Quiet Desperation

a reply to: zosimov

Speak for yourself.

originally posted by: 3NL1GHT3N3D1
Thoreau is one of my favorite philosophers, he had much wisdom in his words. I take his words here as if humanity is no longer living naturally but artificially and underneath our addiction to the artificial comfort of modern life there is a desire to go back to the old way of things where we were self-sufficient instead of relying on the corporate machine to supply our needs for us.

The bigger our society becomes the less connected we become with those we interact with, the less connected we are with others the more "cold" we become and the more "cold" we become the more willing we are to step on others on our way to the top of society.

Back when we lived in tighter knit communities we were less willing to step on others for our own benefit because we grew up and loved those whom we interacted with, nowadays the distance from corporate to worker is so distant that there is no connection therefore those at the top are more willing to hurt those at the bottom.

Oh, you mean those "good old days" I keep hearing about... when blacks were slaves and women couldn't vote, and the church burned you alive for saying the Earth goes round the Sun... ugh!

a reply to: Mousygretchen

Those are your thoughts on Thoreau's quote?

Fantastic thread. Thank you OP.

With regard to this as well as the references to capitalism:

originally posted by: ClovenSky
a reply to: RAY1990

I agree completely that contentment and peace of mind are complete internal constructs. Those who find and attain contentment through internal means will be the same regardless of their external surroundings.

But how many people exists that satisfy themselves by discovering themselves versus those who try and fill the void through their environment?

Modern life pushes us to sacrifice authentic connection and purpose in order to be accepted by the artificial construct of work/job or school or social group or whatever pigeon-holed demographic society labels us with or that we self-destructively adopt for ourselves - in an effort to feel relevant in a rapidly changing world dominated by branding and marketing and sharp divisions.

I’m currently reading a book, “The Courage To Be Disliked”. It pretty much deals with many of the issues discussed in this thread. It’s been really helpful in sorting out the clutter, discerning what is really my own need/want/desire versus that which has been thrust onto me by people, the system, capitalism, etc. It’s eye-opening. It very much underscores a long-held belief of mine that happiness is an extreme. Visualizing it on a line with sadness on one end, happiness on the other and contentment in the middle. I tend to think it has got to be pretty exhausting to be in a constant pursuit of happiness. I mean, if I end up happy due to some small thing or even some big divine intervention, that’s great. But to be constantly on a quest of some new thing or situation is where the stress and unhappiness comes into play, at least for me.

a reply to: kosmicjack
Hi kosmicjack, and thank you for the added insight, both regarding our current state (about status, grouping, labels) and on "happiness." Your thoughts on the pursuit of happiness are really thought provoking!

I checked out reviews for the book you mentioned-- looks really good.

originally posted by: FyreByrd
The fruits of capitalism.

No, not Capitalism. Greed. Greed is not Capitalism. Capitalism is not greed. Stop confusing Capitalism with greedy CEOs who make 200 million dollars a year, while not employing full-time workers so they don't have to give them any benefits.