and that god will judge all at the end of time; the concept being that the separation of good and evil is necessary, and that the degradation of the world is proof. that history is a trial, and that all will be set right in the end.

that’s my interpretation of the evangelical world view. it’s not my view. it’s one, rather, that i believe leads many who claim to have faith in god to disrespect our planet and to vilify their adversaries. there is some truth to it, as there is to almost all religions or philosophies, but it is limited and hurtful.

i think there was a beginning, call it an infinite concentrated point, like the theoretical end of a black hole and beginning of a big bang. without consciousness or intelligence, there was an existence, but it was pure. other religions express it in their own ways, i would think, but in the bible the first name for god, the one communicated to moses, was I AM. so let’s say that there was an infinite single existence that reached self-awareness. i’m not suggesting i understand how this could happen. the outward expression was compressed matter and anti-matter that exploded — pop — big bang.

there’s existence, expression (creativity) and then growth (life).

a competition ensued between two incompatible modes of existence, cooperation and struggle. the non-biological world of gravity and other laws of physics, and the biological one of survival of the fittest. ultimately the competitive model resulted in us, and our coca-cola bottles littering the ocean floor, which is not only incompatible with other species, but with the physical universe (in my view).

as the biological world evolved, that competition found bastardized ways of expression — evil.

it also was expressed in cooperation in the face of competition — good — in the forms of love, self-sacrifice, compassion.

religion is humankind’s attempt to make sense of the paradoxes of life and the universe.

i believe that the universe is in the process of becoming god. when that happens, i think we’ll see that what we become will curve into a circle with the best of what has been, and that time will be no more. after we evolve (and technology is an extension of evolution) into non-biological beings, it will become possible for the remainder of biological creatures to exist without competition, that the ‘lion will lay down with the lamb’ so to speak.

in order for that to happen, we in the competitive species that dominates the planet will have to reach beyond our self interests. historical or theological accuracy aside (and having little relevance), this is why i love jesus, or at least the model of what he did, and not to be confused with what religion has done with the story.

that’s pretty far out. it isn’t my intention to say i know what i’m talking about, or to convert anyone. just thoughts.

I really don’t understand why people tend to blame God when other people do bad things. What do you want Him to do? Kill off anyone who does something bad? Yeah, that’d be one wonderful happy smily Utopia, alright.
But I digress. The world is full of idiots. If we can just cut down on the idiot population the state of the world will improve. Now, it’s impossible to single out idiots, since even complete morons can make it through University and there’s really no truly practical idiot test, so the best way to cut down on idiots is to cut down the population on the whole. Now India is the most densly populated area in the world, so, with no offence to the Indians, it therefore has the highest number of idiots per square foot. A tactical strike would therefore cut back on the population of idiots a fair deal. Then we have North America, which while it houses some quite clever people is also inhabited by a considerable number of idiots. Not only idiots, but also some of the richest, most powerful idiots on the planet. Large-scale extermination of all North-Americans would almost completely remove our idiot problem. To prevent a retaliation, I suggest we glue all of their silo doors shut. We might want to take out Europe as well, and probably China… hmm…
So there you have it. Mass destruction: the world’s only hope.

Hi Setto,

I can share my beliefs and say that I am spiritual and not religion. I just believe religion is important for some with traditions, the sense of community and sometimes being able to have shared beliefs with others - but I reached a point where I needed to define my own beliefs and my connection to God.

I think we are given two gifts from God upon birth - those are life and free-will. I see God as an all-loving being (unconditional love) so no matter what we do, we’re never turned away. We are accepted and loved. I think the hard stuff we create ourselves, perhaps from making our own decisions with that free-will and living on a planet with all these other people who received those same gifts of life and free-will. Diversity can either unite or separate us. It can also place a variety of different minded people into a shared place where everyone wants to have the life of their dreams.

I think we should define our personal beliefs and respect that they can differ. It is great to ask to questions and to care so passionately about the world around us. We also have to strive for balance. There are a lot of terrible things happening but there are also a lot of wonderful things. I think we have to look for balance between the two.

When I was a young, my Mom used to turn on television and have us what programs about nature. It was disturbing for me, because I’d have to sit and watch lions chasing down zebras and tearing them apart. There seemed to be a hierachy of survival and noticed what I thought were parallels with human life. The strong survive and the weak fall victim to predators. I think wealth is something more than having excessive financial resources. And I believe with my whole heart that the most powerful tool we have available to us are our minds. We put out an energy with the thoughts we attach emotions with, so if we focus too much on the negative things, they can destroy us. But if we can put that attention and focus on the positives, then we can make a difference.

I think you should look at the type of people who are being drawn into your life and ask about the qualities they have and what type of difference each may make. How many people may need to meet you or know you so that they can find peace or answers or happiness? Maybe the questions to ask are things like - What can I do to change one thing that is in my power to change? How can I make a difference? How can I create enthusiasm to get other involved.

I also believe that Earth knows how to heal herself. I think there is a process of natural evolution and part of what is happening at this time is part of that process. I’m old enough to remember the energy crisis of 1976, when people were given rations for gasoline and we’d wait in very long lines to use them. Everyone was terrified about the state of the planet and the future of our world. But then one day it was over and nothing really happened. I’m not much into reading the bible but I do remember someone in it, there is talk about only having enough oil to light the home for 1 night but a miracle happened and the oil lasts 7 or 8 nights. I think that is what Hannukah is about.

I do know, however we each define it, that faith is very important. There are things in my control and things I can never control. I can only try to make a difference where I have something to give and in the process I receive something back. I’ve learned the best way to live is to just let go of the outcome and trust that the universe (God) will take care of me. When I do that, I have what I need.

My problem recently is that I went through a lot of “stuff” and didn’t have time to process and heal - I side-stepped my path and now I am working my way back to it. As we work on the quality of who we are, we can radiate so much back out to the world and make a difference. I know from the hard stuff, I always learn something valuable and I don’t blame God or myself when bad things happen - like when I was diagnosed with cancer. It was just something I had to experience along my journey and while there is a lot for me yet to deal with, I do know there were blessings in it as well. I don’t know if that helps.

I don’t know that you need a different tutor because I see you respect the value of differing opinions. But I am curious about what you see in the world that is good, has value and makes it all worth it.

If you need a hug today…. HUG!!! I don’t think we can afford to let the world around us define our lives completely. You have to make a difference for yourself. You have to find your passions and your causes and then we all start to make a difference. I think what I learned from Mom forcing me to watch The Animal Kingdom so many years ago is that the strong survive, there has to be sacrifice and there has to be balance. We can see the beauty in nature or we can see the violence of one species of animal tearing another apart so they can survive. Regards, Diane

I don’t know what to tell you. No body will for sure know what is going on and why. I ask these questions almost everyday and no one have ever givin me an answer that has made sense to me. I don’t know what else to say.

Well, like I said to you before Setto, as frustrating as it all is, you can only do what YOU are capable of. Otherwise you’re just going to keep hitting your head against a brick wall. And this may sound apathetic but I assure you, its not meant that way, but our time on this planet is a mere speck of sand in the giant hour-glass of time. Do what you can with the time you have, and thats all you can do. One day, all of us on this site will be gone, but the world will exist beyond our own lives (barring some major catastrophe like a asteroid hitting our planet again and wiping us all out). Aside from what we choose to do to minimize our impact on the Earth, and what we teach our children about their responsibilty to this planet, we can’t do much else. We can teach others about what they can do to help, but you can’t MAKE them do anything. You can lead a horse to water…etc.
And in terms of religion: I think most people are aware enough to realize that they are responsible for their own actions and they cannot use God(s) as an excuse for inactivity and/or violence against the planet and their fellow humans. Unfortunately, the minority of those who would use their God(s) as a scape goat, taint the image of religion for the rest of us.

To sum it up: do what you can Setto. No one person could possibly change everything. And listen to what others have said in this thread, theres a lot of great advice in there.

Remember what I said before, too: you’re a good guy with a big heart. Don’t let the weight of the world bring you down.

well said mate, but i kind of think you’re preaching to the converted. It’s a vicious circle innit(eloquently put, i know:)
as morrissey said;”come armageddon, come”

because there isn’t-we’re truelly ****** up-as a species..but i know exactly what you’re saying, as does many here

you?! High?! never lol

great post though-you should send it to downing street

*sigh*

I have had so many of these same thoughts. I just don’t know how to word them properly (I’ve filled this space several times trying to get it to read right, but I haven’t made it work yet.)

I completely agree. All of my thoughts are kinda jumbled into one uncomprehensable thought right now, so itll be pretty hard to share what im thinking. But I did want to suggest to you “Life After People”. It was on the discovery channel here, but I dont know if youll get it in the UK. PLUS it probably wont be playing anymore but im sure you can find it online or dvd.

Anyway, It showed what Earth would be like 1,000 (or maybe it was 10,000) years from now if people just mysteriously disappeared and animals and nature re-took over all the cities, streets, houses, cars ect. (Or what it’ll be like when people finally die off) The most interesting part to me was the end. In all of Earths existence, billions of years, those few 1,000 (or 10,000) years of decomposition were like a few minutes. (Which reminded me of detox on a grand scale) So all of mankind, and its history and evolution, it all only made a dent of 30 seconds to Earths over all “life”

I thought it was awesome and it was great to see, that even though the human race is destroying earth now, someday when I know we’ll all be gone itll “heal” itself and return to a healthy state. After I watched that I felt a little better about the condition of earth, although we shouldnt continue ruining things now “just for fun.”

Nyx (oregon) wrote:
*sigh*

I have had so many of these same thoughts. I just don’t know how to word them properly (I’ve filled this space several times trying to get it to read right, but I haven’t made it work yet.)

I know exactly what you mean Nyx.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqlutn…

Chef introduced me to this writer (not actually, but to you know what I mean) last night. This passage he’s reading pretty much sums up a lot for me.

**** thats a long post, im too stoned to read it all…someone sum it up for me?! pweese?

ranger sheepeffer wrote:
**** thats a long post, im too stoned to read it all…someone sum it up for me?! pweese?

Worried about polluting and destroying the world and hates all the s*** that happens in it. Wonders why God/s (if there any) would create us knowing we’ll destroy ourselves. Very upset.

thanks bro lol

i think the god thing boils down to free will. god gave us free will because he didnt want us to be slaves. so the bible says.
i dont believe in god but thats what ive learned from it all.
as for whats going on in the world…dude you cannot fix every single thing that is going on in the world. and if you spend all your time worrying about it-you will go mad because there is no way in hell you can stop it all.
you should just do the best you can for the world, and encourage the people around you to do the same. that WILL make a difference setster, it really will.
*hugsssss*

wow, big rant lol! totally agree though lol! you know i do! :D

i’ll put summat later but have just woken up recently so not functioning properly lol

I don’t know if this will make sense or help but I think the world is a very diverse place. I had to take a course in college called “Geography for the Traveler” - yeah thought this would be an easy course but it was hard and we had to study the entire world. I know where I live, it seems that people assume we all have the same life, same issues, same problems and same resources. The country I live in is big on sending aid/relief to help other nationas with their problems (feeding the hungry, curing Aids, fighting for freedom) but when I look around my community I see people living on the streets, hungry, poor, struggling and ill - people who’ve lost their own independence and freedom because something happened in their life that was probably out of their control.

I learned that there are so many differences in culture, countries, human rights - even that we still have waters that aren’t safe to travel because there are modern day pirates. Our countries have different laws, politics, values and legal systems. When you take all of that into account, changing the whole world is a HUGE task! So people start small, taking responsibility for what they can accomplish. People create organizations like Greepeace, Sierra Club, etc. and they set goals and work to change and help what can be done. I think in order to change the whole world, you’re absolutely correct Setto - we need to elect leaders who will work together and agree that to give these issues a high pirority on their to-do lists.

It is hard to get everyone on the same page. I think we have a lot of people who are doing a great job at bringing about an awareness of what is happening to the Earth. I think there are two different paths then that we can choose. We can either do what we can as individuals or join with others (groups) who are making a difference or we can allow the information to overwhelm us and that only leaves one so depressed that we can begin to feel hopeless.

I think you are a sensitive soul and you have so much compassion beyond yourself. I think your art is so amazing and you have so much to give to Earth. There is so much power to the mind and when thought is combined with intense feelings (emotion), we send out a vibration of the things we worry about. I don’t think that is beneficial for you to carry that burden. I would be really happen if you could shift your focus enough to concentrate on what you wish for Earth and the people inhabiting the planet. If we can get enough people to care in enough places, we can make a difference. I know you’re right, there are some greedy people in this world. Sometimes people seem selfish because they want a certain kind of life. But you, my dear friend, you’re making a difference because of the concern and love you have for the world and the people living on it. Radiate out - the kindness and love from your soul and let go of the outcomes. I just had my 48th birthday so I have been around long enough to see world crisis and relief. I’ve seen things change and millions more care about that today than they did when I was young. It took us years to create what we have today. It is going to take time to fix.

I know this is a hard issue for you but I think it would be good for you to let go of it for a short bit and focus on you! I support your goals and wishes. Take a week and look for the good and try to get some balance. There are many horrible things but there are also many good things going on around us. =)

You talk about people polluting the earth, and yet you yourself are a smoker? Or is that something else in your mouth

marijuana is a plant, striaght from gods own earth, luv. no pollution there.

ranger sheepeffer wrote:
marijuana is a plant, striaght from gods own earth, luv. no pollution there.

Smoke my friend. Take a guess at how many tons of smoke per year are sent into the atmosphere from smoking weed? Or cigarettes for that matter.

ooo do tell

“Every year in Hong Kong, pollution from 3,800,000,000 cigarettes and cigars creates 6 tonnes of nicotine, 57 tonnes of respirable suspended particles & 295 tonnes of carbon monoxide.”

http://www.cleartheair.org.hk/quick-s…

And this is only ONE city on the planet.

Nightowl wrote:
“Every year in Hong Kong, pollution from 3,800,000,000 cigarettes and cigars creates 6 tonnes of nicotine, 57 tonnes of respirable suspended particles & 295 tonnes of carbon monoxide.”

http://www.cleartheair.org.hk/quick-s…

And this is only ONE city on the planet.

Wow!! To both how much pollution that is, and that you looked it up and now know it!

thats….still ciggarette smoke though, not marijuana. weed doesnt have all the tar and nicotine and crap.

ranger sheepeffer wrote:
thats….still ciggarette smoke though, not marijuana. weed doesnt have all the tar and nicotine and crap.

smoke is smoke. Wood doesn’t have ant tar or nicotine in it either but just look at how much of an impact slash and burn farming is having on the world.

Hey

Understanding where you are coming from….I grew up in the days that so many people were questioning our values, freedom and the staggering population. I’m fifty years old and I feel I have become apathetic to the tragedy in our world. I don’t see how we can continue on this course. How do we deal with this? The answer is within your soul….