Posts by Michael Anderson2

mistyhound94 said:What an attack on bat kolo. I guess people are just bitter because they think he’s being paid by dark forces to work against them, even though they aren't getting any money for it. There were claims like that before. 🤣

Anyway, I’ve probably been on this Alternative site for about 8 years now—reading, writing, studying—and if my memory serves me right, for much of that time (maybe all of it), bat kolo did a pretty good job. But this sudden hit piece on him wasn't unexpected at all. 😁

The reason is simple: the crowd writing there, this whole "alternative thinking" group, they believe their claims, facts, and evidence are the absolute truth. Anyone else who asks questions, shows doubt, or presents evidence suggesting things aren't as stated is treated like a troll trying to obstruct the ONE TRUE TRUTH! Then, in their version of a debate, the moderators apparently fail at their jobs, which supposedly means anyone thinking differently gets carded or banned. I suppose that would satisfy them—to have the chance to just steamroll everything and force whatever they want down people's throats as "truth," using nothing but crackpot websites to back themselves up.

I’m an open-minded person toward everything, really I am. I’ve even changed my mind on certain things, like Chemtrails, because some theories were presented well and backed by decent evidence and facts. But that’s barely 1% of what they try to shove down our throats as the one and only truth from sites claiming to be the sole source of reality because they aren't "poisoned" by corporations owned by shadowy elites. 😁
🤣 Looking at how the arguments started in the previous thread compared to now, the only thing constantly changing is the claims and "proof" from these chemtrail theorists. They went from saying politicians lie and deceive to making claims about how Putin and Trump are involved with chemtrails, and suddenly, that becomes the truth.

A lot of people on Alternative have actually changed, especially these chemtrail theorists, but maybe some secret agencies silenced them and whisked them away to secret locations because they simply knew too much. 🤣

bat kolo, you always have my support! #GoBigOrGoHome

bat kolo is being paid off by fake agents—Khazar Ashkenazim—with the goal of introducing the New World Order to the forum... 😉 🤣

I don't spend a massive amount of time on the Alternative forum, but whenever I do write, I have nothing but praise for the moderation... 👍

Anthony Hayes2 said:The old man arrived during the Khrushchev era, survived the fall of the Berlin Wall, the economic shifts, the privatization craze, the reign of Slavko Linić, and almost saw the rise of Joža Manolić. Maybe it’s finally time for a change. Honestly, I don't much care since I don't live there, but sometimes you have to air out a stagnant barn just to let some fresh air in. Life gives us death—an end, sure, but also a reset. It's Shiva dancing with Shakti to forge a new world. As the number one guy in Alan Ford would put it, death is the ultimate cleanser. Just when you think you've finally organized everything to become a dictator or at least a king of debt collection, some incurable cancer or stroke steps in.

Number 1 claims death is the great purifier, yet he himself refuses to die—he was already ancient back during the Trojan War... 🤣

Benjamin Taylor6 said:Actually, there is a way to fight back if we arm ourselves with actual knowledge. That's how we stop being so dependent on the whims of nature or the unpredictable behavior of the people around us.
Back in the Middle Ages, people were convinced the Black Death was a punishment for their sins—that it was God's direct will, hitting both the wicked and the righteous alike. Fast forward to today, and we know it was actually microorganisms. We found ways to resist them. It isn't "God's will" anymore for millions of people to die from the plague.
Though, I suppose one could argue that the purpose of it all was to force humanity to learn those lessons.

And that's just how it has to be. Amen.

redtinker36 said:... but that implies there are causes... which lead to certain consequences...

... essentially, one thing exists... which then gives rise to something else... which will eventually become its own reality...

Obviously, cause and effect still exist—they just are...

If I asked what happened, nothing much; they just screwed me over, honestly. What can I do? I guess I just have to deal with the hand I've been dealt. 😁

redtinker36 said:.. so, is it actually okay to go ahead with something just because you feel it's wrong to do.. 🙂 ..?

Nothing is really "allowed" or "forbidden"—things just are the way they are.

redtinker36 said:.. precisely .. if you die this very second .. everything you've built .. is gone ..

So, how do we deal with reality? Whether you choose to cry, complain, blame, or make excuses, the reality remains unchanged. It isn't going anywhere.

.. best approach .. amor fati ..

If reality stays the same regardless of how you explain or justify it, what choice is left? Accept what is, do the best you can with what you know, and stop stressing over the outcome. Whatever happens, happens, damn it...

.. you move from the state of being .. into the act of doing .. for the sake of the future ..
.. amor fati .. blooming .. .. the future is fundamental time .. Heidegger .. and Sartre ..

What rights? I have no idea what kind of "rights" we're discussing here. Reality is what it is, and nobody has any claim over it. No rights, no help, no changing the facts. Existence just exists. Every moment happens whether you want it to or not, whether it favors you or works against you, whether you take responsibility or not, whether you're right or wrong, whether you blame yourself or someone else, whether you're grateful or resentful, or whether you worry or remain indifferent. What is, is...

.. if you pass away now ..

This isn't some abstract theory; it's a plain fact, proven by experience... 😁

.. yes .. that's right ..

"Gone" one way or another...

redtinker36 said:.. precisely .. if you die this very second .. everything you've built .. is gone ..

So, how do we deal with reality? Whether you choose to cry, complain, blame, or make excuses, the reality remains unchanged. It isn't going anywhere.

.. best approach .. amor fati ..

If reality stays the same regardless of how you explain or justify it, what choice is left? Accept what is, do the best you can with what you know, and stop stressing over the outcome. Whatever happens, happens, damn it...

.. you move from the state of being .. into the act of doing .. for the sake of the future ..
.. amor fati .. blooming .. .. the future is fundamental time .. Heidegger .. and Sartre ..

What rights? I have no idea what kind of "rights" we're discussing here. Reality is what it is, and nobody has any claim over it. No rights, no help, no changing the facts. Existence just exists. Every moment happens whether you want it to or not, whether it favors you or works against you, whether you take responsibility or not, whether you're right or wrong, whether you blame yourself or someone else, whether you're grateful or resentful, or whether you worry or remain indifferent. What is, is...

.. if you pass away now ..

This isn't some abstract theory; it's a plain fact, proven by experience... 😁

.. yes .. that's right ..

Look, faith relies on all these various stories and myths—but accepting reality doesn't require any assumptions. Reality just *is*. It's here, it can't be altered, so just deal with the fact... 🤷

Daniel Castillo11 said:That is truly the bottom line. We all find ourselves waiting for massive shifts, looking for transformations, or desperately trying to micromanage the natural flow of events. Whether we try to control a small piece of that flow, attempt to steer the entire current, or adopt a total "whatever happens, happens" attitude, the only sane and healthy perspective is to embrace reality exactly as it presents itself when it arrives. It leads to the least amount of suffering, the least amount of clinging, and allows for the greatest openness to both old and new experiences—it’s a general acceptance of life, of oneself, and of others. Even when it hurts. Pain doesn't just evaporate into thin air; there is always going to be at least a tiny shred of attachment to what is happening. As humans, we tend to fall for the illusion that our experiences, our ideas, and our expectations of how things "should" be are permanent. But when those things slip through our fingers, our only real alternative is to let go of those expectations and focus solely on what we can actually influence, or more accurately, what we have any sway over.

In short, the wheel of Fortune or pure chance keeps turning whether we like it or not. The real question is how ready we are to embrace destiny as it unfolds, and how much resistance we put up in our internal and external struggle against reality. Perhaps true wisdom and virtue lie in acceptance, rather than in some conscious effort to warp our perception just to fit a specific worldview that might actually end up limiting our experience of living.

Exactly. This blunt fact doesn't shield you from pain, it won't deliver spectacular results, it doesn't lead to "higher states of consciousness," and it certainly doesn't promise levitation, wealth, "enlightenment," or any grand "transformation." It simply gives you the realization that existence *is*, and you can't change that. By accepting that, you actually free yourself—you stop obsessing over outcomes and find a sense of inner peace. Just do what you know is right and stop stressing about the results. Worrying won't change a thing; everything happens exactly as it must, because it couldn't happen any other way.

The truth is actually so mundane that people refuse to believe it... 😁

redtinker36 said:.. I’m talking about you .. about your own responsibility .. about the mere fact that you exist .. .. what exactly are you even getting at .. ? .. (.. I wouldn't want the fact that some drunk can just trample over you to grant him any kind of rights .. even if he isn't actually stepping on you, if you catch my drift ..)

Look, I’m talking about reality—what is. There’s no fixing it. You can shoulder the blame, you can call yourself guilty, you can chalk it up to fate or even God's will—it doesn't matter. What is, is. It’s an undeniable fact. Regardless of who is responsible, you can't change what has already happened. It won't change, it can't be undone, and it certainly won't just vanish. What is, is.

So, how do you deal with reality? You can cry about it, whine, point fingers, or make excuses—whatever you choose—but the reality stays exactly the same. It isn't going to budge.

If reality remains unchanged no matter how much you try to explain it away or justify it, what's left to do? Accept things as they are, do the best you can with what you know, and stop stressing over the outcome. Whatever happens, happens—damn it...

redtinker36 said:.. I’m talking about you .. about your own responsibility .. about the mere fact that you exist .. .. what exactly are you even getting at .. ? .. (.. I wouldn't want the fact that some drunk can just trample over you to grant him any kind of rights .. even if he isn't actually stepping on you, if you catch my drift ..)

What rights? I have no idea what rights we're even discussing here. Reality is what it is, and nobody has "rights" over it. There are no rights, no help coming, and no changing it. It just exists. Every single moment is set in stone, whether you like it or not, whether it works in your favor or against you, whether you take responsibility or not, whether you're right or wrong, whether you blame yourself or someone else, whether you're grateful or resentful, or whether you worry or stay indifferent. What is, is...

redtinker36 said:.. in other words .. why would you even care about theories like that .. ? .. did you lose something .. ?

This isn't some theory. It's a plain, hard fact, proven by experience... 😁

redtinker36 said:.. so, where are you placing yourself here? .. Are you playing God? Or acting like the Earth is your personal playground? Or maybe just some guy sitting in front of the TV? ..

.. You're human .. and you're responsible for yourself down to the very last atom.
.. Forget about "events" .. forget about some nuclear strike being aimed at the Midwest .. if they miss New York ..

I’m not trying to play anyone. I'm just stating facts—what is, is. There isn't really another way to look at it. It is what it is, deal with it...

redtinker36 said:.. so, where are you placing yourself here? .. Are you playing God? Or acting like the Earth is your personal playground? Or maybe just some guy sitting in front of the TV? ..

.. You're human .. and you're responsible for yourself down to the very last atom.
.. Forget about "events" .. forget about some nuclear strike being aimed at the Midwest .. if they miss New York ..

You can try to be as responsible as you want, but if some drunk driver hits you on the highway, well, that's just how it goes...

redtinker36 said:.. so, where are you placing yourself here? .. Are you playing God? Or acting like the Earth is your personal playground? Or maybe just some guy sitting in front of the TV? ..

.. You're human .. and you're responsible for yourself down to the very last atom.
.. Forget about "events" .. forget about some nuclear strike being aimed at the Midwest .. if they miss New York ..

If they drop them, they drop them. There's nothing you can do about it...

Yeah, that’s just how it goes—there's no changing it. You just do what you think is right and let things play out...

steelmarlin77 said:I understood exactly what was meant to be understood, interpreting it the only way any sane person could, everything is playing out precisely how it's supposed to, which is just the way it goes and there isn't some other reality waiting around the corner... 😁

Well, bravo. You nailed it. Even the fact that you aren't catching my drift is part of the process—it's exactly how it's supposed to go, so don't sweat it. You aren't missing out on anything...

Now, that doesn't mean someone should just jump off a bridge—unless they actually have to, I guess; if they do, then jumping is just the thing to do 😬—but generally, people just do what they feel is necessary. It's all part of the fabric of reality. Accepting things as they are right now doesn't mean you sit around doing nothing. Do what you think needs to be done, and then just accept whatever comes your way. Because that’s the only thing that *can* happen. It couldn't have been this or that, left or right—it could only be what it is. That’s the only possibility there is.

The whole thing is actually quite banal—so incredibly simple that people struggle to see the truth, even though "the truth shall set them free"... 😁

Benjamin Taylor6 said:Is it necessary? It feels like we're staring right into our own destiny—that inevitable, slow-motion train wreck we can't seem to steer away from.

In the hands of fate.
So, I was reading about this legendary Japanese warlord, Nobunaga—an absolute powerhouse—who decided to go all-in against an enemy force that outmatched him ten to one. Ten times his size! Can you even imagine? Most people would have just packed up and headed home, but he wasn't most people. He had this unshakable certainty that victory was inevitable, even though his own troops were looking at him like he’d completely lost his mind. They were skeptical, hesitant, probably wondering if they were walking straight into a meat grinder—which, let's be honest, usually happens when you're outnumbered like that—but he stayed the course anyway. It makes you wonder about that kind of conviction... or maybe just pure, unadulterated madness.
On stops by a local Shinto shrine on his way through—just a quick detour, really—and tells his crew, "Since I'm visiting this Shinto site, I'm going to flip a coin. If it lands on heads, we win; if it's tails, we lose. It’s all in the hands of God now."

Nobunaga steps into the sanctuary and offers up a silent prayer. Then, he walks back out and flips a coin—heads. It’s almost poetic, really. His soldiers were practically starving for a fight, just itching to get into the fray, and sure enough, they swept through the battle without breaking much of a sweat.
“It’s just one of those things—you can struggle against it all you want, scream at the sky until your lungs give out, but the truth remains: nobody can change the hand fate dealt them. It's written. You can try to bluff, you can try to fold, but once those cards are on the table, that’s the reality you're living in. I remember sitting in a diner outside of Chicago back in the nineties, watching this old man play solitaire—he was playing like his life depended on it, rearranging the deck, sweating over every move—but even then, you could see it. Some patterns just aren't meant to be broken. It’s a hard pill to swallow, I know, but fighting the inevitable is just a recipe for exhaustion."That's what his follower told him after the colors faded," he said—though honestly, I can’t help but wonder if anyone was actually listening at the time.
"It’s just impossible," Nobunaga muttered, holding up a coin that had come up double-headed—heads on both sides.
😁

But what if we're actually heading in the wrong direction? Seriously—what if this whole thing is just a massive detour? Even then, I suppose we should just keep being "grateful," right? Just keep smiling while the ship hits the iceberg. Life is just one giant, cosmic waiting room—kind of like being stuck in a terminal at LAX during a massive thunderstorm, only without the overpriced Cinnabon. You sit there, staring at the departures board, wondering if you’re actually going anywhere or if the universe is just playing a long-form prank on you. I was thinking about this the other day while I was trying to fix that old espresso machine—you know, the one I swore I’d repair back in 2019? It’s a lost cause, much like most of our grand ambitions. We spend our entire lives building these elaborate structures—careers, reputations, even our little social circles—thinking we’re constructing something permanent. But honestly? It feels more like we’re just rearranging the furniture in a hall that’s constantly being remodeled by forces we can't even begin to comprehend. It’s easy to get caught up in the minutiae—the bills, the traffic on the I-95, the endless notifications on your phone—and feel like these things define us. But when you step back and look at the sheer, terrifying scale of everything, all that noise starts to fade. It’s a bit overwhelming, sure. There’s a certain heaviness to realizing how small our "big moments" actually are in the grand scheme of things. But maybe that’s the trick. Maybe the point isn't to find some profound, lasting meaning in the chaos, but to just... exist within it. To accept that the room is spinning, the lights are flickering, and we’re all just passengers on a very strange, very beautiful flight to nowhere in particular. It's a bit absurd, really—this whole business of being alive—but I suppose that's what makes it interesting. Otherwise, what would we have to talk about?

Man, there is an incredible, almost terrifying level of freedom inherent in being human. That’s where the real beauty lies—it's our greatest glory, really. Freedom isn't just some concept you read about in a textbook; it's an immeasurable gift from God. The thing is, most people walk around like they've been pre-programmed, following some invisible script without ever questioning it. You haven't been handed a detailed blueprint or a step-by-step manual for your life. You have to build yourself from the ground up—you have to be your own creator. It’s a heavy realization, I know. So, at the end of the day, everything rests squarely on your shoulders. The choices are yours alone. You could strive to become a Buddha or even reach the heights of Bahaudin, or—on the flip side—you could turn into someone like Adolf Hitler or Benito Mussolini. You could choose to be a killer, or you could choose to be a meditator. It all comes down to you.

If you actually spend your days doing what you believe you were meant to do—not just some soul-crushing grind to pay the mortgage, mind you, but actual meaningful work—you aren't going to have the luxury of feeling bored. It’s a simple equation, really. Boredom is usually just a symptom of being disconnected from your own purpose. I remember back when I was working that dead-end retail gig in Chicago—just staring at the clock, waiting for five o'clock like it was a prison sentence—that was pure, unadulterated boredom. But once you align your actions with your internal compass? That restlessness disappears. You're too occupied with the task at hand to sit around wondering where the time went.

The Sufi mystic was completely broke—just an outcast, really, exhausted from years of constant traveling. He rolled into this small town in the middle of the night, hoping for a bit of rest, but they wouldn't have him. The place was populated by these strictly orthodox Muslims, and let me tell you, when those types take hold of a community, trying to reason with them is like talking to a brick wall. They were so set in their ways that they wouldn't even grant him shelter within the city limits.

The night was freezing—biting, really—and he was just exhausted, starving, and honestly, way too underdressed for the weather. He ended up sitting there right outside the city limits, huddled under a tree. His students were right there with him, too, though they looked absolutely miserable—just a heavy cloud of depression and simmering anger hanging over the whole group.

Then he just started praying—really getting into it—talking to God like, "You’re incredible. You always give me exactly what I need." Honestly? It was just too much. Too much.

One student actually had the nerve to look me in the eye and say, "Hold on, you're taking this a bit too far—especially tonight. Those words of yours just aren't true. We’re starving, we’re exhausted, we aren't even properly trained, and this freezing night is closing in on us. There are predators everywhere in these woods, we've been kicked out of the city, and we don't have a single place to take shelter. So, why on earth are you giving thanks to God? What exactly are you thinking when you claim, 'You always give me exactly what I need'?"

The mystic once remarked—and I remember reading this somewhere back in college, probably during one of those long, aimless nights in Chicago—"Yes, I’ll do it again. God provides everything I actually need. Tonight, I need to experience poverty; tonight, I need to feel rejected, hungry, and in danger. Otherwise, why would He grant me such things? It has to be out of necessity. It has to be required, which is exactly why I ought to be grateful. The way He looks upon my needs... it's truly beautiful."

Look, this isn't even about what's actually happening right now—and that’s the point. The current situation? It doesn't matter to him. He's completely detached from the facts on the ground.

steelmarlin77 It’s got to be this way here, too. There can be no talk of forgiveness or love—none at all—until the Hanđeković crowd, those Trilateral Commission types, and the rest of the architects behind this disaster are brought to their knees. I want them to feel nothing but pure, unadulterated rage and hatred while they suffer the consequences of their actions—hell, until they're practically begging just to survive the fallout. You can't skip straight to grace. Forgiveness only has any actual meaning if there is real, visceral justice served first. Punishment for evil is a prerequisite for mercy.

Sure, you can choose to fight by hacking away at your opponent's legs—brute force, I suppose. But honestly? It’s much better to take a page out of Gandhi's book. In other words: just completely ignore people like Todorić and Hanđeković.

Look, you can label it however you want—fate, the will of God, deterministic chaos, luck, misfortune, "it is what it is," or just how things go—but at the end of the day, it simply cannot be any other way.

To put it bluntly: it is what it is, so just deal with it...

Benjamin Taylor6 said:Is it necessary? It feels like we're staring right into our own destiny—that inevitable, slow-motion train wreck we can't seem to steer away from.

In the hands of fate.
So, I was reading about this legendary Japanese warlord, Nobunaga—an absolute powerhouse—who decided to go all-in against an enemy force that outmatched him ten to one. Ten times his size! Can you even imagine? Most people would have just packed up and headed home, but he wasn't most people. He had this unshakable certainty that victory was inevitable, even though his own troops were looking at him like he’d completely lost his mind. They were skeptical, hesitant, probably wondering if they were walking straight into a meat grinder—which, let's be honest, usually happens when you're outnumbered like that—but he stayed the course anyway. It makes you wonder about that kind of conviction... or maybe just pure, unadulterated madness.
On stops by a local Shinto shrine on his way through—just a quick detour, really—and tells his crew, "Since I'm visiting this Shinto site, I'm going to flip a coin. If it lands on heads, we win; if it's tails, we lose. It’s all in the hands of God now."

Nobunaga steps into the sanctuary and offers up a silent prayer. Then, he walks back out and flips a coin—heads. It’s almost poetic, really. His soldiers were practically starving for a fight, just itching to get into the fray, and sure enough, they swept through the battle without breaking much of a sweat.
“It’s just one of those things—you can struggle against it all you want, scream at the sky until your lungs give out, but the truth remains: nobody can change the hand fate dealt them. It's written. You can try to bluff, you can try to fold, but once those cards are on the table, that’s the reality you're living in. I remember sitting in a diner outside of Chicago back in the nineties, watching this old man play solitaire—he was playing like his life depended on it, rearranging the deck, sweating over every move—but even then, you could see it. Some patterns just aren't meant to be broken. It’s a hard pill to swallow, I know, but fighting the inevitable is just a recipe for exhaustion."That's what his follower told him after the colors faded," he said—though honestly, I can’t help but wonder if anyone was actually listening at the time.
"It’s just impossible," Nobunaga muttered, holding up a coin that had come up double-headed—heads on both sides.
😁

But what if we're actually heading in the wrong direction? Seriously—what if this whole thing is just a massive detour? Even then, I suppose we should just keep being "grateful," right? Just keep smiling while the ship hits the iceberg. Life is just one giant, cosmic waiting room—kind of like being stuck in a terminal at LAX during a massive thunderstorm, only without the overpriced Cinnabon. You sit there, staring at the departures board, wondering if you’re actually going anywhere or if the universe is just playing a long-form prank on you. I was thinking about this the other day while I was trying to fix that old espresso machine—you know, the one I swore I’d repair back in 2019? It’s a lost cause, much like most of our grand ambitions. We spend our entire lives building these elaborate structures—careers, reputations, even our little social circles—thinking we’re constructing something permanent. But honestly? It feels more like we’re just rearranging the furniture in a hall that’s constantly being remodeled by forces we can't even begin to comprehend. It’s easy to get caught up in the minutiae—the bills, the traffic on the I-95, the endless notifications on your phone—and feel like these things define us. But when you step back and look at the sheer, terrifying scale of everything, all that noise starts to fade. It’s a bit overwhelming, sure. There’s a certain heaviness to realizing how small our "big moments" actually are in the grand scheme of things. But maybe that’s the trick. Maybe the point isn't to find some profound, lasting meaning in the chaos, but to just... exist within it. To accept that the room is spinning, the lights are flickering, and we’re all just passengers on a very strange, very beautiful flight to nowhere in particular. It's a bit absurd, really—this whole business of being alive—but I suppose that's what makes it interesting. Otherwise, what would we have to talk about?

Man, there is an incredible, almost terrifying level of freedom inherent in being human. That’s where the real beauty lies—it's our greatest glory, really. Freedom isn't just some concept you read about in a textbook; it's an immeasurable gift from God. The thing is, most people walk around like they've been pre-programmed, following some invisible script without ever questioning it. You haven't been handed a detailed blueprint or a step-by-step manual for your life. You have to build yourself from the ground up—you have to be your own creator. It’s a heavy realization, I know. So, at the end of the day, everything rests squarely on your shoulders. The choices are yours alone. You could strive to become a Buddha or even reach the heights of Bahaudin, or—on the flip side—you could turn into someone like Adolf Hitler or Benito Mussolini. You could choose to be a killer, or you could choose to be a meditator. It all comes down to you.

If you actually spend your days doing what you believe you were meant to do—not just some soul-crushing grind to pay the mortgage, mind you, but actual meaningful work—you aren't going to have the luxury of feeling bored. It’s a simple equation, really. Boredom is usually just a symptom of being disconnected from your own purpose. I remember back when I was working that dead-end retail gig in Chicago—just staring at the clock, waiting for five o'clock like it was a prison sentence—that was pure, unadulterated boredom. But once you align your actions with your internal compass? That restlessness disappears. You're too occupied with the task at hand to sit around wondering where the time went.

The Sufi mystic was completely broke—just an outcast, really, exhausted from years of constant traveling. He rolled into this small town in the middle of the night, hoping for a bit of rest, but they wouldn't have him. The place was populated by these strictly orthodox Muslims, and let me tell you, when those types take hold of a community, trying to reason with them is like talking to a brick wall. They were so set in their ways that they wouldn't even grant him shelter within the city limits.

The night was freezing—biting, really—and he was just exhausted, starving, and honestly, way too underdressed for the weather. He ended up sitting there right outside the city limits, huddled under a tree. His students were right there with him, too, though they looked absolutely miserable—just a heavy cloud of depression and simmering anger hanging over the whole group.

Then he just started praying—really getting into it—talking to God like, "You’re incredible. You always give me exactly what I need." Honestly? It was just too much. Too much.

One student actually had the nerve to look me in the eye and say, "Hold on, you're taking this a bit too far—especially tonight. Those words of yours just aren't true. We’re starving, we’re exhausted, we aren't even properly trained, and this freezing night is closing in on us. There are predators everywhere in these woods, we've been kicked out of the city, and we don't have a single place to take shelter. So, why on earth are you giving thanks to God? What exactly are you thinking when you claim, 'You always give me exactly what I need'?"

The mystic once remarked—and I remember reading this somewhere back in college, probably during one of those long, aimless nights in Chicago—"Yes, I’ll do it again. God provides everything I actually need. Tonight, I need to experience poverty; tonight, I need to feel rejected, hungry, and in danger. Otherwise, why would He grant me such things? It has to be out of necessity. It has to be required, which is exactly why I ought to be grateful. The way He looks upon my needs... it's truly beautiful."

Look, this isn't even about what's actually happening right now—and that’s the point. The current situation? It doesn't matter to him. He's completely detached from the facts on the ground.

steelmarlin77 It’s got to be this way here, too. There can be no talk of forgiveness or love—none at all—until the Hanđeković crowd, those Trilateral Commission types, and the rest of the architects behind this disaster are brought to their knees. I want them to feel nothing but pure, unadulterated rage and hatred while they suffer the consequences of their actions—hell, until they're practically begging just to survive the fallout. You can't skip straight to grace. Forgiveness only has any actual meaning if there is real, visceral justice served first. Punishment for evil is a prerequisite for mercy.

Sure, you can choose to fight by hacking away at your opponent's legs—brute force, I suppose. But honestly? It’s much better to take a page out of Gandhi's book. In other words: just completely ignore people like Todorić and Hanđeković.

Yeah, you could frame it that way—explaining reality as "God's will" or saying "God gives us what we need"—but really, you're just putting a label on the fact that things are what they are and they couldn't be anything else. It's inevitable, and there's nothing you can do about it...

steelmarlin77 said:🙂

So I was sitting there yesterday, scrolling through what Michael Anderson2 wrote about how nothing can ever really change, how we're all just spectators watching our own lives play out like some big-budget Hollywood movie or something. It got me thinking about that old koan involving blackberries, and honestly, I ended up staring at the ground next to a bus stop in downtown Chicago, just looking at these tiny little twigs wedged against the sewer grate, arranged in this weirdly specific pattern that looked almost like some ancient symbol. A few brambles here, a couple of sticks there. I figured I should probably try my hand at a haiku about it, so here goes nothing:

buses roll by
sewer grate lies below
just a few small twigs

That's us, really... just those few little twigs...

🤣 😬

That wasn't my point at all. I wrote something entirely different, but it seems you completely missed the mark on what I was actually saying...

Benjamin Taylor6 said:Look, some things don't require a deep dive into philosophy. Everything eventually reaches its end—it's just how life works—and there isn't much we can do to nudge it along. Usually, when you're on that path, the "better" way becomes obvious pretty quickly. Plus, we pick up most of our lessons from the people right next to us.

As for who "I" am?? Well, that's a whole different rabbit hole entirely:

Quinn:

Whatever exists, it must exist; it cannot be any other way. There is no escaping it, regardless of what you do, what you decide, or where you wander. What is, is necessary, and that's that.

By that logic, it was "necessary" for Hitler to murder millions of people in concentration camps!

And it was equally "necessary" for others to step in and stop him.

Sure, but I'm not saying it was "necessary" for Hitler to kill millions—that's nonsense. What I mean is that the mass murder itself is an absolute necessity of logic; it simply cannot be anything other than what it is. It is a factual necessity, plain and simple, and there's no escaping that reality. What is, is.

Benjamin Taylor6 said:Was this just a case of sudden, reckless karma hitting me:

Or was it just pure statistics? Though, if we're counting, it's 1 : 2000 in favor of karma. 😁

Not exactly a win. I took a few days of sick leave so I could get prepared and set sail when the weather was actually decent. I spent the day before testing the engine, planning to head out tomorrow. But the second I turned the key, everything went sideways: only one cylinder is firing. I tried every repair under the sun, but nothing works—it’s still running at half power. Naturally, I had to scrap the trip. All that prep work and taking the time off for nothing. It makes you wonder, though—how does a breakdown happen completely out of the blue when everything has been running perfectly for a year and a half? What are the mathematical odds of a failure happening on *that* specific day? Religious folks will say God is punishing me because I used sick leave for personal business. New Age types will tell me it's karmic retribution for the same reasons. And atheists? They'll tell me I'm overthinking it because crap happens every single day.

From the perspective of the "I" that exists inside us.
Still, for our "I," it's certainly better to have some sexy girl manicuring her nails than to have someone from Al-Qaeda doing it with red-hot needles. 😲 😲 😁 😲 😲

Quinn:

It’s just how things go—it’s inevitable, really. You can't fight it, you can't influence it, there’s no point in trying to steer the ship once the storm hits. You just have to accept it and move on. Whatever happens, happens. If you end up drowning in the middle of the Atlantic, well, you're underwater—that's just the reality of the situation. It is what it is. Exactly. That’s the whole point. It’s just how it goes, and honestly, how it has to be. If you make a move, you made a move—period. If you sit on your hands, then you didn't act—simple as that. Everything unfolds exactly as it does, and everything is destined to happen exactly this way. There isn't some other path we could have taken; life follows its own course, and frankly, there's nothing you can do to change the fundamental nature of things.

Since none of us have a crystal ball to see what's coming next, our only real option is to take what we know and act in a way that serves our best interests and helps our community.
In the grand scheme of things, though, fate is pretty much set in stone regardless of whether we step up or stay out of the way. We meet our destiny whether we participate or not.

If a person—that "Self" you’re talking about—actually wanted to weigh what’s better versus what’s worse, they’d first need to understand who they actually are and where they’re headed. Only then could they make an assessment.

Do you even know who you are, where you're going, or what constitutes "better" or "worse" in that context?

Benjamin Taylor6 said:Was this just a case of sudden, reckless karma hitting me:

Or was it just pure statistics? Though, if we're counting, it's 1 : 2000 in favor of karma. 😁

Not exactly a win. I took a few days of sick leave so I could get prepared and set sail when the weather was actually decent. I spent the day before testing the engine, planning to head out tomorrow. But the second I turned the key, everything went sideways: only one cylinder is firing. I tried every repair under the sun, but nothing works—it’s still running at half power. Naturally, I had to scrap the trip. All that prep work and taking the time off for nothing. It makes you wonder, though—how does a breakdown happen completely out of the blue when everything has been running perfectly for a year and a half? What are the mathematical odds of a failure happening on *that* specific day? Religious folks will say God is punishing me because I used sick leave for personal business. New Age types will tell me it's karmic retribution for the same reasons. And atheists? They'll tell me I'm overthinking it because crap happens every single day.

From the perspective of the "I" that exists inside us.
Still, for our "I," it's certainly better to have some sexy girl manicuring her nails than to have someone from Al-Qaeda doing it with red-hot needles. 😲 😲 😁 😲 😲

Quinn:

It’s just how things go—it’s inevitable, really. You can't fight it, you can't influence it, there’s no point in trying to steer the ship once the storm hits. You just have to accept it and move on. Whatever happens, happens. If you end up drowning in the middle of the Atlantic, well, you're underwater—that's just the reality of the situation. It is what it is. Exactly. That’s the whole point. It’s just how it goes, and honestly, how it has to be. If you make a move, you made a move—period. If you sit on your hands, then you didn't act—simple as that. Everything unfolds exactly as it does, and everything is destined to happen exactly this way. There isn't some other path we could have taken; life follows its own course, and frankly, there's nothing you can do to change the fundamental nature of things.

Since none of us have a crystal ball to see what's coming next, our only real option is to take what we know and act in a way that serves our best interests and helps our community.
In the grand scheme of things, though, fate is pretty much set in stone regardless of whether we step up or stay out of the way. We meet our destiny whether we participate or not.

You can say whatever you want. You can rationalize it, fantasize, or live in denial, but reality is what it is. It cannot be anything else. You can't run from the truth; it’s a plain fact that most people simply fail to grasp.

Whatever exists, exists by necessity. It couldn't be any other way. There is no escaping it, regardless of what you do, what you decide, or where you go. What is, is necessary. Period.

Nicholas Ward5 said:👍
bravo man, you nailed it.
I really need to get back to that headspace of peace and happiness, otherwise I'm gonna lose my mind. Just need some alone time and some meditation. A simple guy like me can afford to step away from all this "wisdom" for a bit, because if you don't, life starts chewing you up and spitting you out.

And it's exactly as it should be. If life starts chewing you up like gum, well, that's just how it goes—it's just the way things are.

Benjamin Taylor6 said:Honestly, if you ask me, there’s really no contest—it’s much better to be clean, happy, wealthy, attractive, and young. I mean, think about it. It beats being a complete fool, looking rough, living hand-to-mouth, feeling old, and dealing with constant health issues. Life is just... easier that way. Why would anyone choose the alternative? It’s common sense, really. 😲😁
There are certain things in this life where we can actually exert our own will—where we can grab the wheel and steer ourselves toward a specific outcome—and then there are other things that are just completely beyond our control, no matter how much we fight them. It’s one of those fundamental, frustrating realities of being alive. You can work your tail off, pour every ounce of energy into a goal, and still find yourself staring at a brick wall because some external force decided otherwise. It’s like trying to stop the tide with a plastic shovel. Some stuff is up to us, sure, but a lot of it? Not so much.

My late father used to have this one way of putting things—I can still hear him saying it—it was always something like, "We went out fishing all day and didn't catch a single thing." Just a simple, blunt truth, I suppose.
Look, let’s try to keep some perspective here—let's actually find something to be happy about. I mean, we could have been dealing with much worse. We could have caught a massive sea spider and let it sting us, just dancing around the boat in sheer agony. Or, better yet, the engine could have died on us entirely, leaving us to row for three hours straight. It reminds me of this one engineering student I knew back in the day—about twenty years ago, long before everyone had a smartphone glued to their hand. This poor kid ended up rowing for five hours because his diesel engine ran out of fuel and sucked in air. He actually had a spare gas can and a full set of wrenches with him, but the poor guy didn't realize he needed to loosen a specific part to prime the system manually. He knew *something* had to be done—he could feel it in his gut—but he had absolutely no clue about the actual sequence of events. Just total chaos.
And that right there—that pure, unadulterated ignorance—is exactly what cost him his physique. It’s frustrating, really. You see people walking into a gym like they own the place, thinking they can just wing it without understanding the basic mechanics of training, and then they wonder why they aren't seeing results after six months of grinding. I remember back when I first started hitting the weights in Chicago—I thought I knew everything too, just charging in blindly—and man, did my body pay the price for that ego. But this guy? He didn't even have the sense to check the fundamentals. It’s one thing to work hard, but if you're working hard in the wrong direction, you're basically just spinning your wheels. It's a waste of time, a waste of effort, and honestly, it's just painful to watch. 😁

If you see an injustice, you have a responsibility to try and set things right. Honestly, God isn't going to step in and fix it for you—that’s just not how it works. The real question is whether you’re going to take a stand through a hunger strike, or if you'll opt for a different approach altogether. For instance, something like this:

Better? Why exactly is it better? For whom? For what purpose? And from whose perspective are we looking at this?

Benjamin Taylor6 said:Honestly, if you ask me, there’s really no contest—it’s much better to be clean, happy, wealthy, attractive, and young. I mean, think about it. It beats being a complete fool, looking rough, living hand-to-mouth, feeling old, and dealing with constant health issues. Life is just... easier that way. Why would anyone choose the alternative? It’s common sense, really. 😲😁
There are certain things in this life where we can actually exert our own will—where we can grab the wheel and steer ourselves toward a specific outcome—and then there are other things that are just completely beyond our control, no matter how much we fight them. It’s one of those fundamental, frustrating realities of being alive. You can work your tail off, pour every ounce of energy into a goal, and still find yourself staring at a brick wall because some external force decided otherwise. It’s like trying to stop the tide with a plastic shovel. Some stuff is up to us, sure, but a lot of it? Not so much.

My late father used to have this one way of putting things—I can still hear him saying it—it was always something like, "We went out fishing all day and didn't catch a single thing." Just a simple, blunt truth, I suppose.
Look, let’s try to keep some perspective here—let's actually find something to be happy about. I mean, we could have been dealing with much worse. We could have caught a massive sea spider and let it sting us, just dancing around the boat in sheer agony. Or, better yet, the engine could have died on us entirely, leaving us to row for three hours straight. It reminds me of this one engineering student I knew back in the day—about twenty years ago, long before everyone had a smartphone glued to their hand. This poor kid ended up rowing for five hours because his diesel engine ran out of fuel and sucked in air. He actually had a spare gas can and a full set of wrenches with him, but the poor guy didn't realize he needed to loosen a specific part to prime the system manually. He knew *something* had to be done—he could feel it in his gut—but he had absolutely no clue about the actual sequence of events. Just total chaos.
And that right there—that pure, unadulterated ignorance—is exactly what cost him his physique. It’s frustrating, really. You see people walking into a gym like they own the place, thinking they can just wing it without understanding the basic mechanics of training, and then they wonder why they aren't seeing results after six months of grinding. I remember back when I first started hitting the weights in Chicago—I thought I knew everything too, just charging in blindly—and man, did my body pay the price for that ego. But this guy? He didn't even have the sense to check the fundamentals. It’s one thing to work hard, but if you're working hard in the wrong direction, you're basically just spinning your wheels. It's a waste of time, a waste of effort, and honestly, it's just painful to watch. 😁

If you see an injustice, you have a responsibility to try and set things right. Honestly, God isn't going to step in and fix it for you—that’s just not how it works. The real question is whether you’re going to take a stand through a hunger strike, or if you'll opt for a different approach altogether. For instance, something like this:

It is what it is—there’s really no way around it. You can't change the hand you're dealt, and there isn't much anyone can do to step in and fix things. At some point, you just have to accept it and move on. That's just how it goes.

Benjamin Taylor6 said:Honestly, if you ask me, there’s really no contest—it’s much better to be clean, happy, wealthy, attractive, and young. I mean, think about it. It beats being a complete fool, looking rough, living hand-to-mouth, feeling old, and dealing with constant health issues. Life is just... easier that way. Why would anyone choose the alternative? It’s common sense, really. 😲😁
There are certain things in this life where we can actually exert our own will—where we can grab the wheel and steer ourselves toward a specific outcome—and then there are other things that are just completely beyond our control, no matter how much we fight them. It’s one of those fundamental, frustrating realities of being alive. You can work your tail off, pour every ounce of energy into a goal, and still find yourself staring at a brick wall because some external force decided otherwise. It’s like trying to stop the tide with a plastic shovel. Some stuff is up to us, sure, but a lot of it? Not so much.

My late father used to have this one way of putting things—I can still hear him saying it—it was always something like, "We went out fishing all day and didn't catch a single thing." Just a simple, blunt truth, I suppose.
Look, let’s try to keep some perspective here—let's actually find something to be happy about. I mean, we could have been dealing with much worse. We could have caught a massive sea spider and let it sting us, just dancing around the boat in sheer agony. Or, better yet, the engine could have died on us entirely, leaving us to row for three hours straight. It reminds me of this one engineering student I knew back in the day—about twenty years ago, long before everyone had a smartphone glued to their hand. This poor kid ended up rowing for five hours because his diesel engine ran out of fuel and sucked in air. He actually had a spare gas can and a full set of wrenches with him, but the poor guy didn't realize he needed to loosen a specific part to prime the system manually. He knew *something* had to be done—he could feel it in his gut—but he had absolutely no clue about the actual sequence of events. Just total chaos.
And that right there—that pure, unadulterated ignorance—is exactly what cost him his physique. It’s frustrating, really. You see people walking into a gym like they own the place, thinking they can just wing it without understanding the basic mechanics of training, and then they wonder why they aren't seeing results after six months of grinding. I remember back when I first started hitting the weights in Chicago—I thought I knew everything too, just charging in blindly—and man, did my body pay the price for that ego. But this guy? He didn't even have the sense to check the fundamentals. It’s one thing to work hard, but if you're working hard in the wrong direction, you're basically just spinning your wheels. It's a waste of time, a waste of effort, and honestly, it's just painful to watch. 😁

If you see an injustice, you have a responsibility to try and set things right. Honestly, God isn't going to step in and fix it for you—that’s just not how it works. The real question is whether you’re going to take a stand through a hunger strike, or if you'll opt for a different approach altogether. For instance, something like this:

Whatever happens, happens—it’s just the way things go. If you end up drowning in fish, then you've drowned in fish. That’s just reality.

Benjamin Taylor6 said:Honestly, if you ask me, there’s really no contest—it’s much better to be clean, happy, wealthy, attractive, and young. I mean, think about it. It beats being a complete fool, looking rough, living hand-to-mouth, feeling old, and dealing with constant health issues. Life is just... easier that way. Why would anyone choose the alternative? It’s common sense, really. 😲😁
There are certain things in this life where we can actually exert our own will—where we can grab the wheel and steer ourselves toward a specific outcome—and then there are other things that are just completely beyond our control, no matter how much we fight them. It’s one of those fundamental, frustrating realities of being alive. You can work your tail off, pour every ounce of energy into a goal, and still find yourself staring at a brick wall because some external force decided otherwise. It’s like trying to stop the tide with a plastic shovel. Some stuff is up to us, sure, but a lot of it? Not so much.

My late father used to have this one way of putting things—I can still hear him saying it—it was always something like, "We went out fishing all day and didn't catch a single thing." Just a simple, blunt truth, I suppose.
Look, let’s try to keep some perspective here—let's actually find something to be happy about. I mean, we could have been dealing with much worse. We could have caught a massive sea spider and let it sting us, just dancing around the boat in sheer agony. Or, better yet, the engine could have died on us entirely, leaving us to row for three hours straight. It reminds me of this one engineering student I knew back in the day—about twenty years ago, long before everyone had a smartphone glued to their hand. This poor kid ended up rowing for five hours because his diesel engine ran out of fuel and sucked in air. He actually had a spare gas can and a full set of wrenches with him, but the poor guy didn't realize he needed to loosen a specific part to prime the system manually. He knew *something* had to be done—he could feel it in his gut—but he had absolutely no clue about the actual sequence of events. Just total chaos.
And that right there—that pure, unadulterated ignorance—is exactly what cost him his physique. It’s frustrating, really. You see people walking into a gym like they own the place, thinking they can just wing it without understanding the basic mechanics of training, and then they wonder why they aren't seeing results after six months of grinding. I remember back when I first started hitting the weights in Chicago—I thought I knew everything too, just charging in blindly—and man, did my body pay the price for that ego. But this guy? He didn't even have the sense to check the fundamentals. It’s one thing to work hard, but if you're working hard in the wrong direction, you're basically just spinning your wheels. It's a waste of time, a waste of effort, and honestly, it's just painful to watch. 😁

If you see an injustice, you have a responsibility to try and set things right. Honestly, God isn't going to step in and fix it for you—that’s just not how it works. The real question is whether you’re going to take a stand through a hunger strike, or if you'll opt for a different approach altogether. For instance, something like this:

Exactly. It’s just the way things are—and honestly, they have to be. If you decide to step up, then you’ve made your choice. If you don't, you haven't. It’s that simple. Everything unfolds exactly as it’s meant to, and there isn't any other way for it to go. It happens how it happens, and you can't change that reality.

Benjamin Taylor6 said:So, just try to find joy in the tiny, insignificant things. You know, like "I'm chopping wood, I'm hauling water from the well—oh, how wonderful, oh, how marvelous." 😁

Just cling to that Zen proverb: "Live through this life without leaving a single trace."

Honestly, you can do whatever you want—it doesn't matter. You could be splitting firewood, piloting a space shuttle, winning an Olympic gold, or just sitting in front of the TV your whole life. You could be the Pope or a drifter; it’s all the same. You can be miserable, happy, or just plain crappy. You can be pure, you can enjoy yourself, or you can suffer. It doesn't change anything. Everything happens exactly as it has to—damn it—and there's absolutely nothing you can do to change that...

steelmarlin77 said:Do you ever feel like you actually made something of yourself in this life? Because, honestly, I haven't. I poured everything I had into it, really gave my all and handed out everything I could spare to the people around me—to everyone I actually cared about—but apparently, I’m just not important enough to even warrant a response to a post like this. Not that they’d even know I wrote it, anyway. If I had to kick the bucket today, I’m pretty sure all those people have someone else more vital, or way more significant, than me to worry about. They’d move on and forget me pretty damn fast, maybe some would take a little longer, but that’s basically the whole story.

Is that supposed to be enough? You know, for enlightenment, or self-discovery, or reaching the absolute peak of human achievement?
It has to be, because there isn't anything else left to grab onto.

I can tell you just one thing, and maybe it'll offer some comfort: we're all in the exact same boat as you. Some people are just better at lying to themselves about it than others... 😉

There's nothing left to achieve, nowhere left to go. That's just how it is—everything is exactly as it must be.

Adam Morales45 said:Honestly, I think the admins need to step in and have a serious talk with the moderator @Executioner. The whole situation is starting to feel pretty unhinged and unprofessional.

He’s out here calling people liars when there isn't a single shred of proof that they're lying! 🙂