One of Self-Worth's Pathways

We have the ability to appreciate the world.
We can look upon existence with awe and wonder -
to reflect the universe within our hearts.

Isn’t our capacity to love, itself, indication of our value?

There’s a saying that one’s second death is the last time they’re remembered.

Can’t we each extend the beautiful, if not in length, at least in breadth?
Can’t we rekindle their embers and shine in their light?

If there is beauty in this world,
then we too can be beautiful,
by welcoming the gift of beauty into our being.

And is this not true of love?

If there is love in this world,
can’t we also we also be one with it,
by nurturing a home for love within us?

I think the answer is yes.

Inner and outer are essentially the same.
As far as i can tell.

The difference between inner and outer,
is that inner is more purely alive, conscious, individualistic, etc.
Outer is a mix of conscious and unconscious.
Living and non living.
Individuals and groups.

Inner beauty is also invisible sometimes.
But it’s definitely there.

What does second death mean, Ben JS? Why is it said it is the last time they are remembered? What is first death?

There is one who never forgets. The beautiful/source. We welcome it home because it completes our puzzle. But there are trojan puzzle pieces (not for us to condemn as irredeemable) who forget/refuse that about themselves. Is that what you mean by second death? The death before/after death.

It is for us to remind them. In turn, for them to remind us.

Dan,

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
I’m glad you feel that way,
and I think I also agree with you.

With this thread, I suppose I’m trying to detail universalizable ways to appreciate ourselves and each other.
I often struggle with feelings of worthlessness or being wrong / a mistake.
This is one way to try to counter those feelings, some other attempts by me [probably more scattered throughout my posts]:

[tab]Here:

And here:

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Ich,

In reference to the quote, the first death being that of our body - the second death being that of our memory.
Though you very well may be asking rhetorically leading into your follow up statements. :laughing:

I can respect where you’re coming from here, but you I know I don’t believe.
When I was in hospital, the chaplain said first we’re all human.
That love isn’t dependent on me believing.
This was in response to me asking if God’s love was conditional.
As I wasn’t seeking conditional ‘love’.

I could agree that our impacts are never lost - it’s all part of existence. I wouldn’t compare this to conscious memory - nor do I think the entirety, nor even majority, of existence has concern for the interests of the living [ but that’s another discussion for another thread ].

You use the word trojan - that’s from your perspective, the way you process events.
I ain’t a trojan, Ich - not to me, and not to my family who love me.

A thought occurred to me that maybe one of the most ethical way to encourage healthier behavior, or the path to healthier behavior, from a ‘primitive’ species like our own, is to tell us a story that hints at the truth via allegory. Where if one acts in accord with the story, even if acting under slight falsehood, they’re walking the path towards truth, wisdom and quality actions / lives. That maybe aliens / sentient machines travelled to earth, did some wild stuff, and left us with pearls of knowledge - seeds for our development away from madness.

But that’s all silly hypothetical speculation for the sake of amusement. There’s plenty of good explanations how religions arose due to our reactions to ( spectacular ) physical phenomena, our tendency to anthropomorphize, and our desire for understanding. Stories were our method for remembering.

What are we trying to remind ourselves?

That we aren’t empty trojans, but homes for the good, beautiful, and true.