Why are most of us so inwardly poor?

hi, this is my 1st post..its a little jumbled up since i wanted to make a small summary

i believe most of the public is very poor inwardly, people are going after money or "success". .

We WANT to be something, our existence is never fulfilling for us, we look to be something bigger, being a sportsperson or getting letters behind our name to show that we are specialists in something. we want more money so that WE can get a better life. we are competitive and are always following what the "I" and "Me" want. we associate everything we have with the "me" and "my". My car, my house, my money, my wife (as if a wife is a property, we get jealous if she goes for another person).

rather than accepting who we are, and quietly observing everything we do, think, our hates, dislikes, relationships, prejudices, we ignore everything and blindly follow, look for leadership and fuel the poverty inside of us.

We join groups, to be a part of something bigger than us, similarly we are nationalistic, and strive to do good for our country. We divided in every part of society, in school theres groups which oppose each other, in a city different schools oppose each other ( as in supporting one school's team and "hating" the other one), then different cities in a province or state oppose each other, then it comes down to division between states (saying this state is better than that etc etc) and finally it comes down to division of countries.

in my opinion modern education is nothing but imitation, we read books, pass examinations and say we are "educated".. true education is what you find out for yourself on what is right and wrong. You come to things with an unbiased point of view, and understand them

Of course not everyone is like this....


what are your opinions on this? im relatively young (18) and im willing to learn more...about other peoples opinions and such,,.

reply to post by the dacoit


Great post. Gave you a star and a flag. You are a very wise young man. I am not sure I have an answer for you beyond that most people are like lemings and actually believe everything they see in commercials.

Heydude...good observations, all the more so for an 18 year old. You got a good life in front of you. It's good that you see the shallowness of too many people.
Most people are inwardly poor because they don't realize how rich they are. Not money wise, but happiness, peace, satisfaction. You make your own life, do what you enjoy. I know folks with nothing who are far happier than people with everything.
Inwardly poor shows a lack of spiritual( you choose which one) growth. The realization that there are bigger things at work, we are not the top of the food chain so to speak.

I agree with everything you said and you have quite accurately summed up many of the things i have been thinking recently.

I think it's more about being a good person and being happy with yourself, rather than coveting money and materialistic possesions.

Admitedly this is probably hipocritical of me, as i too sometimes buy things which i probably don't need. But i've become more aware of this recently.

You are on the money bud.

The traits of which you speek are inheritantly human and I believe the root cause lies in evolution. For an individual organism to survive, it must be very good at looking after itself. That's pretty obvious really. The more it is driven to look after itself, the better chance of survival (and passing on it's genes) it has. We are still cavemen and must evolve past this as this trait is not productive to our society.

You are on the money bud.

The traits of which you speek are inheritantly human and I believe the root cause lies in evolution. For an individual organism to survive, it must be very good at looking after itself. That's pretty obvious really. The more it is driven to look after itself, the better chance of survival (and passing on it's genes) it has. We are still cavemen and must evolve past this as this trait is not productive to our society.

A s&f because you impress me as a young man who is wise beyond his years.

Continue to question others and yourself, and you will go far. You are destined to to be inwardly rich for the rest of your life. Be fair and inquisitive.

People are always just a question away from being exposed as fellow travelers in this life.

Originally posted by OZtracized
You are on the money bud.

The traits of which you speek are inheritantly human and I believe the root cause lies in evolution. For an individual organism to survive, it must be very good at looking after itself. That's pretty obvious really. The more it is driven to look after itself, the better chance of survival (and passing on it's genes) it has. We are still cavemen and must evolve past this as this trait is not productive to our society.

exactly, we have not yet evolved emotionally..we are still cavemen, and we still think and act the way cave men do. every group is like a tribe, to which you owe allegiance to and automatically you are against another group with a different ideology

Nice post. I agree with most of what you say, and you are definitely spot on about our tendency to create division in every part of society...I simply cannot understand some of the things humans do.

Inwardly poor shows a lack of spiritual( you choose which one) growth.

I agree with this posters statement. It's fairly impressive that you have such insight at the age of 18, and I can tell you, your thoughts will only become more complex with time, and your paradigms will shift at accelerating rates. This will probably end up having adverse affects on your life, because people don't take the time to simply think and observe...and I can sense the potential in you. As you continue growing, and others continue on with their robotic lifestyles every day, you will probably find it harder and harder to "fit in", until eventually people start separating them selves from you, more division. But as is obvious, that's not really a problem, because at that stage of "enlightenment" you will feel no need try to "fit in", if they wont just accept you for who you are, you have no time for them. I myself am only 20, but I've begun to experience the things which I've described here, and I know it will only get worse, but hey, that doesn't bother me, I don't try to live up to anyone's standards.

[edit on 6/3/10 by CHA0S]

reply to post by CHA0S


haha yeah, what you said is actually happening to me right now. It is hard to "fit in" with my peers who are more latched onto reality shows or sexuality or supporting sports teams. In the beginning i tried having conversations which included philosophy and politics, but to no avail as VERY FEW are actually interested, and any of the few who are..always have biased views towards issues(mostly based on the news, or personal negative experiences)...so in the end i just gave up, i just stick to talking about personal interests ( me and my friends workout in the gym and all) or other things and stay away from these issues.

edit: and i agree with you, we shouldn't live up to anyones standards but our own. Life in itself is a learning process, in which you grow as a person. and that is learning

[edit on 6-3-2010 by the dacoit]

I think a lot of the problems you mentioned comes from the top (government). Their objective is not the betterment of society but rather money and control. In order to achieve and maintain this control they need people to be ego driven and individualistic rather than feel connected to the society and nature. This is done trough the school system, the media and advertising etc.

From a young age people are pushed to be individualistic, insecure, materialistic and overall hollow. So you end up growing up trying to fill a hole that doesn't really exist. You want to belong to groups, buy things you don't need etc. all in order to identify yourself with those things and to feel happy with yourself. Ego plays a big part. Ever hear of the expression "divide and conquer"? Well nothing helps achieve this better than a society driven by the ego.

Originally posted by the dacoit
i believe most of the public is very poor inwardly, people are going after money or "success". .

We WANT to be something, our existence is never fulfilling for us, we look to be something bigger, being a sportsperson or getting letters behind our name to show that we are specialists in something. we want more money so that WE can get a better life.

For the sake of argument I am coming from the American perspective...

I am coming to realize (I think) we are (perhaps subconsciously) feeling the usual symptoms of failure... in all that we supposedly stand for. The American dream (materialistic and shallow as a white picket fence may be) seems to be under attack from all sides. We carry on... overwhelming sense of powerlessness. It also doesn't help to see so many of our friends and families losing jobs, homes... parents coming out of retirement... the same blank expressions on all their faces...

I think I might know why we are feeling so inwardly empty... and poor...

In the United States, naturalized citizens, military personnel, and citizens assuming public offices such as presidents and judges, swear their allegiance to the United States Constitution. An Oath of Allegiance in other countries also commonly involves swearing one’s allegiance to that particular nation’s Constitution. For immigrants becoming naturalized citizens of the United States, the Oath of Allegiance frequently takes place at a citizenship ceremony.

The Oath of Allegiance is as follows:

"I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God."

--source

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence,[1] promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

The answer to your question is obviously far more complex than this but I think this is the foundation that enables all of this madness and surely something we all have in common. We all took an "oath" and we're hardly living up to it and somewhere deep down we know this and somewhere deep down we must see how and where this fits in with just about all things we do from the moment we wake up until we go to bed at night... some of us able to sleep better than others.

Just a guess on my part really...

reply to post by spectre76



hey thanks for the reply,
You are correct that when we are forced to take an oath on something, for example the US constitution, the whole repsonsibility is pushed upon us by parents, teachers, etc to make the country proud. When we fail in doing so, we feel empty and worthless as we havent contributed to something bigger than us. same goes for the army, people are willing to die for their country for the honor of dying for a cause bigger than what they are.

But apart from the US, in every country people feel like this, thats why the world is in such a sorry state. It all comes down to the society humans in general regardless of country have created.

Good insights there. Man when I was 18 I was shooting hoops and eating whopper combos, not philosophizing about the shortcomings of life and society.
But we all grow up, nice to see you're ahead of the curve.

I once read a story about Confucius who was once confronted by a group of monks who were passing through the village on their way to the mountains to live and meditate away from all the distractions, hum drum and pettiness of everyday life in the village. The leader of the monks recognized Confucius and immediately extended the offer to join them in their pursuit of enlightenment in the beauty, solace and solitude of the mountains. "Surely this life must appeal to someone like you", the monk said. Confucius said, "While your offer does have some appeal, I must decline because after all I am a man living among men."

I think what he was getting at is how you must confront your life head on not run from it (not saying you are), become your full potential based on how you positively respond to your surroundings and do what you can to make yourself and those around you more prosperous.

Originally posted by the dacoit
reply to post by spectre76

 

But apart from the US, in every country people feel like this, thats why the world is in such a sorry state. It all comes down to the society humans in general regardless of country have created.

On the global scale, it would seem to me that the common denominator would be the struggle for "freedom" of which is synonymous with the U.S. itself. It pains me to think of what all we had going for us and all the potential we had (and still have) in terms of shining that bright light of freedom upon the world for future generations to come... to think of our true potential and to then look at where we currently seem to be.

Additionally, I think we are ALL taking in too much information these days. Information overload. It seems to have changed the way we think... like some form of attention deficit disorder. It has become difficult to stay on topic as everything seems interconnected to everything else. Some call it the intentional dumbing down of the masses while others proclaim that the sheeple are waking up at last! The old paradigm "Think Globally; Act Locally" has been turned upside down (a common theme these days) and instead we have been trained to "Think Locally; Act Globally"... and so things continue to suffer...

I think we are way beyond the point of Earth's carrying capacity. This is all going somewhere... but where exactly as we all sit back and watch it unfold remains unclear. I don't think there is anyone qualified enough to state precisely what is going on with the inhabitants of planet Earth these days.

Interesting times to say the least...

The Media has vague shallow definitions for terms and displaces the truth of 'it' with alternatives
usually artificial (against which the natural and real seems bland and boring) but always
dramatized (Fear and Reverence) because there is no profit in Peace ('being' stably settled)

but the backlash is the 'poverty' you discern.

Today you can -do the world- from within your own room, at the school or library, or on any number of portable systems -but really have done nothing- and yet its realism to the mind.
The Real experience 'yada-yada' (like 'been there-done that') is the wealth of wisdom
and riches are friendships of time invested in understanding -another famine...


[edit on 2010/3/6 by YeHUaH ELaHaYNU]

Nice post,Very thought provoking

While I believe it human nature to be selfish(in any sense of the word) I also believe that the conscious realization that selfishness is totally unnecessary in this reality, is what separates man from the animals.

We are trained by our society with expectations and tasks that cause people to engage in behaviors that are less than ideal, as you point out. It only means they have adapted to the world as they found it. Allow me to point out the following which greatly fuels behaviors and the expectations in life that you find difficult to appreciate. Perhaps you'll gain insight:

On this soft blue world in space,
live the spawn of an unreasonable race.
With no solution to social pollution
we threaten the peace of the place..............................(lack of judgment)

Limited by the tiniest of minds
we count in only our kind
So closing our borders with ferocious orders,
ourselves to war we must bind.....................................(fearing outsiders)

By day and by night we will fight
and together a world we may blight.
Life is our target just meat for the market
we kill our own children for spite.........................(generational obligations)

The powers that guide through this strife
and promise a much better life
are leaders who love it spinning dreams people covet
just a back that's prepared for the knife.......................(praise democracy)

The word Peace has an ominous sound
to those who make weapons abound,
for destructive devices have big hefty prices,
Please do keep the tensions around...........................(must stay prepared)

Vengeance is mine says the Lord,
to mine do nothing untoward
but as long as I bless it no need to confess it
a libation to me this blood poured....................(maintain spiritual strengths)

In desert lands they do pray
to God many times every day,
the faith's defenders in pious surrender
all others regardless they slay.................(avoid incorrect spiritual thoughts)

Some say Labor's the source of all Wealth,
with obedience for good social health.
The people must pay what they're told every day,
then robbed by their rulers with stealth...............(& pay our tax obligations)

Money's the root of all sin,
but without it you'll never get in
To a good social set, so go deep into debt,
you can solve all your problems with gin...........(maintain social obligations)

Some find peace in a chemical vice
and claim drugs are really quite nice.
Don't be annoyed when their mind is a void
all life's just a roll of the dice................................(but take some chances)

The mother of all life is the ocean
seething with primordial motion,
What's dumped in this glory's an obnoxious story
for she'll end up a poisonous potion...............(just don't think about it OK?)

by the time i was your age i didn't just realize all that years before, i was well on me way in the other direction!