The story and the oil spill speak to the duality of everything. You're right: is anything wholy good or wholy bad? I don't think anything really is. Two sides of the same coin. A horrible tragedy like the oil could lead to much needed, great laws passed. It's unfortunate that it works that way, but there's got to be a catalyst for any change. That's why I don't really think stoicism the best of ideas. Emotions can cause a lot of problems; seld control should be learned, but not fully acknowledging them can be worse. Think of all the laws that wouldn't haven been passed if someone somewhere hadn't become enraged over an injustice. Emotions are needed, certainly, but the actually expression of emotions is what truly gets things moving.
It has been a while since I've sat down to read/watch your blog, but I'm glad I did.
Good point in the vlog, kudos. I've recently come in contact with one of the most tragic stages of life. I think I've learned more in the past seven weeks than I have in my short 21 years of life. Although it has been painful and quite difficult, I've learned that without death, no one would appreciate life itself, or love for that matter. Life definitely has its own way of teaching, but once it has been learned, you never forget.
As for the oil spills, people have stopped caring altogether. Money has completely taken over the way people walk, talk and act. There is no compassion, and all respect has been thrown out of the window due to money. No one cares about the reefs anymore. People don't realize that without reefs, we will have no fish, without fish we will have no sharks, orcas, whales (used for a number of medicines/antibiotics and many other things)... and so on and so on. And by "no one," I mean the people who are able to prevent the spills. Not to mention, we as individuals are the ones paying to clean up the spill, not the company that "accidentally" drops it into the ocean. They will all learn in time that we cannot eat money. ...hopefully.
I hope all is well with you, Sergey. Have a wonderful week.
Happy Monday Night, I know usually I am posting earlier than this but I got transferred to another site with my work and started today. Also, up to my you know what in boxes from the move. You bought up a good point with out bad there would not be any good. I believe that everything happens for a reason. But you don't say oh well and go on with life. Emotions are always needed to voice your feelings. if you don't use the emotions to voice your feelings, you come off cold and unfeeling.
The story's theme is of the constant struggle we face to assimilate our logical thought processes with our feelings. We all face this experience in our lives, but I guess it is how we choose to deal with it that matters.
If you think about the ideals of this story and the scale that we decide to compare it to (obviously like the oil spill), you can start to see cracks where the line between decency and disagreeable begin to blur. Lets just hope, for everyones sake, that the people in power choose to be on the more cautious and responsible side of this balance.
Thanks for posting a video Serg. Also, I am sorry to all the lovely people who subscribe to this blog if my comments are somewhat fragmented. I am drinking wine and watching the hockey game (in typical Canadian fashion) which has resulted in too much wine being spilled on my couch.
I also find it horrible that companies do not want to put out the expense for the safety of the goods they deal in. Sadly, with this case, it will cost us all a lot more than the precautions would have cost them. Then again, to quote Jurassic Park, "Life finds a way." Maybe life will find a way to recover from this too.
I think good things will come of the oil spill but like you said, no telling if it will balance out in the future. The sigh after talking about the $500,000 about sums it up.
Also, I noticed a pretty deep hum this time that I've never heard before. Did you switch mics or is it new software or something?
I think there is a definite distinction between good and evil in our world, but that's just the natural ebb and flow of life. What's more important than the events that occur in our lives is what we take from them. We must learn to either turn the negative things into something positive or to merely accept them for what they are. And we must learn from our mistakes. Life is a constant balancing act, as well as a constant learning experience.
Being unemotional is like denying everything that I am as a person. I'm a water sign..and sometimes I don't always like being a water sign. (Because I can overreact), I'm passionate, and I believe in what I say and do. Sometimes being emotional, is good, it gets things done, and it creates change. Sometimes being emotional can backfire on you, and make you fall to your knees... Emotion is what makes us human, it what makes us do great things...and bad things too unfortunately. But like you said..if we expect life to be constantly changing, and if we accept that we can't control certain things in our lives, then we have more control over our emotions..we are less inclined to "overreact" to them.
Now this is something I will discuss further, but I want to bring up people like Buddhist monks. Through meditation and training they are able to control their emotions.
In fact I believe there is a study done on how meditation can help you control your emotions. Now the questions is, is this a temporary fix? In the long run are you gonna burst? Or will you find a healthier way of releasing that emotional energy?
Different paths are right for different people. While I myself can't fathom suppressing emotions, be it for temporary or long term solution, a Buddhist monk may be following the right path for him. Hopefully, that means he will harness or "let go" enough, respectfully, to avoid negative consequences.
And this is where the importance of having all different kinds of people and paths becomes very important. Buddhist monks make their way and impact on others through the meditative, peaceful, understated way of life. There has to be a balance to make the world go 'round. Monks can hold it down for us as far as solid spiritual foundation goes, but someone somewhere has to follow their impulses and emotions to act as catalysts. Even monks know that, I think. Remember that monk who set himself on fire in protest? In one way, it was very peaceful. He didn't rant and rave or threaten others, but the act itself was violent to the senses - a catalyst. The two sides - emotionally expressive and emotionally anchored - have to work together.
Brave New World: "Why don't they make a world full of all Alphas then?" "Because nothing would get done."
I stumbled across this article on the RealitySandwich.com website (lots of interesting articles to read here!!) and thought I would post it since it's about the topic of good and evil and makes a lot of sense, in my opinion. It's written by Don Miguel Ruiz, author of The Fourth Agreement--about Toltec Wisdom.
I don't think that suppressing your emotions is always a bad thing. For instance haven't you ever written a really heated and mean letter and then decided to sleep on it overnight to see if you felt the same way in the morning? Very rarely do you wake up feeling the need to say most of the things you have written. Had you have sent it, you probably would've regretted it. I feel that way nearly all of the times that I've flipped out on someone and often saying sorry isn't enough for you or them and it because a struggle of forgiveness on your part and theirs. I think that expressing ourselves is possibly one of the hardest things we will ever do. No matter how you try to understand someone else you never will completely. Let it be touch, feel, or taste everyone's experiences are all their own. I think we spend most of our lives reaching out for a connection and then realize that no matter how close we are to whatever/whoever it is we have gone through life entirely on our own. Not to say that relationships aren't worthwhile, they are completely, they make life fruitful. To me, understanding this makes me feel grateful for those who 'get me', it gives me appreciation for how few and far between those relationships are.
In response to your proverb I have another proverb I really, really like. It's pretty similar to yours, in a way. The moral of the story to me is that when disaster comes hurtling towards you, opportunity always presents itself. I'm posting it in a video because this guy made me laugh. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wA8QVhHA0go
I see trees of green, red roses too I see them bloom for me and you And I think to myself what a wonderful world I see skies of blue and clouds of white The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night And I think to myself what a wonderful world. The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky Are also on the faces of people going by I see friends shaking hands saying how do you do They're really saying I love you. I hear babies crying, I watch them grow They'll learn much more than I'll never know And I think to myself what a wonderful world Yes I think to myself what a wonderful world.
16 comments:
The neighbors are a nosy lot, aren't they?
The story and the oil spill speak to the duality of everything. You're right: is anything wholy good or wholy bad? I don't think anything really is. Two sides of the same coin. A horrible tragedy like the oil could lead to much needed, great laws passed. It's unfortunate that it works that way, but there's got to be a catalyst for any change.
That's why I don't really think stoicism the best of ideas. Emotions can cause a lot of problems; seld control should be learned, but not fully acknowledging them can be worse. Think of all the laws that wouldn't haven been passed if someone somewhere hadn't become enraged over an injustice. Emotions are needed, certainly, but the actually expression of emotions is what truly gets things moving.
It has been a while since I've sat down to read/watch your blog, but I'm glad I did.
Good point in the vlog, kudos.
I've recently come in contact with one of the most tragic stages of life. I think I've learned more in the past seven weeks than I have in my short 21 years of life. Although it has been painful and quite difficult, I've learned that without death, no one would appreciate life itself, or love for that matter.
Life definitely has its own way of teaching, but once it has been learned, you never forget.
As for the oil spills, people have stopped caring altogether. Money has completely taken over the way people walk, talk and act. There is no compassion, and all respect has been thrown out of the window due to money. No one cares about the reefs anymore. People don't realize that without reefs, we will have no fish, without fish we will have no sharks, orcas, whales (used for a number of medicines/antibiotics and many other things)... and so on and so on. And by "no one," I mean the people who are able to prevent the spills. Not to mention, we as individuals are the ones paying to clean up the spill, not the company that "accidentally" drops it into the ocean. They will all learn in time that we cannot eat money. ...hopefully.
I hope all is well with you, Sergey.
Have a wonderful week.
Peas and Carrots.
Serg,
Happy Monday Night, I know usually I am posting earlier than this but I got transferred to another site with my work and started today. Also, up to my you know what in boxes from the move.
You bought up a good point with out bad there would not be any good. I believe that everything happens for a reason. But you don't say oh well and go on with life. Emotions are always needed to voice your feelings. if you don't use the emotions to voice your feelings, you come off cold and unfeeling.
well have a good night
Shell
The story's theme is of the constant struggle we face to assimilate our logical thought processes with our feelings. We all face this experience in our lives, but I guess it is how we choose to deal with it that matters.
If you think about the ideals of this story and the scale that we decide to compare it to (obviously like the oil spill), you can start to see cracks where the line between decency and disagreeable begin to blur. Lets just hope, for everyones sake, that the people in power choose to be on the more cautious and responsible side of this balance.
Thanks for posting a video Serg. Also, I am sorry to all the lovely people who subscribe to this blog if my comments are somewhat fragmented. I am drinking wine and watching the hockey game (in typical Canadian fashion) which has resulted in too much wine being spilled on my couch.
I also find it horrible that companies do not want to put out the expense for the safety of the goods they deal in. Sadly, with this case, it will cost us all a lot more than the precautions would have cost them.
Then again, to quote Jurassic Park, "Life finds a way." Maybe life will find a way to recover from this too.
Short and sweat.
I think good things will come of the oil spill but like you said, no telling if it will balance out in the future. The sigh after talking about the $500,000 about sums it up.
Also, I noticed a pretty deep hum this time that I've never heard before. Did you switch mics or is it new software or something?
Cheers!
And by sweat, I mean sweet. haha.
4am. :\
I think there is a definite distinction between good and evil in our world, but that's just the natural ebb and flow of life. What's more important than the events that occur in our lives is what we take from them. We must learn to either turn the negative things into something positive or to merely accept them for what they are. And we must learn from our mistakes. Life is a constant balancing act, as well as a constant learning experience.
Being unemotional is like denying everything that I am as a person. I'm a water sign..and sometimes I don't always like being a water sign. (Because I can overreact), I'm passionate, and I believe in what I say and do.
Sometimes being emotional, is good, it gets things done, and it creates change.
Sometimes being emotional can backfire on you, and make you fall to your knees...
Emotion is what makes us human, it what makes us do great things...and bad things too unfortunately.
But like you said..if we expect life to be constantly changing, and if we accept that we can't control certain things in our lives, then we have more control over our emotions..we are less inclined to "overreact" to them.
Hope everyone has a good week.
Great comments everyone,
Now this is something I will discuss further, but I want to bring up people like Buddhist monks. Through meditation and training they are able to control their emotions.
In fact I believe there is a study done on how meditation can help you control your emotions. Now the questions is, is this a temporary fix? In the long run are you gonna burst? Or will you find a healthier way of releasing that emotional energy?
Cheers,
Serg
I think in the long run you would end up bursting. Suppressing emotions is unnatural. Emotions make us human.
Although, the monks could deal with their emotional energy by becoming crazed sex addicts. That's healthy, right?
I have a weird sense of humor, I am aware. Suppressing emotions to me seems like a violation of nature. Like everything there has to be a balance.
Different paths are right for different people. While I myself can't fathom suppressing emotions, be it for temporary or long term solution, a Buddhist monk may be following the right path for him. Hopefully, that means he will harness or "let go" enough, respectfully, to avoid negative consequences.
And this is where the importance of having all different kinds of people and paths becomes very important. Buddhist monks make their way and impact on others through the meditative, peaceful, understated way of life. There has to be a balance to make the world go 'round. Monks can hold it down for us as far as solid spiritual foundation goes, but someone somewhere has to follow their impulses and emotions to act as catalysts. Even monks know that, I think. Remember that monk who set himself on fire in protest? In one way, it was very peaceful. He didn't rant and rave or threaten others, but the act itself was violent to the senses - a catalyst.
The two sides - emotionally expressive and emotionally anchored - have to work together.
Brave New World: "Why don't they make a world full of all Alphas then?" "Because nothing would get done."
Rachel
I stumbled across this article on the RealitySandwich.com website (lots of interesting articles to read here!!) and thought I would post it since it's about the topic of good and evil and makes a lot of sense, in my opinion. It's written by Don Miguel Ruiz, author of The Fourth Agreement--about Toltec Wisdom.
www.realitysandwich.com/truth_or_fiction
I don't think that suppressing your emotions is always a bad thing. For instance haven't you ever written a really heated and mean letter and then decided to sleep on it overnight to see if you felt the same way in the morning? Very rarely do you wake up feeling the need to say most of the things you have written. Had you have sent it, you probably would've regretted it. I feel that way nearly all of the times that I've flipped out on someone and often saying sorry isn't enough for you or them and it because a struggle of forgiveness on your part and theirs.
I think that expressing ourselves is possibly one of the hardest things we will ever do. No matter how you try to understand someone else you never will completely. Let it be touch, feel, or taste everyone's experiences are all their own. I think we spend most of our lives reaching out for a connection and then realize that no matter how close we are to whatever/whoever it is we have gone through life entirely on our own. Not to say that relationships aren't worthwhile, they are completely, they make life fruitful. To me, understanding this makes me feel grateful for those who 'get me', it gives me appreciation for how few and far between those relationships are.
In response to your proverb I have another proverb I really, really like. It's pretty similar to yours, in a way. The moral of the story to me is that when disaster comes hurtling towards you, opportunity always presents itself. I'm posting it in a video because this guy made me laugh. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wA8QVhHA0go
I see trees of green, red roses too
I see them bloom for me and you
And I think to myself what a wonderful world
I see skies of blue and clouds of white
The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night
And I think to myself what a wonderful world.
The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces of people going by
I see friends shaking hands saying how do you do
They're really saying I love you.
I hear babies crying, I watch them grow
They'll learn much more than I'll never know
And I think to myself what a wonderful world
Yes I think to myself what a wonderful world.
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