Is it half full?

[NotHardUp1]

Did someone in the thread post that suffering is wonderful?

 

[peeonme]

^^
One should say what their definition of suffering is.

 

[zoltanspawn]

Did someone in the thread post that suffering is wonderful?

Did I quote someone indicating they did?

(Sometimes people make general observations about a topic.)

In this case, I think it's common that many people, especially neo-christians, make outlandish justifications for terrible circumstances.

 

[NotHardUp1]

Are there groups you define as neo-Christian, or is that a generic term for this generation of Christians?

 

[peeonme]

'But... you have to be jealous or envious of me, I demand it!' Nothing seems to piss off a materialistic person more than a person who lives a minimalist life stile and enjoys it.

 

[zoltanspawn]

^^
One should say what their definition of suffering is.

Do you have an objection or recognize a problem with the off-the-shelf definitions?

'But... you have to be jealous or envious of me, I demand it!' Nothing seems to piss off a materialistic person more than a person who lives a minimalist life stile and enjoys it.

I'm lost. What?

 

[NotHardUp1]

I don't think that post about minimalism was in response to you, Zoltan. It was, like your neo-Christian comment, a non-sequitur in terms of dialogue.

 

[peeonme]

Do you have an objection or recognize a problem with the off-the-shelf definitions?



I'm lost. What?

Off the self: undergoing pain, distress or hardship. Pain is hard to define. We all hurt at times, I hurt chronically. To some it might be severe as we all have different pain thresholds.
Some feel that they have a hardship if they can't afford cable TV. If we eat, have a roof over us and are ambulatory we are not a hardship case

I'm lost. What?

This was not for you, but I was addressing the attitude of so many that I have known over the years, they consider one's cup to be empty if they don't have the drive to be wealthy. I told an old acquaintance that I have known for over 50 years that I was content. He flipped out, he saw contentment as laziness. His attitude was 'how could you not want to live as I do'.

 

[bankside]

I have found that the things which I enjoy the most are free. I love a full moon, a clear night when the stars are so bright. A field freshly covered in snow, without a mark or blemish. Trees are beautiful, I love looking at the canopy that is formed by their leaves. I love how the air smells after a spring rain. I marvel at the sun, it's 93 million miles from me, but I feel its' heat on my face. The best things are free.

I have found that the best things are free, the same things you mention. But if I want to enjoy a field freshly covered in snow, I need to buy natural gas for the furnace so I can live near that snow. If I want to look at that canopy of trees I need to buy a house that is in a beautiful treed area, or I need to buy a car to drive from the urban apartment I pay for out to the forest for a hike. If I want to see the stars sparkling next to the full moon I need to pay for the glasses I need to see them, and if I want to invite my mom out for an evening walk, we need to pay for the cataract surgery so she can see them too. I need to have a job that pays enough and gives me enough time off that I can do more than glance at any of those free things for half a second. And what it always boils down to is that the best things in life are free, but we all need a lot of money to enjoy them. We need homes, utilities, transportation, health care, and time to relax, and those things are all expensive, and all of us should be able to afford them.

What made this country great was a positive 'I can do it' attitude. What started the downward spiral was the 'poor me' it just ain't fair crowd.

I think what has made any country great for the vast millions of people who weren’t born in a palace was a “Hey asshole it just ain’t fair” attitude that gave us decent wages and pension benefits and workplace safety regulations as labour unions and workplace campaigners stood up for what is right. No one was given their fair share without asking for it. That’s the history of prosperity since the start of the industrial revolution.

 

[peeonme]

I have found that the best things are free, the same things you mention. But if I want to enjoy a field freshly covered in snow, I need to buy natural gas for the furnace so I can live near that snow. If I want to look at that canopy of trees I need to buy a house that is in a beautiful treed area, or I need to buy a car to drive from the urban apartment I pay for out to the forest for a hike. If I want to see the stars sparkling next to the full moon I need to pay for the glasses I need to see them, and if I want to invite my mom out for an evening walk, we need to pay for the cataract surgery so she can see them too. I need to have a job that pays enough and gives me enough time off that I can do more than glance at any of those free things for half a second. And what it always boils down to is that the best things in life are free, but we all need a lot of money to enjoy them. We need homes, utilities, transportation, health care, and time to relax, and those things are all expensive, and all of us should be able to afford them.




I think what has made any country great for the vast millions of people who weren’t born in a palace was a “Hey asshole it just ain’t fair” attitude that gave us decent wages and pension benefits and workplace safety regulations as labour unions and workplace campaigners stood up for what is right. No one was given their fair share without asking for it. That’s the history of prosperity since the start of the industrial revolution.

I have never gone without the things that you mention and really never had a real hard time making a living. The unions that you mention
quit looking out for workers a long time ago, if they really cared they would have withstood NAFTA and the WTO. Now unions make sure a person can't be fired no matter how poorly they perform.