… this all is immensely funny, watching an entire species ecocide itself, and most of the rest of the planet, ultimately because we are too … cowardly, lazy, neurotic, greedy, take your pick, to do what would need to be done to stop it.
But that’s the joke!
The human condition.
That is the joke.
… why are we so serious?
What is all that worry and concern gonna accomplish?
Do you have an actual thing you could do, to make things better in some way, for yourself, for others?
If no: There’s nothing you can do, worrying is pointless.
If yes: Just do that then.
Don’t be deluded that you’re guaranteed, or even likely to be sucessful. That is arrogance. But there is value in trying to do the right thing, even when it seems hopeless.
Don’t worry about what is unavoidable… it will always get you, eventually. The anticipation only makes it worse, and, paradoxically… makes it more inevitable, by wasting your energy that could be spent on doing instead be spent on worrying.
I just half guerilla planted some shrubs in front of a nearby garage box wall that i don’t own on land that I don’t own. Take That, urban heat island!!!
I understand, sometimes there are very natural reasons for concern, valid reasons, reasons that a clowny screed will likely not affect.
But the world seems awash in hopelessness and worry these days.
Succumbing totally to that… will make things worse. Ideally, all of that energy could be spent either actually trying to do something that is in some way useful… or at least not be expended on stressing yourself into an early grave.
I’m not really trying to demand people be a certain way, I’m just trying to echo the fatalism, but reorient it in a way that it might … give people permission, so to speak, to try to exist in, think from a less taxing perspective.
One must imagine Sisyphus laughing hysterically, at least sometimes, for no immediately apparent reason.
Reminds me of very wise words I need to remember more often:
27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?"
34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
—Jesus of Nazareth, Matthew 6, verses 27 and 34
verses 25-31 for context and entirety.
25 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one [j]cubit to his [k]stature?
28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not [l]arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Edit: Lol at the expected down votes because fAiTh BaD. Would probably get some updoots if it was a pop culture reference saying the same thing. 😂
They might be getting mad because Jesus is not saying the same thing I am.
He is saying do not worry about tomorrow because you can worry about tomorrow, tomorrow.
He is saying material reality is not the most important thing, your relationship with God is.
I am saying do not worry about things where the worry itself prevents you from actually acting to make tomorrow better… or where there genuienly is nothing useful you can do, when you have no realistic choice.
…and I would want you to fundamentally base your appraisal of your own situation in the material and practical reality, and in you trying to be as honest with yourself, about yourself, as you can be.
Haha suppose you’re right. I appreciate the perspective. :) I think I missed the point at first. I’ve been really sleep deprived lately.
It really blows, how especially from the Internet, we have so much information we can’t do anything about. It feels like we’re failing if we’re not out there literally saving the world every day because we’re always shown a constant feed of where and how it’s burning.
…But then yeah, realistically, we can’t. I’m always trying to figure out “solutions” to these big problems but that usually just results in my brain flooring the pedal in neutral until it burns out and feels helpless and anxious again.
So yeah, I totally agree with your approach. It’s almost a skill in itself learning to discern what we can change with enough effort, and what is simply beyond our control.
Everything is a contest to get you to pay your attention toward watching, looking at, reading, whatever particular thing.
Outrage is the best way to get you to pay attention.
But when you’ve spent your attention on being outraged… your brain tricks you.
You’ve had the experience of being outraged… you felt it, you feel like you understand the thing, experienced the thing… contemplated the thing… even like you acted in some way about the thing.
But 99.9% chance… you did nothing other than absorb information and have emotions about it. Maybe you also posted a reaction comment or video of some kind… but you didn’t do anything tangible about it, something that might alleviate the conditions that led to this outrageous thing being a thing, or its likelihood of recurring.
You didn’t actually do anything about it… but you feel like you did.
This is why people get nutty about fandoms, have parasocial relationships with e-personalities, get legitimately fatigued from so much bad news.
There has to be a balance, you have to retain actual self control and self awareness. Otherwise, you’re a zombie that thinks you’re morally superior to other zombies, and you’ll sleepwalk toward what the algorithm wants you to…
When you could have, at some point, turned off the screen and… meditated, read a book, gone for a hike or jog, planted a garden, maintained your car… even gasp had a face to face interaction with a random person.
They want us atomized, exhausted, existentially despairing.
Such people won’t be capable of doing anything about anything.
If you want to stay Christian about it:
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
… Not actually in the Bible. A Lutheran pastor came up with it in the 1930s.
Though I personally disagree with the less often quoted second part of it, which echoes your quoted verses of Jesus saying to more or less be right with God and focus on that… seems to imply that all suffering is unavoidable, and of course that you’ll be better off in Heaven… which I do not think is the case.
But, I can at least say that I think the first part is pretty close to spot on.
You people should really smile more.
… this all is immensely funny, watching an entire species ecocide itself, and most of the rest of the planet, ultimately because we are too … cowardly, lazy, neurotic, greedy, take your pick, to do what would need to be done to stop it.
But that’s the joke!
The human condition.
That is the joke.
… why are we so serious?
What is all that worry and concern gonna accomplish?
Do you have an actual thing you could do, to make things better in some way, for yourself, for others?
If no: There’s nothing you can do, worrying is pointless.
If yes: Just do that then.
Don’t be deluded that you’re guaranteed, or even likely to be sucessful. That is arrogance. But there is value in trying to do the right thing, even when it seems hopeless.
Don’t worry about what is unavoidable… it will always get you, eventually. The anticipation only makes it worse, and, paradoxically… makes it more inevitable, by wasting your energy that could be spent on doing instead be spent on worrying.
I just half guerilla planted some shrubs in front of a nearby garage box wall that i don’t own on land that I don’t own. Take That, urban heat island!!!
… radio scanner swapping through signals, till it clears up and then…
Gee thanks, don’t be anxious. If only I’d thought of that.
I mean I get you and have echoed the sentiment. Sometimes can’t help but worry about our loved ones tho.
I understand, sometimes there are very natural reasons for concern, valid reasons, reasons that a clowny screed will likely not affect.
But the world seems awash in hopelessness and worry these days.
Succumbing totally to that… will make things worse. Ideally, all of that energy could be spent either actually trying to do something that is in some way useful… or at least not be expended on stressing yourself into an early grave.
I’m not really trying to demand people be a certain way, I’m just trying to echo the fatalism, but reorient it in a way that it might … give people permission, so to speak, to try to exist in, think from a less taxing perspective.
One must imagine Sisyphus laughing hysterically, at least sometimes, for no immediately apparent reason.
Reminds me of very wise words I need to remember more often:
—Jesus of Nazareth, Matthew 6, verses 27 and 34
verses 25-31 for context and entirety.
25 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one [j]cubit to his [k]stature?
28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not [l]arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Edit: Lol at the expected down votes because fAiTh BaD. Would probably get some updoots if it was a pop culture reference saying the same thing. 😂
They might be getting mad because Jesus is not saying the same thing I am.
He is saying do not worry about tomorrow because you can worry about tomorrow, tomorrow.
He is saying material reality is not the most important thing, your relationship with God is.
I am saying do not worry about things where the worry itself prevents you from actually acting to make tomorrow better… or where there genuienly is nothing useful you can do, when you have no realistic choice.
…and I would want you to fundamentally base your appraisal of your own situation in the material and practical reality, and in you trying to be as honest with yourself, about yourself, as you can be.
Haha suppose you’re right. I appreciate the perspective. :) I think I missed the point at first. I’ve been really sleep deprived lately.
It really blows, how especially from the Internet, we have so much information we can’t do anything about. It feels like we’re failing if we’re not out there literally saving the world every day because we’re always shown a constant feed of where and how it’s burning.
…But then yeah, realistically, we can’t. I’m always trying to figure out “solutions” to these big problems but that usually just results in my brain flooring the pedal in neutral until it burns out and feels helpless and anxious again.
So yeah, I totally agree with your approach. It’s almost a skill in itself learning to discern what we can change with enough effort, and what is simply beyond our control.
We live in the digital attention economy.
We literally pay … attention.
Everything is a contest to get you to pay your attention toward watching, looking at, reading, whatever particular thing.
Outrage is the best way to get you to pay attention.
But when you’ve spent your attention on being outraged… your brain tricks you.
You’ve had the experience of being outraged… you felt it, you feel like you understand the thing, experienced the thing… contemplated the thing… even like you acted in some way about the thing.
But 99.9% chance… you did nothing other than absorb information and have emotions about it. Maybe you also posted a reaction comment or video of some kind… but you didn’t do anything tangible about it, something that might alleviate the conditions that led to this outrageous thing being a thing, or its likelihood of recurring.
You didn’t actually do anything about it… but you feel like you did.
This is why people get nutty about fandoms, have parasocial relationships with e-personalities, get legitimately fatigued from so much bad news.
There has to be a balance, you have to retain actual self control and self awareness. Otherwise, you’re a zombie that thinks you’re morally superior to other zombies, and you’ll sleepwalk toward what the algorithm wants you to…
When you could have, at some point, turned off the screen and… meditated, read a book, gone for a hike or jog, planted a garden, maintained your car… even gasp had a face to face interaction with a random person.
They want us atomized, exhausted, existentially despairing.
Such people won’t be capable of doing anything about anything.
If you want to stay Christian about it:
… Not actually in the Bible. A Lutheran pastor came up with it in the 1930s.
Though I personally disagree with the less often quoted second part of it, which echoes your quoted verses of Jesus saying to more or less be right with God and focus on that… seems to imply that all suffering is unavoidable, and of course that you’ll be better off in Heaven… which I do not think is the case.
But, I can at least say that I think the first part is pretty close to spot on.