True Freedom

ikabod writes:

Under heaven all can see beauty as beauty
only because there is ugliness.
All can know good as good
only because there is evil.

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Having and not having arise together.
Difficult and easy complement each other.
Long and short contrast each other.
High and low rest upon each other.
Silence and sound harmonize each other.
Front and back follow one another.

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A wise one thus does non-action and teaches non-talking.
All things rise and fall in their cycle.
Create, but do not possess.
Labor, but do not take credit.
Do your work, then forget it.
In this way it will last forever.

Lao TsuTao Te Ching (2)
(tr. Feng/English, adapted)Edited by Archer Opterix, : Correction.Edited by Archer Opterix, : Correction.

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ArcherAll species are transitional.

I love. I love a lot of things.I love going to work every day. I love being useful.
When you enjoy a task, it has meaning enough.And I love the questions. Questions like these you ask.No, the answers don't come easily. And the answers change depending on history, culture, and place, as you observe.Interesting thing, though: the questions stay the same.Wherever you find human beings, you find the same questions.
The questions may be our best clue.We are the creatures who want it to mean something. We are the creatures who ask. I love. I love what I experience, what I do, what I create, what I share... and the people I share it with.We are here only a brief time. But brief does not mean insignificant.Beauties glow brightest when we know tomorrow they will be gone.
It is when something we love is leaving us, even as we embrace it, that it appears most precious.And everything is leaving. We are here because somebody got laid.It's not a bad reason. Not at all.

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ArcherAll species are transitional.

ikabod: That line of translation is a bit misleading for many English speakers. The Tao Te Ching, like Eastern thought generally, does not postulate 'good and evil' to mean anything like 'righteousness and sin.' It means the good things and bad ('evil') things that come to you in life.Another philosopher, Chuang Tsu, illustrated this with a famous story:A farmer lives alone, with only his teenaged son and a horse for company. One day the horse jumps over the fence and escapes.The farmer's neighbors say 'Oh, what a terrible thing has happened!'The farmer says 'Who knows if it is a terrible thing? We will see.'A month later the horse jumps back over the fence--with six other horses it picked up in its travels.The farmer's neighbors say 'Oh, what a good thing has happened!'The farmer says 'Who knows if it is a good thing? We will see.'A month later the farmer's son is riding one of the new horses. The horse throws him. The son is injured in a way that paralyzes him from the waist down.The farmer's neighbors say 'Oh, what a terrible thing has happened!'The farmer says 'Who knows if it is a terrible thing? We will see.'A month later a war starts. All the physically able young men in the region are drafted into the army. The war goes badly and all of them are killed.Only the farmer's son, because of his disqualifying injury, survives.Edited by Archer Opterix, : Corrected typo.

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ArcherAll species are transitional.

iano: Ringo: I'm a fan of the forward pass, myself.

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ArcherAll species are transitional.

prophex: What activities do you enjoy, prophex?I mean, besides expressing condescending pity to people who are happier than you are.That's not a rhetorical question. I'd like to know.Do you enjoy playing the guitar? Do you like music?

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ArcherAll species are transitional.

And it looks like you answered my question in your reply to schraf.Good.

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ArcherAll species are transitional.

What you want:

1. guitar
2. California
3. philosophy

What you fear: Reality to consider:

The best antidote to fear is curiosity.

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ArcherAll species are transitional.

prophex wrote: Defending the statement, messenjah wrote: If I start acting the way you want me to, messenjah, I won't be free. I'll be acting the way you want me to act.You talk about freedom, but you really want people to think the things you say to think and do the things you say to do. You are angry when they disobey orders. You are intolerant of dissent. You would persecute them if you had the power.So I'll just have to stay free, making my own decisions, loving the people I love and following my own star, and let the flea-market Ferlinghettis say what they will.You don't control the universe. You are not going to. It is vast, implacable, and (as you are learning) utterly indifferent to your opinions. Fight it, and it will beat you every time.The only chance you have is to bargain with it. Come to some compromise.And don't think I don't know how much that annoys you.
Edited by Archer Opterix, : Spelling.

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ArcherAll species are transitional.

prophex writes: And you decided these things weren't important according to what philosophy?

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ArcherAll species are transitional.

Thus spake prophex: You say you can teach philosophy better than your teacher. You say you can even teach the teacher.And this, before you've even read the philosophers.This is truly intellect of a rare order.Edited by Archer Opterix, : Typo.Edited by Archer Opterix, : Concision.

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ArcherAll species are transitional.

Mediocre bourgeois stuff. Ugh. You people disgust me.For deep philosophy, go to The Statler Brothers.

Tommy's selling used cars, Nancy's fixing hair,
Harvey runs a grocery store and Margaret doesn't care.
Jerry drives a truck for Sears and Charlotte's on the make
And Paul sells life insurance and part-time real estate.

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Helen is a hostess, Frank works at the mill,
Janet teaches grade school and likely always will.
Bob works for the city and Jack's in lab research
And Peggy plays the organ at the Presbyterian Church.

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But the class of '57 had its dreams.
Yes, we all thought we'd change the world with our great works and deeds.
Or maybe we just thought the world would change to fit our needs
But the class of '57 had its dreams.

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Betty runs a trailer park, Jan sells Tupperware,
Randy's in a mental ward and Mary's on welfare.
Charlie took a job with Ford, Joe took Freddie's wife,
Charlotte took a millionaire and Freddie took his life.

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John is big in cattle, Ray is deep in debt;
Where Mavis finally wound up is anybody's bet.
Linda married Sonny, Brenda married me,
And the class of all of us is now a part of history.

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But the class of '57 had its dreams.
It's just that living life from day to day proved harder than it seems.
Things get complicated when you get past eighteen
But the class of '57 had its dreams.
Yes, the class of '57 had its dreams.

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ArcherAll species are transitional.

Impressive list, kuresu.Just out of curiosity--who are your favorites so far?

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ArcherAll species are transitional.

messenjah: Then I still have my youth, and I live my dream.How did you lose both so early?

Take away love and our earth is a tomb.

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- Robert Browning

Edited by Archer Opterix, : Quote.

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ArcherAll species are transitional.

prophex wrote: Good man.Don't be sad about your dad. Sounds like he made a shrewd bargain with the universe. He traded some things that didn't matter to him so much and got the things that were priceless. That's a smart contract in anybody's book.He sounds too smart to have let all his dreams go. My guess is that having his family around him and seeing everyone have a good time was always the best dream. And now it's true.That's the thing about dreams come true. When they come true, they stop looking like dreams. They look like real life. For this reason people tend to overlook them. But when it's your dream, you notice.I know trading a fantasy for a reality feels scary to you right now. Real life has a complex taste with salt and bitters in it, and you're used to tasting dreams that are sweet and simple and pure and unreal. But I'll share something with you that may give you comfort.The real dreams are better.It's an acquired taste, like wine. You'll get the hang of it.

For life is quite absurd, and death's the final word.
You must always face the curtain with a bow.
Forget about your sin--give the audience a grin!
Enjoy it, it's your last chance anyhow!

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Always look on the bright side of life
Always look on the bright side of life

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ArcherAll species are transitional.

kuresu writes: I like Locke. He tries to take human beings as they are rather than how he thinks they ought to be. And he sees people as distinct individuals rather than groups. He didn't bother himself much with consistency, so his epistomology isn't very helpful. But I think that's one reason for the success of his political ideas. He was practical.You read neoplatonic philosophers with their perfect systems, everything accounted for, and it's beautiful. But it's not so easy after you set the book down to figure out how to make the thing touch the ground.I really do believe the social contract (Hobbes, Rousseau, Locke) was one of the great insights into human behavior. Yes--one of those guys everybody gets mad at. But never boring!Hume did everyone a favor, but they didn't like it. He was like a good astringent. It stings, but it cleans things up. And he sent Kant to the drawing board. We're all better off for that. Aiya. Kant's a tough nut to crack. Especially at 7:00 am!Thanks for sharing.Edited by Archer Opterix, : No reason given.

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ArcherAll species are transitional.