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OneGrassRoot Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Nov-29-10 12:07 PM
Original message
One of my rambling observations...
Edited on Mon Nov-29-10 12:50 PM by OneGrassRoot
just for the helluvit. ;)

I'm observing and experiencing people acting like toddlers throwing tantrums. And, I'm feeling a bit mad at the world, too, but I think it's just in response to others making life unnecessarily difficult, in my mind.

So, about these Others...

It's obvious they're in pain, and the world as it is causes them to want to scream and rebel -- and they are lashing out anywhere they can, but it's like they're swirling in their anger and lashing out (overtly and subtly, snarkily even) inappropriately.

These are smart, insightful people. Actually, I'd say many are over 50, so they've been fighting the good fight for a while. I get that.

Being tired and scared and angry is a rough combination.

But they're friggin pissed at the world and basically acting in a manner that says "f*ck you" to everyone they're interacting with who doesn't give the answers they want or doesn't dive in to support them wholeheartedly in the way they want to be supported (I often can't discern what it IS they want others to do or say).

And, not many CAN give the right answers.

No one knows the right answers, and it seems the right answers are probably very individual, which is REALLY driving many insane.

They hate the old but are fearful and skeptical of the new.

So they continue to swirl -- along with even more Others who are also in this pissed-off, f*ck-em space, feeding one another -- and they get absolutely nowhere and just make life a little more miserable for others who must deal with them. So many groups in the last two years seem to have formed (or grown) simply to bash other groups, with no real identity of their own.

Versions of the Tea Party are forming all over the place -- right and left -- but they'd deny they're mirroring one another in any way with their dying breath...

I'm feeling a bit of a "f*ck you" attitude myself in response to these energies and people. I just want people to quit throwing rocks onto my path or at me (oh, trust me, there are rocks), as I have no desire to interfere with their path at all. If the paths cross at some point and we connect in the future, great. If not, fine.

Today I'm fine being an island of one. ;)

Interesting times.

:grouphug: to anyone needing hugs

(P.S. -- I really don't like the "us" versus "them" labeling, so I hope you'll take my use of the term "Others" with a grain of salt.)


edit because I TRULY can't type any more
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MorningGlow Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Nov-29-10 01:48 PM
Response to Original message
1. Angry
Before the election, someone--a journalist but I can't remember who--was on Stephanie Miller's radio show, and she put it best--that people are frustrated and angry, but they don't know who to be angry at, where to direct their anger. So they lash out all over the place--at politicians, at social constructs, at each other. And when it comes to politics, they vote through their anger, which is why we get so much flailing, misdirection, and general dissatisfaction with who's in charge.

I tee-heed at today's Non Sequitur:

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OneGrassRoot Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Nov-29-10 01:51 PM
Response to Reply #1
2. LOL...that toon is spot on....
You're so right. People are ANGRY, and (so it seems) many think they know who they're angry at but they don't really. Hence, the frustration and flailing. Yep, yep....

:shrug:

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get the red out Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Nov-29-10 02:34 PM
Response to Original message
3. Falling to pieces
Edited on Mon Nov-29-10 02:36 PM by get the red out
It seems like the country, and even the world, have been falling into pieces over the past couple of years. Everyone wants it to stop, but also use the problems to try to support their own demons like racism and xenophobia. Never have I felt more confident that no one tells people the truth about anything and that the media supports only its own objectives, whether they come from particular business interests or a side of the political spectrum (or both). Actually, I don’t know if we get any more than lies in right wing language vs. lies presented in a palatable way for everyone else. If something does not break through this cycle more whirlwinds like the tea party will probably keep coming. (Amazing how efficiently that movement was co-opted by the PTB). There is a vacuum of non-corporate information and the only thing to fill it is the web and conspiracy theorists (not to discount all of them by any means, but I really wonder about some of their motives and who pulls some of their strings behind the scenes because some of the things that get promoted seem to play right into the hands of those who have all the power).

There’s just nothing to consistently believe in right now. Everything is cacophony. The stuff coming out of Wiki-leaks could burst through the deeply instilled sense of American Exceptionalism most people have been implanted with in this country; or it might just be too much for a lot of people to handle and piss them off more. I don’t know if the chaos will really stop until something or someone is actually believable to people. Everyone knows we are loosing or have lost this country, we just disagree completely on how and why.

It gets in the way of normal human interactions all the time, the most mild mannered people can just blow up into cartoon monsters when they start ripping and roaring with that tea bagger crap. It’s bizarre. A lot of these people aren’t bad, it’s just that the extreme crap deep inside them has been given false validity by crazy people talking in the media and that side gets the best of them out of fear. In a better society these people might have to face personal problems like ingrained racism and such, but now they can be part of some new group where that gets applauded rather than criticized.

Don’t know if that was on topic, but it has been on my mind lately.
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OneGrassRoot Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Nov-29-10 03:11 PM
Response to Reply #3
4. Well said, as usual, GTRO...

Cacophony. Yep.

:hug:


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Kind of Blue Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Nov-29-10 04:11 PM
Response to Original message
5. Funny, I was about to respond hours ago
Edited on Mon Nov-29-10 04:12 PM by Kind of Blue
but decided not to send. When I first read the OP, I kept having this vision of a boxing ring in an arena filled to the capacity with a roaring blood thirsty crowd. But the boxers were at their opposite corners. This is what prevented me from sending because, though I know what you say is true, I didn't know what the imagery of the boxers meant and wanted to think about it.

A few minutes ago, I just ended a disagreement with another DUer in another OP and we both came out of it smiling. Neither changed the others mind, of course :eyes: but I feel the the contentious feelings about the Other is gone.

I guess I'm thinking some people on opposite sides are reaching the point of disagreeing without the f**k you attitude. And that's a start, IMHO.
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OneGrassRoot Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-30-10 04:47 AM
Response to Reply #5
10. Go you, KOB....

It's all just craziness sometimes. Pure chaos.

We need a sighing emoticon.

;)

:hug:

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Tsiyu Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Nov-29-10 10:16 PM
Response to Original message
6. Anger can be constructive



Locally, many are angry at one certain entity, and finally good people are venting and letting their true feelings be known.

At a discussion Friday, trying to help a friend/also student of the "evil entity," with a research project concerning these issues, I got angry and had to leave the "interview." Someone said "Well, that happens everywhere." as a justification.

I am tired of justifications and rationalizations. What's happening is WRONG. Just WRONG. And good people are being hurt badly by that wrong. I simply have zero tolerance for those who want to throw up excuses. I am a blunt, honest, no-nonsense person and I will tell it like it is with no sugar coating. Those who are against me do the same thing, so I am not in any way ashamed.

But also i understand exactly what you are talking about in another sense. Somebody made me feel so bad this week for not "jumping high enough." It happens every time I try to help this person.

i am beginning to think that person tries to sabotage their own efforts. We all have limitations and time/technology/money constraints but somehow some of us aren't supposed to have those. And if we don't do things exactly as that person envisions, we become "the enemy."

It hurts the heart.

Just keep doing what you're doing and don't be moved. I let this person really get to me this week but I think I'm feeling better now. All around me I've seen meltdowns but I am refusing to join in. People are scared, angry and lost. So I don't take it personally (usually :))

It seems too many folks want to be judgmental because "they" were judged unfairly. I understand that, too.

But in the end, OneGrassRooot, it ain't about us, is it?



Keep on keepin on. I am very proud of what you do. :hug:






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OneGrassRoot Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-30-10 04:15 AM
Response to Reply #6
8. Good for you, Tsuyi :)

I think it's good there is one specific person(s) people can speak out against where you are; that makes a lot of sense to me, when we can own our truth and power and speak up.

You're right. People are so angry and afraid, but they don't have an outlet (hence, Limbaugh and Beck give their followers "monsters" to hate: evil progressives and such. ;)).

I do have compassion for the most part because I recognize fear is at the heart of most of the anger, imho. It's still hard to deal with on a daily basis.

And boy do I hear you about the other....:hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug:

I'm proud of you, too. :hi:

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Proud_Lefty Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-30-10 02:12 AM
Response to Original message
7. I'm noticing anger on TV more than in my own life
Edited on Tue Nov-30-10 02:13 AM by Proud_Lefty
In my own life, I'm trying to help some people deal with their struggling with their homes, their health, their finances, their families, and their complicated relationships. Then there's the other group who's finally finding a break through, a job, a mate, some financial relief. But when I focus on me, I feel nothing but frustration and depression in a very lonely way. I know that things are so seriously wrong on levels we far from understand, so how can we tackle them? Something positive needs to be done by the light warriors, but I keep feeling frustrated not knowing even where to start. The last time I jumped into a cause (actually, a political group), I got sucked in and under so fast, it took a long time to get out from beneath all the people just wanting to use me for their own power plays. I'm really gun shy now and extremely cautious about where to turn next. I'm so happy I'm not experiencing a lot of the anger these days, but what I'm seeing isn't much better.
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OneGrassRoot Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-30-10 04:18 AM
Response to Reply #7
9. That's so hard...

It's really, really good you're able to detach. I hope you can continue to do so.

And I hear you about jumping in and being sucked under. Twenty years ago I found myself there, and as an empath I REALLY had to learn to set boundaries for myself. It's still a daily struggle, but -- in spite of how it may seem from the outside looking in -- I do much better in that regard now.

"I know that things are so seriously wrong on levels we far from understand, so how can we tackle them?"

That's huge. It all really is so very huge. I suppose we just do the best we can as individuals, just as you're doing.

:hug: :hug: :hug:

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Proud_Lefty Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-30-10 10:01 AM
Response to Reply #9
13. Thanks for the reminder, OGR
Yes, there was a part of being involved that made me feel so much more complete and I really want back in, but just with boundaries this time as you say. I've been looking for that organization for months now, but nothing even close seems to be presenting itself.

I do feel that the connection made between all the people here on ASAH is definitely a big first step on setting examples and lighting the way.

:grouphug:
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OneGrassRoot Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-30-10 10:16 AM
Response to Reply #13
14. Fighting against versus working toward....

That was another thing I learned and have to keep reminding myself about.

And it comes back to that focus thing.

There are so many wonderful organizations really doing great things -- things that MUST be done -- yet the approach is often a fight AGAINST something, rather than the focus being working TOWARD a better way.

A completely different vibe, imho, and it affects me very differently.

That's why I'm like a broken record about this subject; rather than be immersed in (even if it's "fighting the good fight") battle against something/someone, why not put the energy into working toward and creating what you choose to see instead.

They're not the same thing, and I'm grateful those here recognize that, even if we are human and have a hard time living it some days. ;)

:hug:

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hermetic Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-30-10 07:32 AM
Response to Original message
11. I only just now saw this post
And I'm like, "Wow, we just had this conversation elsewhere." So this feeling really is something palpable.

Yesterday I was online with someone who was saying things are getting so bad he was thinking about ending it all. So me, being all helpful and stuff :eyes:, said that people can adapt to bad situations. Just look at Haiti, NOLA, etc. Well, I got blasted for my cruelty, it wasn't THE SAME. Those people never had anything in the first place. :wtf: Obviously I wasn't capable of understanding how horrible it was that this guy lost his job, his car, his life. Uh huh, I sure don't know nothing about that.....

Well, it sure put me in a funk for awhile. But then a neighbor called and asked if I'd like to visit and share a bottle of wine. We did and had a delightful time and my world outlook improved tremendously. So, to GTRO who said, "There’s just nothing to consistently believe in right now." I would say no, there in one thing. And that is community. It's all a lot of us have left and will be more and more. Hopefully as we all come to appreciate our real life communities, our online ones will improve, too. Hopefully. Maybe someday we'll just have to decide it's better to pull the plug, and by that I mean on our computers.

I'll be rambling on down the road now.......
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OneGrassRoot Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-30-10 08:03 AM
Response to Reply #11
12. ...

;)

It's intense, that's for sure. And I sense a collective bipolar vibe, for lack of a better way to describe the mood swings.

See ya down that road....

:hug:



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get the red out Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-30-10 03:47 PM
Response to Reply #11
15. Hermetic, you are correct
I find myself being more connected with people/community and less with all the crap I can't do anything about since a dog came into my life, I know that sounds strange but we get what we need. That little pup leads me out of the house and into the human world. Even when I knit obsessively I watch Animal Planet or something else that is non-news. I am sad that her second round of training classes ends this Sunday, I have enjoyed the other dog owners and their pets so much. This came right at the time I have needed it most.

I'm looking for more community in my life now, rather than less. I have isolated too much and now I find the way I look at things is changing.

Community is something to believe in and look for every day, I have found it online as well and I cherish that too. Most things outside of human interaction, in the "bigger picture" so to speak, seem staged (probably are staged), and that is contributing to driving people nuts IMO.
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PhillyGurl Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-30-10 07:51 PM
Response to Reply #15
23. Interesting, me too
Edited on Tue Nov-30-10 07:52 PM by PhillyGurl
looking for community, new friends, tired of isolating. Want to be social. Just had a conversation with a neighbor last evening re: how hard it is to meet people these days. She actually apologized for not having internet service and only basic cable. My response was 'good for you!'

I honestly think the internet and computers have destroyed the fabric of humanity, in too many ways. OK, yes there have been some good things to arise from it, but most people seem to feel this gnawing lack of real connectedness to other human beings. We're all so busy texting, online, emailing that we forgot there is nothing like a real face to face conversation.

At times I think technology has made our world way too complicated and just plain irritating. The pace, the constant bombardment of newer, faster. Ugh. And I am fairly young, just turned 50 this year.

Animals have a way of grounding us in the here and now, and in nature. Glad that your dog adopted you. You know that's how it goes, right? ;)
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Fire Walk With Me Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-30-10 04:20 PM
Response to Original message
16. The 2010 "This isn't good enough/make change" energy was not tempered by enough light
and broke into some amount of rebellion. Sometimes for its own sake. May any ugliness so profferred be seen by all and used as a pinion to choose something more positive.
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Kind of Blue Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-30-10 05:07 PM
Response to Reply #16
17. Beautifully said, FWWM!
:hi:
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Fire Walk With Me Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-30-10 05:22 PM
Response to Reply #17
20. TY, just calling it as I've seen it.
I believe that I did warn once here at ASAH that this energy could begin to go rogue, if anyone is looking for correlation and continuity in my posts. I have posted before here and at my blog regarding the 2010 "this isn't good enough" energy.

The Higher Principles/Higher Dimensions begin to bloom in 2011, causing turmoil in existing systems and joy in those who have awaited such energy for so very long.
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Kind of Blue Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-30-10 06:44 PM
Response to Reply #20
22. Just saw some of the headings of your blog.
I didn't even know you had one. Will read for more of your thoughts. Thanks!
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Fire Walk With Me Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Dec-01-10 01:44 PM
Response to Reply #22
33. You'll see lots of crossposting between here and there.
Good stuff here gets posted there, in other words (blush/grin).

Peace!
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OneGrassRoot Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-30-10 05:07 PM
Response to Reply #16
18. fragmentation

Is that a word that resonates? It's been one of my trigger words for a couple of years about different things, different efforts...but I just realized that so much right now has a very fragmented energy, as I perceive it.

I couldn't agree more about taking the chaos and fragmentation and All We Don't Choose to Experience, see it for what it is and then work toward and/or simply allow transformation into something positive.

:hug:

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Fire Walk With Me Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-30-10 05:19 PM
Response to Reply #18
19. It is so important right now, for each of us to move forward with our joy and our positive intent
and for us to support the systems we wish to see grow, as they will. Nurture of such systems is important during this time.:hi:
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Kind of Blue Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-30-10 06:41 PM
Response to Reply #19
21. Right on, Brother.
There is only so much that we can control. It takes a magnificent effort to actively employ positive intent as we move forward, but I see that as not much of a choice - though a good choice.
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Tsiyu Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-30-10 10:12 PM
Response to Reply #21
24. I want to add to this thread that rebellion and anger are natural


in times when leaders and powers are hurting us. We would not be where we are without the anger and rebellion of our forebears coupled with their courage to say, "enough."

I know this will sound harsh, but I view some people at certain times and places as having to fight against the system or no amount of effort toward a newer system will matter.

If some guy decides to leave society and goes out into the hinterlands to raise his own food and build a place for others to survive, dismissing the problems in his old world as too complicated and scary to change, well and good. But if he finds, out in those hinterlands, that someone is enslaving others, he is not more holy, balanced or enlightened if he turns his head and pretends not to see.


He is not "fragmented" or "rebellious" because he cries out for those enslaved.

It is never to our benefit to shun or label or ignore people who speak the truth, Any more than it helps to refuse to listen to the truth.

Just opening up this discussion a bit deeper....while we're on the subject of rambling.



:P
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OneGrassRoot Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Dec-01-10 03:14 AM
Response to Reply #24
25. I completely agree...

;)

I've written many times (since anger is such a prevalent emotion here at DU...lol) how anger can be a POWERFUL catalyst and is sometimes very, very necessary to change things and move forward.

And I couldn't agree more when you say "if he finds, out in those hinterlands, that someone is enslaving others, he is not more holy, balanced or enlightened if he turns his head and pretends not to see."

I personally don't feel being a "good" person or spiritual or enlightened means being calm and balanced and gentle 100% of the time, not when confronted with gross injustices in this world.

What I do feel -- and I feel this for me personally, based on experience -- is that staying in a place of anger can eat us alive. It's one thing for it to be a catalyst to drive us; it's another for it to be our driving force and our identity.

Again, for me, it comes down to, what is the focus?

Is our energy completely immersed in constantly battling AGAINST something/someone out of anger, or can the anger be transformed into the focus being about working TOWARD something...with that "something" being more positive, the change we hope to see/create in the world.

To me, that is a completely different energy. One makes me feel like crap and drains me fairly quickly; the other makes me feel better and gives me more energy to keep "doing" for the long haul, yet I'm equally involved in affecting change and not sitting on the sidelines.

Plus, we're all very different personalities. Maybe the above only applies to people with my personality type, but I just keep observing people who are angry, angry, angry, and they're doing NOTHING about the source of the anger except complain, blame other people, and eventually go into a shell. That anger accomplished absolutely nothing in my opinion.

I get the feeling people feel judged when I or others talk about "staying positive." And, trust me, through the years when I've been going through particularly rough spells I've wanted to slap the "law of attraction" and others preaching positivity. And to me, positivity isn't about saying some happy mantra over and over again, hoping to convince us that the world is okay and we'll be just fine.

My personal version of positivity is something else that seems to agitate a lot of people. It's about where I put my focus and thus what I DO with that focus. As I said, if I don't DO and focus on what I'm working toward and what I choose to create -- rather than focus on the complete hell I may be facing and battling -- I will spiral downward and be of no use to anyone. Been there, done that.

But, because so many ARE immersed in anger and frustration and the gross injustices of the world, they feel that if others aren't angry, too (outwardly, vocally angry), then they're not also "fighting the good fight."

Some of us just do so in a different way.

We're all doing the best we can.

Does that make sense?

:hi:

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Tsiyu Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Dec-01-10 10:14 AM
Response to Reply #25
30. It's a constant balancing act
Edited on Wed Dec-01-10 10:22 AM by Tsiyu

You don't agitate me by the way. :)


I wanted to make it clear, and perhaps did not, that some people are able and willing to "Get up, Stand up," and some are not. Not everyone can paint, sing, fix a car, or dig a ditch.

And not everyone can confront reality and remain positive lol.

It's sort of like walking a tight rope, or as one of my sons used to always say: "Livin' on the ragged edge."

You have to pick your battles, but if you never pick any, and leave the weak and the poor to the wiles of the greedy and the inhumane, well who are you, really? If you are one of those who feels you have a voice?

That's what I was saying.

Fight for justice where you can, how you can.

Sometimes we fear change and that apprehension is first sensed when we see others confront systems that must change for the good of all. We don't want to acknowledge the elephant in the room. We condescend to the person pointing out the elephant, in our discomfort and wariness of change.

But comfort isn't what we're headed for, lol.

Peace in the heart is good; peace is a by-product of justice.

Promote both, is my main message.




Edited for missing text














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OneGrassRoot Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Dec-01-10 10:58 AM
Response to Reply #30
31. I hear you.... (edited to add something at end)
Edited on Wed Dec-01-10 11:23 AM by OneGrassRoot
Thanks for explaining further.

I agree, especially about speaking up for those without a voice, or those with no energy or will to use their voice any longer.

:hug:

To go off on a different tangent though related to another recent discussion, I even see people resisting positive, incremental change, a change in the right direction, if it takes any effort. Human beings are, in general, sooooooo resistant to any change.

(I'm anxious to read Rick's newsletter again, as there's probably insight about these things in there.)

Yet I realize there are plenty of people with zero energy; their only choice is to allow others to help. Or not. If the option of sincere helps comes along, we know many choose not to accept it. Who knows why? I really don't know and I have to detach from those individuals but instead keep fighting FOR them as the system is concerned. And I'm not talking about people being condescending or "charitable"; I'm talking about one human being helping another to ease suffering. Yet, many refuse that for their own reasons, and I respect that.

Now, for those with some level of energy remaining, and internal resources if nothing else, maybe some of those who resist change DO have to crash and burn first. Maybe their way of being is to conserve energy until they're forced to change. I don't think this is a conscious decision but I'm just trying to figure people out -- people fascinate me. ;) For them, when absolutely forced, they then have energy to use (even if they think they don't), and then they're ready and willing to rebuild. They're forced into it.

Again, just different personality types, different from my approach which is to keep working on things, in spite of being friggin exhausted from daily survival myself, truth be told.

I think one of the reasons I'm fascinated and talk about these things here ('cause I really don't have any other place to ramble about these things) is because I do consider myself very ordinary and resonate with and "tap into" the average person, just doing their best to survive. Yet there is something about my way of being that is very different, enough that I've always had people basically respond to me like a deer in the headlights (and I can tell when it's happening via the computer too...:rofl:). A disconnect. And it fascinates me, so I explore, so I can learn more about myself, and others.

:hi:

:hug:


Edit: Whew, glad I got back in time. As I focus on work (which allows me to think entirely too much...lol), I had another little "aha" moment as to personality types.

I really think much of it comes down to how sensitive we are, how empathic we are, and how we handle that.

For a very sensitive empath such as myself, it's easy to drown, especially when there is so much suffering as there is now. My personal path has led me to experience this drowning, which not only made me beyond depressed but also rendered me barely functional. I retreated from the world in many ways and gradually found my way. And, my way is to create and DO things that I feel are of substance.

I feel others' pain, but rather than drown in it and the perceived hopelessness of it all, I do what I can.

I often say that I do what I do for selfish reasons, and this is what I mean. The driving force for helping others is to HELP MYSELF. Otherwise, I drown in a sea of suffering.

Okay, so whoever reads this stuff pretty knows the guts of me...lol...for good or bad. ;)

Thanks for providing the space to ramble more than I even realized, Tsiyu. :) :hug:

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Silver Gaia Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Dec-02-10 06:01 AM
Response to Reply #31
35. Hi OGR!
Edited on Thu Dec-02-10 06:03 AM by Silver Gaia
Your post made me think about a discussion in an American history college class I sat in on a couple of weeks ago (as a part of a training process I'm going through).

The instructor asked the class (which was just a handful of people, all young women, BTW) how they would define terms like "Liberalism" and "Conservatism." When none of them were brave enough to venture speaking up, he took a marker and drew a diagram like this on the whiteboard:

Then he talked about how it's a continuum, and individually, we all range somewhere along that line. Sometimes Liberalism wins out, and in the end, we do make progress, but incrementally, because so many people are so resistant to change. And the reason for that is FEAR. He then noted that "we" (speaking figuratively here) sometimes become so afraid of change that we resist it by killing those leaders who would lead us forward into change. So, we just sorta rock back and forth along that continuum.

Kinda sad, but I liked the visual image he gave for it (I'm such a visual person anyhow), and your post made me think of it, so thought I'd share it.
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OneGrassRoot Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Dec-02-10 06:17 AM
Response to Reply #35
36. I believe that wholeheartedly.....

Thanks for sharing that! :hug:

because so many people are so resistant to change. And the reason for that is FEAR. He then noted that "we" (speaking figuratively here) sometimes become so afraid of change that we resist it by killing those leaders who would lead us forward into change. So, we just sorta rock back and forth along that continuum.


It's why my mantra is the CHOOSE LOVE, NOT FEAR.

We often don't even REALIZE we ARE choosing fear, it's so ingrained in our collective psyche. It seems so simple to choose love over fear, but it's really not, and it takes work and bringing the choice into our awareness repeatedly, imho.

And, because of this intrinsic fear of...everything...we also seem to have a tremendous capacity for self-sabotage, again without realizing it.

We say we want positive change, yet many of our actions go against this actually manifesting.

This isn't spiritual stuff, this is common sense stuff to me. ;)

Thanks again. :hi:

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Fire Walk With Me Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Dec-01-10 02:03 PM
Response to Reply #25
34. Yes! Stewing in anger is the trap, and only hurts ourselves and others
while directing the energy into creating something positive (even if it is only to protest the wrong), is what matters. Spiritual growth moves against the ego's grain, so to speak.

Tsiyu, anger is of course important, especially to move you from a place of helplessness into action regarding it. But when it is simply =practiced=, it becomes a destructive trap. OGR said as much, I have little to add, except that in this increasing energy of co-creation (Karen Bishop's wording, so very true), whatever we put out there, increases much more than before. It is very important to not allow anger to become destruction itself, for rebellion to demand =any= change, not just the constructive. This is an increasingly fine line, and we are currently on its dangerous side. It is extremely important to put love and light into situations such as the Koreas and US politics, and to keep doing so, to balance out the very strong energy which is here, to aid in change itself.

BTW, recently one of my teachers said that it takes guts to be happy.

Hmmm :)
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Kind of Blue Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Dec-01-10 12:41 PM
Response to Reply #24
32. Don't I know it. My very existence
is due to the rebellion of those who cried out for the literally enslaved. I will simply not view those who vitriolically agree or disagree with with how to move forward as Other, nor will I lose sight, as FWWM pointed out of joy and positive intent as we do so. But at a certain point it is time to move away from the vitriol and join with others, ready to roll up their sleeves and continue the push with action and not simmer in a place of anger.
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NuttyFluffers Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Dec-01-10 05:10 AM
Response to Original message
26. yeah, even previously sedate people bite your head off now over small things.
it's been really trying to get along with this grumpypuss-ness. but i also try to tone down my pollyanna or debbie downer, too. it's like everyone around woke up with a bad hangover and haven't had their morning coffee yet. being cheery or sour is just going to spark all that dry powder, or whatever.
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OneGrassRoot Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Dec-01-10 05:23 AM
Response to Reply #26
27. Damn, you're right....

Unless we join people in their anger at the world, it DOES seem like it triggers it.

To get back to the zombie reference elsewhere in ASAH (due to that new show "The Walking Dead" and FL's dream), it's like we have to stay quiet and stay stealth in order not to awaken the zombies!

:rofl:

Oh well, I'm gonna be however I wanna be. If I piss people off, f*ck em. I'm not looking to agitate anyone or get into a confrontation, but I'm not gonna change what I want to say or do either.

That's my attitude right now. ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPUmE-tne5U

:hi:

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NuttyFluffers Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Dec-01-10 06:19 AM
Response to Reply #27
28. yeah, might as well enjoy life, right?
though i can see how being this way might irritate some first thing in the morning w/ a hangover:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdeoLMjcZjU

but screw it, do a shot of the hair of the dog that bit you, and get back on the dance floor! more tanning oil and feathers, bring me more tanning oil and feathers!
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OneGrassRoot Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Dec-01-10 06:26 AM
Response to Reply #28
29. Nice!!!

:applause:

:thumbsup:

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crikkett Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Dec-02-10 11:32 AM
Response to Original message
37. exactly what I needed to hear, OGR. Thanks
(I came here seeking solace and comfort after kind of overdoing it on the moralizing yesterday)

Thanks for the hug
:hug:
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