damnit. seriously. damnit.

[NoodleBoy]

so there's a woman I've been working with somewhat over the last few weeks.

she's been working her ass off trying to get something off the ground-- this thing is huge, will change lives, and the way some people think-- all by herself. she quit her job to work on it. she's organized people considered un-organizable. she's dealt with people who think they're too good to work with her, and made them work with her, and respect her.

her work is going to be tremendous and long-lasting.

her dedication should be counted in hours not slept and time not spent with friends and family.

and then, the other day, I receive a very late happy holidays email from her.

in the email, she recommends the secret and what the bleep do we know.






AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

seriously. if anyone knows that the way you get shit done is by putting your nose to the grindstone and FUCKING WORKING YOUR ASS OFF it should be her.

but no, she just attributes the work she did to sitting around thinking happy thoughts, when obviously she's had to endure months of despair and starting over to get where she's been.

why can't people just be proud that they were able to overcome huge obstacles and shoulder a massive burden? why does it have to be wrapped up in mystical bullshit????

And now I get to look forward to her abandoning her work because some people who didn't have any knowledge of iron working, beasts of burden, or the wheel said the world was going to end in 2012.

[comrade snarky]

1. The Secret pisses me off no end

Guess all those people in Auschwitz didn't hope hard enough eh?

Sorry to hear about your friend. It's weird how an otherwise smart, hardworking person can grab on to crap like that.

[CanSocDem]

2. Calm down

"why can't people just be proud that they were able to overcome huge obstacles and shoulder a massive burden?"

For starters, why do you feel 'pride' in working hard??? Where does that come from...??? Sounds like christian work ethic to me and because I already reject most of their philosophy I'm not about to follow their work rules.

Why can't you focus on where she is and not on how she got there?

You're lucky to know her.

Hopefully, when you're asked for a character reference for her, you won't let on that she's a woo...

.

[kimmerspixelated]

6. Touche'!

[muriel_volestrangler]

3. Perhaps 'The Secret' helps her overlook how much work she's doing

If it makes her think things are happening just because she really wants it, although she's actually putting lots of hours of real hard work in, and that keeps her cheerful, and hard at it, then it may have a use. A bit like a motivational placebo. As long as 'what the fuck do we know?' doesn't make her give up, that is. I see no use for that.

Do you think she's in danger of going down some stupid "the Man From Atlantis says we can never do this"-type route?

[Pale Blue Dot]

4. I have a similar story.

There's a woman I work with, a wonderful woman, who is everything that Christians claim themselves to be. She is considerate, patient, and sympathetic to those less fortunate than her. I love her, and I recently volunteered to help in a Thanksgiving food drive that she organized through her church.

About a year before I met her, she tragically lost her daughter in an accident. I have no idea how religious she was before that death. But I do know that her faith, improbably, has increased because of it.

So what's an atheist to do? Here is a sweet, conscientious, grieving woman who uses her misplaced faith as a comfort and as a reason to be charitable. Do I try to burst her bubble? Do I proclaim my atheism as a way to show that belief is not the only way to moral behavior? I'm struggling with this right now.

[uriel1972]

5. I've had a mental health nurse

push the secret and another recommend naturopathy I held my tongue but was most alarmed. One of my fellow outpatients brought What the bleep do we know to show one day. I nearly blew a gasket, bad science, bad philosophy and bad theology all wrapped up in one package. Hmmm bad theology seems to imply there is good theology. Oh well.