I am Bhaskar, I always feel like killing myself and I am sure that soon I will die, there is nothing in my life, no spark, no desires. I often feel like emotionally blank, I have no emotions…I cant be in love, and I will never create babies. Nothing affects me, but I remember the pain that I recently felt for a girl called Tanvi in my college, I became almost mad and I hallucinated that she was raped and murdered, I remember running on the roads wanting to save her…who keeps account for human sufferings…emotional, mental, physical!!
I onced knew an 18yo girl, she waS very intelligent…she said pain is the most real thing for living beings. Death is insignificant, living beings die and are reborn in other forms or life, but who keeps account of pain and suffering? Why do we feel pain and suffer? Hindus say its karma, sufferings are a punishment for bad deeds done in this life or previous life. I dont believe in such things, I believe in the law of nature…I dont think God needs to be any judge handling the court of natural laws, and I dont believe God needs to be a higher power…God may be omnipresent, we all being a part of it, but then God need not be a bigger or higher order…it should as much be a slave to nature as we are, and this leaves us no different than the God that we belive in…God is to us and nature is to God and God is to nature, we all are nature’s. To say nature is God is not different than what I believe, then what is this fake God that people belive in?
You appear just confused and need to come to understand three things:
(a) that nothing in the world is either good or bad; it is only thinking that makes them so.
(b) that you are nothing more that a mind and its ideas; nothing else (apart from other minds) is real, except as objects of your own ideas. Ad
(c) the nature of God, the supreme spirit that determines from moment to moment everything that you are and do. Nothing lies within your own power, except tha ability to manipulate your own ideas, which you are doing badly.
My advice: think on these points. Good luck for the future.
To be honest Bhaskar, stay away from philosophy like the plague until you get your head straight. Do body things, though from your avatar I’d say you’re no stranger to physical exercise. Either way, find some means of tiring yourself out, sleep well and calm the fuck down. If you are self-medicating at all, knock it off, at least till you feel better or alternatively get some professional supervision on the pill-popping front.
Your 18 year old friend, bless her teenage angsty heart, was talking completely out of her ass. Pain just tells you when to stop doing something. And forget about God, he’s a big boy, and can look after himself for a while and no-one, however omniscient, is going to damn you to any kind of eternal punishment for being young and a bit out of it.
If you start hallucinating, or trapped in some looped thought that is reluctant to let you go, go jump in the pool or hit the weights or basketball courts - anything to get your mind out of your head, and into your muscles. Or write it down somewhere, then ritually burn it - don’t fill up threads or diaries with angst, because everyone has angst, and they don’t really want another bunch. Stop thinking about the future, and the past - one has happened and you cannot change it, one will happen and there is quite frankly not a whole hell of a lot you can do to prevent it doing so.
And - and I mean this in a friendly way - stop being such a wanker. Wallowing in any form of useless remorse, is just that, useless. Women might tell you they are attracted to Goethe types, swanning around in a romantically morose fashion amid the bleak turrets of their castles of misery, but that’s largely bollocks too; they want someone who’ll make them laugh, take them out somewhere, dance and then shag them without too much heavy psychologic baggage attached - in fact after reading the instructions that came with my body (HU-Man™), it says in 2.11: “Do not attempt depth or intellectuality until in middle age and you have fucked around a bit.”
Yeah well, I said that a few times myself when I was younger, and now I have two. So unless he’s lost his nads in some horrific barnyard accident, I daresay he’ll change his mind, or his girlfriend will start puncturing his condoms.
I recall my teenage angst years.
the world is meaningless, pointless and no one understands me, blah, blah blah.
Been there done that.
The world may be pointless, but you can create your own meaning by your actions.
The trick is to simply ignore the world, do your thing and don’t worry about what the
world is thinking or doing. No one said you had to fit in or be part of it, you can simply
exist in your own space doing your own thing. So if reading is your thing, spend all your time
reading or if building is your thing, then spend your days building what ever you want.
Just do what ever makes you the happiest and don’t worry about the world is doing because
it is probably something stupid anyway.
My friend, you make the meaning. Meanings imposed on you by others just might kill you. Rejoice in these facts–
If you weren’t meant to be here, you wouldn’t be here.
No other person can tell you who or what you are. You define you.
False starts, such as love affairs gone awry, do not deplete your ultimate potential. If they did, we’d have lost some of the most powerful voices for human rights.
Virtual realities, drugs, internet, etc, are addictive and can warp your given sense of personal integrity. Take those things as experimental, not as in any way definitive of your personal value.
Religions can cause you self-hate. If you must aspire in that way, look for beliefs that consider your being and belonging as inalienable rights.
As Tab rightly noticed, avoid philosophy until you have established a sense of your own worth that is not vulnerable to the types of criticism we throw at each other. Most philosophy is opinion.
Despair is simply the antithesis of aspiration. It is for those who see no possible future. It is the biggest lie ever imposed on anyone!
That was very deep and helpful Wonderer. You are so cool. Now, when you say “grab shit from the buffet” what exactly do you mean…? What kind of shit do you deem worthy of grabbing, and more importantly, do you wear surgical gloves to protect your hands from infection…?
Oh, right, you were being met-a-phor-i-cal. Gottit. I think prolly this guy doesn’t need metaphors, I think this should prolly be a metaphor-free zone. You dig…? (by which I mean - ‘do you understand’ - I’m not asking about how well aquainted you are with a spade or anything).
some people wear gloves but it is optional. sometimes wearing gloves can hinder your ability to grab things.
Grab whatever makes you happy. If you dont see anything you like then perhaps start trying new things until you find one you do like.
metaphors allow me to explain a possibly complex relation or idea using few words. just because i use a metaphor doesn’t make what i said any less serious.
What do we have to gain by ceasing the use of metaphors?
Do you think if i explained it again without metaphors it would be harder to swallow? It might be less easy to comprehend but in many cases the metaphors i use are a whole lot more macabre than a direct explanation.
Ah, but is the “life is a buffet” premise a good metaphor for life…?
Let us examine the matter closely:
In my experience, buffets are usually places where all sorts of delights are laid out carefully on nice china plates, sometimes with the crusts cut off - the sandwiches, not the plates btw. which do not have crusts as such. Buffets also come with an assortment of amusing sauces, a selction of free beverages, and cakes for afters. They are usually, at least at the moment of partaking, free. ‘Free’ as in necessitating no imediate payment, not ‘free’ as in large Scottish guy with a claymore and blue paint on his face wearing a kilt. The Scottish guy is wearing the kilt btw - not the blue paint. Paint does not have a bottom, so has no requirement for modesty.
Life however, is somewhat dissimular to a buffet. Seldom if ever, does life come with the crusts cut off. It usually comes au-natural. Without sauce. The avid diner at the table of life will find the portions meager, and the variety almost none existant. Life’s kitchen is more inclined to bread and water than paté du foi gras and mini-fish fingers with hand-made mayo. Sometimes life gives you crumbs, and expects you to like it.
And the most important thing to notice, in the great “life vs. buffet” debate, is that whether delight or despair, sweet or sour, soft or hard boiled - life is never ever free. As my old Physics teacher used to say “You pays your money, and you takes your choice.” Though, with hindsight, what that had to do with 3 dimensional field equations is debatable. And the bastard gave me a ‘D’ - I blame my lack of calculus. Still we drift off the point. By which I mean I’ve gone off on a tangent. Er. Moved off-topic. Except I haven’t moved, I’m exactly where I was a minute ago.
Aha - I mean I’ve stopped talking directly about what I was talking about earlier in the above paragraph. Woo - Life without metaphor is possible after all. Except, I wasn’t talking, I was writing. Anyway.
Life costs money, effort, work. No free lunch, or buffet. But Mr. Physics teacher was wrong, you pays your money, but seldom do you get a choice. Life is more a lucky dip. Sometimes you get a toy gun, sometimes you get a packet of peanuts. Sometimes you get a splinter under your nail which goes septic and the docs have to cut off your arm.
But sometimes you get gold. And this is why life is worth living. Because you never ever know.
So, Mr. Bhaskar, give me 10p, step up to the tub, and stick your hand in. Okay, maybe you’ll lose it, but that’s okay, God (or perhaps evolution), gave you a spare.
i didnt use a buffet as a metaphor for life. what are you talking about?
obviously your experience is limited. with such a ritzy idea of a buffet i’m not suprised you have trouble relating it to the idea of life.
no this is wrong. i never seen a buffet that manifested itself with no work required. (you’re beginning to scare me)
perhaps it is comments like these that distract you from the real discussion.
life has no sense of humor or sense of cruelty. That said i did not try to say that life is a jewel encrusted free buffet of delight. i distinctly said GRAB EVERYTHING YOU CAN. Does this sound more realistic?
That said, your entire objection is based on a misinterpretation of the metaphor in question (i know funny that you have so many jokes about my metaphors that you didn;t properly interpret it
So let’s examine the matter properly.
Firstly i didn;t compare life to anything i just said all humans are waiting to die. This is i think an accurate assumption and to put into the metaphorical terms of a lineup is by no means a breach of rational thought.
Secondly the only necessity that arises from my “buffet metaphor” is that there exists one. (note i didn’t say anything about everyone having access to one.
No. i did not compare a buffet to life. not at all though for arguments sake i will now regail you with my opinion.
There are both pleasures and pain in life. People who have an incredible amount of pleasure and little pain tend to become quickly dissatisfied with life. Leo tolstoy is a good example. he had the ritzy buffet you described yet he was infinitely more miserable than his slaves.
he was rich and famous as a writer yet struggled to avoid suicide.
Inversely for someone with very little pleassure and alot of pain, they enjoy their pleasure allot more than other people.
A cold beer at the end of a hard day for example. the sweet taste of freedom that an ex-con enjoys. a cool breeze on a hot day. i can go on forever.
Jungle dwellers lead incredibly basic lives compared to your life of ritzy buffets. they toil in dirt and live in huts made out of cow dung. You must pity them.
Yet these jungle dwellers have many delights. For some people it’s honey. they risk getting stung in order to get abit of honey.
Would you go raid a bee’s nest for some honey?
These people, though not having access to ritzy buffets, find ways to entertain themselves and enjoy the same capacity of pleasure in life that any rich person enjoys.
it’s called the relativity of suffering. look it up. there’s also something called the relatvity of pleasure.
When the white man goes around flaunting his centrally heated home and ritzy buffets to the jungle dwellers of course they get jelous. they then want those things for themselves and feel that what they already have is unjust.
I think that buffets filled with unhealthy processed foods grown on land where there used to be a perfectly good forest is a tragedy.
Yes there are people who have more pain than others, but that doesn’t seem to dimm pleasure at all. in fact from what i have explained it actually makes pleasure seem brighter.
Your attack on my buffet metaphor was not well thought out. i didn’t say everyone has the same buffet or even that everyone has access to one.
The buffet “metaphorically” represents all avalable pleasure in any persons life, and the advice i gave was to grab all that you can. (do you think that’s bad advice?)
if life was free you would just throw it away…
I don’t think that pleasure is even distinguishable without pain. And it’s obvious you appreciate more what you pay for yourself.
Remember that i didn’t compare life to a buffet, so you might want to redo this whole attack thing.
maybe it’s snide comments like this that make you miss the point in the first place
who said that buffets never contain the ebola virus? who said that life wasn;t free? i have already made my stance on pain very clear and at this point your lucky dip analogy has been somewhat debunked.
If a genius makes a space ship and escapes into space is he just lucky for being a genius?
People make their own way in this world. sometimes it gets cut short through no fault of the victim. but that doesn;t mean that you should stop induldging yourself. that doesn’t mean that life necessarily sucks. If anythin it makes you appreciate luck even more. (remember i mentioned luck above the metaphor which you misinterpreted)
so you say that life is worth living because you might not get a cold?
i say life is worth living because once you get rid of the cold everything tastes soo much sweeter
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Evolution didnt give us spares, it gave us tolerance and sensitivity.
Y’know, everything is not always about you, like this thread for instance. You’re a foil. Win points and presents by telling me which meaning of the word I’m referring to.
