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Thread: Life and all that

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    Default Life and all that

    Don't you guys ever get tired of life and all the hassles of dealing with the daily torment?

    Somedays I really have to hold the balance in my hand and question so much thinking about values and what is all for.

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    Default Re: Life and all that

    Sometimes.
    But on balance it still beats the alternative.
    Hang in there.

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    Default Re: Life and all that

    Yes... sometimes....
    I was listening to a meditation teacher, who gave a tip when observing thoughts.....
    She said naming the thought will help removing the sting/force/ power of that thought....
    It's a simple phrase, This thought is real but it's not true....
    I find it helps me... when I have some of those "What's the point stuff'" maybe it will be help you to...

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    Default Re: Life and all that

    Me personally no, and I've dealt with a lot -- some would say more than my share -- of challenges. Challenges that include the sudden death of my late wife, and spending most of the last two and a half years in and out of hospital, numerous surgeries and being within hours of dying twice are but a few that I have endured over the last few years.

    I believe life is a journey. That concept is expressed by the Latin phrase homo viator, the travelling man. Life like any journey has those time when we have to rocky ground, or narrow bumpy roads to traverse and the travel is hard and painful. It also has those times when the traffic is light, the weather is good and the journey is a joy. In the end of the day -- each day, in life as with any journey, it is those hard times we endure that give full measure to the joys, the happiness, and the memories of the good times.

    Despite all that I have been through in life, much more than the experiences I mentioned earlier, I look forward to each new day, each new experience, good or bad, even the most mundane, even the painful moments knowing that I am richer for everything that comes my way.

    No. I do not, nor will I ever, tire of life.

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    Default Re: Life and all that

    I've had an unusually colorful life. But I still like the routine that's enforced on my by old age and health. As for values, to me that's what it's all about. I have always maintained a rich and beautiful living environment. That's doesn't need money. To me that's all about the eyes and other senses, and as long as I've got those, life tickles my fancy. I look forward to waking up and seeing beautiful things every morning. I live for color.

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    Default Re: Life and all that

    Yes, Rob.
    It comes and goes.

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    Default Re: Life and all that

    I've got a black dog that visits me ever so often. He's been coming around most of my adult life. We've decided he can hang out for a while, but he eventually has to leave.
    "When Men differ in Opinion, both Sides ought equally to have the Advantage of being heard by the Publick;
    and that when Truth and Error have fair Play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter."

    ~ Benjamin Franklin

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    Default Re: Life and all that

    So far I've had an extra eleven years thanks to dialysis in one form or another. It changes your perspective a little. I would have been pretty well forgotten by now, I should think.

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    Default Re: Life and all that

    Quote Originally Posted by RobJohnson View Post
    Don't you guys ever get tired of life and all the hassles of dealing with the daily torment?

    Somedays I really have to hold the balance in my hand and question so much thinking about values and what is all for.
    Yup. Every fine day. (Substitute words as desired.)

    I've had my challenges - all of us have had them or will have them - and have survived them all so far. I've had it better than some, worse than others. On an objective level I have no reason for complaint. It's a Saturday night where I am; it's raining outside and while not cold, it isn't warm. Still, I'm inside, warm with lights, music playing through my headphones, and am posting to an electronic forum about fountain pens and the people who love them. Fountain pens. Think about that.

    I found The Door™. It's over there. I can walk through it any time, very quietly. It was good to find. Now I see it, I know I can pass through it at any time, and I have not, so far. I kick myself every day for not doing it.

    I have reasons to stay. Reasons. One reason. So I stay. So far. It doesn't matter to anyone else what that reason is, only that I have it.

    I have some delights in this world. Included in that are a few people in my world. They're the ones that when I see them, whether in person or through Teams/Zoom/Meet/Facetime/name-your-virtual-substitute-for-seeing-people-in-person, I smile. I've wanted to do things; I've done the ones that were important to me. I've wanted to go places; I've gone to a few places that were important to me.

    I've explored philosophy, and discovered a three-legged stool. One leg is about the purpose of life. Another is about the question of free will. The last is about the meaning of life. I'd discovered the first two legs over time, and didn't even think of it as a stool, certainly not as something with three legs. It was a web page about the words of wisdom of dying children that illuminated the path to find the meaning of life.

    All that said, even that three-legged stool is a rationalization of sorts. Ultimately I have no idea what it's all about. No one does.

    I'm here whether I want to be or not. I like people, overall. People are good, overall. I have certain gifts, and I use them. I make lots of mistakes, and I am grateful for the bulk of those mistakes being merely learning experiences. I have lots of pleasant experiences, whether with like-minded people or the cashier at a grocery store. It's even sometimes with the person who now sanitizes the grocery carts.

    Just my thoughts...
    mathogre, aka The Mathemagician

    https://www.grahamglover.com

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    Default Re: Life and all that

    Quote Originally Posted by Jon Szanto View Post
    I've got a black dog that visits me ever so often. He's been coming around most of my adult life. We've decided he can hang out for a while, but he eventually has to leave.
    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oImgWIk7KQU

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    Default Re: Life and all that

    Quote Originally Posted by RobJohnson View Post
    Don't you guys ever get tired of life and all the hassles of dealing with the daily torment?

    Somedays I really have to hold the balance in my hand and question so much thinking about values and what is all for.
    Not really. The frustrations in life... are just dukkha. There are many paths. In my opinion, the method is far less relevant than the commitment to practice as long as the practice is healthy.

    Funny. I was thinking about Sartre's 'Hell is other people' quote from Huis Clos (No Exit), and how that sits with our 1st world obsession with each others' lives. I'm no philosopher, so I may be misinterpreting it.

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    Default Re: Life and all that

    Quote Originally Posted by RobJohnson View Post
    Don't you guys ever get tired of life and all the hassles of dealing with the daily torment?

    Somedays I really have to hold the balance in my hand and question so much thinking about values and what is all for.
    Reminds of December 20, 2001. All day I was struggling asking why I am even here. Later that day, around 5 pm, my house caught fire. I quickly learned that I was needed. It tool eleven months to rebuild.

    I have friends who are concerned about the future primarily because things are not going as to suit them.

    And this morning I read a person say they asked their 80 year old father what they would have done differently. The father said they would have been more kind. Being kind is something we can all do if we choose.

    So, a reason for being is to be kind and as generous as we are able. And, rememeber to say please and thank you, the magic words. Happiness is a choice.

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    Default Re: Life and all that

    Quote Originally Posted by RobJohnson View Post
    Don't you guys ever get tired of life and all the hassles of dealing with the daily torment?

    Somedays I really have to hold the balance in my hand and question so much thinking about values and what is all for.
    Of course, Rob, I have days when I feel like that, sure

    When we take it to the end, that is what this world have to offer, a finite existence with nothing to look forward to other than the legacy that we leave behind, which eventually will fade from memories as well.

    I have long since realized that there is not anything *within* me that can overcome the dread of the eventuality that we all have to face (the question "what are these all for").

    My choices were:
    1. Trudging along as is, which basically is a reluctant resignation that does nothing to lift my spirit in the dark days (or daily grind).
    2. Admitting that I need help. I need something or someone who can lift me above the dread and disappointments, and give me not only hope, but confidence that there are much better things I can look forward to, and orient my remaining days toward.

    I chose no.2, which I won't state here as a truism, but I will always make time for anyone who would like to know more about.
    - Will
    Unique and restored vintage pens: Redeem Pens

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    Default Re: Life and all that

    I am deeply saddened for the person who offered it when I read or hear statements such as this: 'When we take it to the end, that is what this world have to offer, a finite existence with nothing to look forward to other than the legacy that we leave behind, which eventually will fade from memories as well.'

    To be honest, it leaves me wondering how anyone who has such a limited view of life isn't overwhelmed with depression. It also leaves me genuinely grateful that I possess a faith and a belief in an afterlife.

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    Default Re: Life and all that

    I get tired of certain hassles. Which reminds me, must finish my taxes.

    But the reason I get tired of those hassles is because there are many things in life which I do think worthwhile, and because I wish I had more time for them.

    And perhaps the frustrations help us to appreciate the good parts, although it may not seem that way at the time.

    How we feel about these things is very personal, and there's no point in telling another person to buck up and stop worrying. “The world is so full of a number of things, I ’m sure we should all be as happy as kings.”, wrote Robert Louis Stevenson. But I don't suppose kings are all that happy, much of the time.

    Still, there is a big wonderful world out there full of things worth seeing, things worth doing, and people seeing and doing them.
    "If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing badly."
    G.K. Chesterton

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    Default Re: Life and all that

    Quote Originally Posted by guyy View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by Jon Szanto View Post
    I've got a black dog that visits me ever so often. He's been coming around most of my adult life. We've decided he can hang out for a while, but he eventually has to leave.
    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oImgWIk7KQU
    Thanks, guyy. I honestly thought I would click on your link and find this:

    "When Men differ in Opinion, both Sides ought equally to have the Advantage of being heard by the Publick;
    and that when Truth and Error have fair Play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter."

    ~ Benjamin Franklin

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    Default Re: Life and all that

    Quote Originally Posted by An old bloke View Post
    I am deeply saddened for the person who offered it when I read or hear statements such as this: 'When we take it to the end, that is what this world have to offer, a finite existence with nothing to look forward to other than the legacy that we leave behind, which eventually will fade from memories as well.'

    To be honest, it leaves me wondering how anyone who has such a limited view of life isn't overwhelmed with depression. It also leaves me genuinely grateful that I possess a faith and a belief in an afterlife.
    You misunderstand what I meant with that statement you quoted.
    Allow me one attempt to clarify:

    I am sure you would agree, that we all will one day face the eventuality called death. When we arrived there, what does the world (meaning fame, power, fortune, riches, intellect, reputation, relationship with others) actually offer any of us in a personal way?

    Like you, I believe in the afterlife, meaning there is an existence beyond death in which we continue on.
    I also believe in a very particular kind of afterlife, one which gave me the confidence and purpose to keep me going through with bad storms in life.

    So actually I was talking about a positive way to deal with the specific question that Rob brought up in the OP.

    I'm sorry if my wording is unclear.
    - Will
    Unique and restored vintage pens: Redeem Pens

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    Default Re: Life and all that

    Quote Originally Posted by penwash View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by An old bloke View Post
    I am deeply saddened for the person who offered it when I read or hear statements such as this: 'When we take it to the end, that is what this world have to offer, a finite existence with nothing to look forward to other than the legacy that we leave behind, which eventually will fade from memories as well.'

    To be honest, it leaves me wondering how anyone who has such a limited view of life isn't overwhelmed with depression. It also leaves me genuinely grateful that I possess a faith and a belief in an afterlife.
    You misunderstand what I meant with that statement you quoted.
    Allow me one attempt to clarify:

    I am sure you would agree, that we all will one day face the eventuality called death. When we arrived there, what does the world (meaning fame, power, fortune, riches, intellect, reputation, relationship with others) actually offer any of us in a personal way?

    Like you, I believe in the afterlife, meaning there is an existence beyond death in which we continue on.
    I also believe in a very particular kind of afterlife, one which gave me the confidence and purpose to keep me going through with bad storms in life.

    So actually I was talking about a positive way to deal with the specific question that Rob brought up in the OP.

    I'm sorry if my wording is unclear.
    Yes, I misunderstood the intent and meaning of your comment. Thank you for the clarification.

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    Default Re: Life and all that

    Quote Originally Posted by Jon Szanto View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by guyy View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by Jon Szanto View Post
    I've got a black dog that visits me ever so often. He's been coming around most of my adult life. We've decided he can hang out for a while, but he eventually has to leave.
    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oImgWIk7KQU
    Thanks, guyy. I honestly thought I would click on your link and find this:

    It’s a gloomy, wet day here in NYC and that scene from Stalker came to mind when i read your post. I guess i’m a bigger film buff than music fan. Not that i have anything against Led Zeppelin. Far from it.

    Lurching back to Rob’s topic, at this age, listening to stuff i listened to as a kid — like Led Zeppelin — often trips memories of friends who have departed this earth. When that happens, the pain and loneliness of existence can get to me. The surplus misery in my work can do it, too. Family & a Buddhist/Confucian outlook get me through.

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    Default Re: Life and all that

    I see a world full of life and energy with things growing everywhere, and death is part of that. I have no problem being part of the natural world. In fact I'm proud of it. I don't have a faith or a belief, and I am happy that way. Life is good, or as some people would say, "God is great". I would be depressed thinking about an "afterlife" separate from life. To me, life includes all things - most of which I don't know, and never will. I guess I just don't like the idea of belittling life and all that which we have been given.

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