A Revolution of Individuality

a reply to: underwerks

It's a good parable in the OP, I like it.

But there are times when giving a life does matter, and it can make a difference. This monk's life made a difference:

a reply to: underwerks

Love Fargo
I watched this video yesterday and immediately thought of this guy when I read your OP.


Very moving video of a person breaking free from the programming.

to anyone strong enough to stand up for their own convictions and break free from the herd.

People need to wake up and think for themselves.

There is a great awakening happening.

a reply to: stosh64

Walking away from one side to the other, isn’t exactly walking away.

originally posted by: Indrasweb
The simple act of accepting that all things that happen to us are actually self-inflicted is immensely liberating and rewarding.

I realize a lot of ppl say this bit it makes no sense.

So if someone sucker punches me and takes my wallet it's ultimately MY fault and a self-inflicted injury?

Yeah I don't think so. That person needs to go to jail for inflicting injuries on others wrongfully.

You did not birth the universe, instead the universe birthed you.

originally posted by: underwerks
a reply to: stosh64

Walking away from one side to the other, isn’t exactly walking away.

I'm not saying to walk to any side.
Just leave the herd, left or right.
#WalkAway from the programming.

Many in the walkaway movement are not choosing a "side". They are choosing to wake up, get informed and be their own person.
You should watch some of the testimonies. Inspiring stuff.
YouTube

a reply to: underwerks

I agree.

I've often seen people try to gain things to make them happy, to make them whole. People go through life looking for "the one" that special person to make them complete, kinda bonkers really, only you can make you complete. That special person might help you in realisation but they won't make you complete.

Same with people looking for that perfect home, perfect job, perfect family. These things can make you happy and content but at the same time they can mask the real image in the mirror.

Yeah... Your thread reminds me of that Michael Jackson song, the man in the mirror. Gotta develop yourself first. I've seen a few people fleeced by their good intentions, giving themselves away... Doesn't ever seem to do them any good, one person can't change the world no matter how much heart they put into it.

a reply to: underwerks

Honestly, if you pay attention to the things people have said to me on here, do you really think I honestly care all that much by now?

One of the things being bullied does for you ... if it doesn't break your spirit and make you a spiritless sheep ... is that it teaches you to be strong in yourself and who really cares about you. At that point, you stop caring about what random people say as much. It's the ones who really care whose opinions matter.

If everyone in the group gives a little, it can be enough to make a difference. This guy's problem is that he thought he could do it all by himself. It takes a movement of people to make changes, but it works. Using this parable to justify the idea that no one should help others is silly, it would result in a worse society if everyone thought that way.

originally posted by: underwerks
a reply to: stosh64

Walking away from one side to the other, isn’t exactly walking away.

It's not about walking to any "side." It's about examining an issue from all sides (believe it or not, I have) and deciding where that leads me.

Yeah, sometimes, it does put me on a "side" in the sense that my reasoning tells me that one way is a better idea at this time.

For example, I know I dislike the idea of redistributive social programs, not because (as is often accused) I am greedy and want to keep what's mine, but because I never see how simply taking what some have accrued through their own efforts from them to give to others who don't have it does to solve the real problem.

And in my mind, the real issue is that some people haven't found a way to accrue what they need for themselves. If they aren't making for themselves, then simply taking what others make to give it to them is just a band-aid and not a real answer, and it could (and often does) prove counter productive when those people get tired of never realizing any reward for their own hard work and stop working as hard since there is no point (after all, how many threads are there about the pointlessness of wage slavery, and what is this but creating a new type of it).

You won't be able to really answer you problem until you know why so many people never do for themselves, and that's a messy one because there are many, many different reasons for it, and there are no easy fixes. But until you are willing to engage on that level, in that way, you are fooling yourself to play any other game and think you have a real answer.

a reply to: muzzleflash

Well, you may not be responsible for the punch if someone sucker punches you (though perhaps you are if you happen to be a particularly punchable person ) but you are 100% responsible for how you react to that situation and how it impacts upon you (or not as the case may be).

Also, looking at it another way, in all seriousness, you made all the choices that brought you to the exact time and place where you were sucker punched. Therefore, you are entirely responsible for being there in the first place.

Now, there is a difference between acknowledging that all consequences are a result of one's own choices, and accepting or apportioning blame for those things (in before anyone starts shrieking about victim blaming).

It's really a matter of perspective. I'm not suggesting that one way of looking at it is any more (or less) correct than any other way of looking at it. Just different. I always encourage my clients to think of it not in terms of correct or incorrect but in terms of which is the optimal way of viewing oneself and ones situation

Ymmv

a reply to: Indrasweb

I've sorta moved beyond blaming people or even myself.

The only thing, in the end, which takes ultimate responsibility is the Universe itself.

a reply to: muzzleflash

Well, that ,I think, we can probably agree on