Posts by Jonathan Mitchell

Sandra Parker3 said:Maybe we actually made the right choice, but we just haven't figured out how to live with it yet. Is that where that feeling comes from?
We can work through it and push past it 🙂

But regardless, we made our choice, whether driven by our gut or someone else's pressure.

A "vicious cycle" makes it sound like change is impossible. And like finding peace is out of reach.

To me, a "vicious Circle" means it's hard to figure out how much of what we call guilt is actually ours, versus just swallowing values handed down by others. When you hit a certain age and start questioning those deep-seated beliefs, things get ugly—you realize people say one thing, do another, and you have no clue what they're really thinking. It leaves you doubting everything. If you don't feel like deconstructing every single thing shoved into your head during your childhood, fine. You can be a happy person, ignoring the past, present, and future...
But once life hits you with something heavy, those doubts float right to the surface. And honestly? I think my generation is defined by doubt—blaming the ones before us, or blaming ourselves...
I grew up with a completely different set of values. Today, my kids are learning that most of it is total garbage...
The bottom line? The whole thing is a mess...
So, some people swim through it better than others... but you, you see it as an inability to change and just making peace with it.
I’m definitely not the type to just "make peace" with nonsense, though I know there's still a lot of mental clutter in my own head that needs sorting out.
But hey, I'm lazy!
Most people operate this way, or else we'd all end up in an asylum, at war with ourselves and the world...🤷 😂 😛

rustymaker5 said:It’s just a fact of life that every single one of us carries both light and dark sides within us... you can't really have one without the other, because if you did, you wouldn't even be able to define who you are in the first place.
The whole thing really boils down to balance. That tiny little fraction that tips the scales toward one side or the other... well, that comes down entirely to our own choices, our conscience, our morals, and honestly, just how self-aware we actually are about our true nature.
The second you start feeling that pang of guilt, it means that—at least for a fleeting moment—we made the wrong call, or at the very least, we realize there was a better path we could have taken instead.
What matters most is making sure we don't let outside forces dictate how we feel or try to force any kind of guilt upon us... as long as it's coming from within ourselves, we can actually learn to handle it.

I wouldn't say it's easier to deal with our own guilt... honestly, it's just one big vicious cycle. And that "internal" guilt is built up because we're social creatures and all that...
But I couldn't care less what my neighbor down the street thinks. What would actually kill me is if someone I actually love and respect had something to say about it. For myself? That's the hardest part to forgive...

Jamie Wilson3 said:So what you're saying is, if I hold you against your will like some kind of slave, and you try to break free, you'd be just as much of a villain as I am...

And who mentioned anything about being a villain, you sweet summer child!?
this could actually spiral into...
but if you're aiming for that whole era of American slavery, then my answer is yes—I'd be a villain. Think about why that is.

And while we're on the subject of theft, let's get real for a second.
everyone is stealing something.

Samuel Miller21 said:This is a fascinating topic, deeply intertwined with our very definition of freedom. After all, guilt serves as one of those fundamental mechanisms that constrains our liberty.

I suspect many people overlook a vital truth: human beings were never actually designed for absolute, unbridled freedom..
It brings to mind a poignant line from poetry: "Will freedom ever learn how to sing, in the way that the enslaved once sang of it?"

Whether we look at organized religion, conservative political frameworks, or even the institution of marriage—these are all ways in which we voluntarily surrender a portion of our autonomy.
A believer submits to Bog, a citizen commits to a political ideology, a spouse yields to their partner... and there is a certain inherent beauty in that sacrifice, a sense of purpose that can only be forged through the weight of lived experience.

When we exist in total freedom, we are light, airy, and unburdened... yet, in that lightness, we lose our roots, our purpose, and our significance.
Guilt, fear, and those other heavy emotions may be difficult, but they are essential and unavoidable for anyone who dares to truly feel and to remain connected to others.

Yeah, sure. Freedom is just about making choices, but that leaves you hanging... sometimes you choose something just to please everyone else and end up miserable because you're starving for something real, and other times it's the exact opposite. It all comes down to how much we actually care about the weight of those choices.

quietpilot87 said:Honestly, if I could just strip away the whole baptism sacrament and be done with it, I totally would.

Look, someone splashing some holy water on your head doesn't mean anything if you decide it doesn't.
And trying to scrap the whole thing? That's just forcing your own version of "truth" on everyone else. You're basically doing exactly what they do...

Amanda Roberts21 said:Changing the world starts with the man in the mirror...

To "fit in," you're basically letting that friend get dragged through the mud just so they don't come for you next.
If being targeted is the price for showing basic humanity, then you're better off standing alone than being "socially accepted" by a crowd like that.

What are you actually afraid of? Rejection, most likely.

Once you kill that fear, you finally become an individual. Staying true to your conscience and being yourself comes with a cost—specifically, the cost of not following the mainstream.
But as Ernest Hemingway once suggested—there's warmth in the crowd, but it stinks....

Sometimes you just have to make a sacrifice 😍
before you get too used to the smell. 😉

Andrew Ramos10 said:Thanks, but I'll pass
I've had the chance to walk through a unit like that before, and trust me, I never want to experience it again
that's what you call hell

Oh yeah, we sure are creative when it comes to imagining what hell looks like.
And honestly? People actually work there—and they aren't even crazy, just maybe a little numb. It’s like how a donkey learns manners through a kick to the teeth... hehehehehe!
I've been through it too... and those places are run by useless psych wards and staff who couldn't care less about anyone.
Shout out to the exceptions, though.
Here’s a smiley for them 🙂 , the exceptions, obviously!

Andrew Ramos10 said:You might not want to believe this, but honestly, at least half of all psychologists probably dealt with their own childhood trauma... they're just as broken in the head as the rest of us, which is why they can't actually help anyone else.

Heh, you really think it's 50% of therapists...👍

Look, psychologists are decent enough people who deal with the theory side of things, while they leave the heavy-duty meds to the "wizards"—not to mention those insane treatments that make you lose all faith in humanity. Just walk through one ward and you'll see...

Look, I’ll be the first to admit I was a total nightmare. If he was getting bullied—and let's face it, there's always some "villain" in every high school classroom—I wasn't just going to sit there. If they didn't listen when asked to stop, I jumped right into the fray with them.
It wasn't exactly saintly behavior, sure, but it was enough to let those bullies know that the underdog actually has some teeth!
Maybe I'm just venting, but I really did stick up for him. Of course, once I started verbally defending him, they turned their sights on me too. And trust me, fighting me is a different story...
That said, it isn't right for the "weak" to constantly lean on someone else. They'll never find their footing that way. Once you earn his trust, you have to teach him the real lesson: that true power is just a mix of faith, will, and capability.
And as for that psycho, let them go straight to the psych ward... boo!

Grace Wilson72 said:This isn't just bad, it's pathetic.😢
You watch it happen and you can't believe there's nobody—literally nobody—who would stand up for him or call out the bullies😕
Just grow up, man. It should be easy.
You say if you defended him, they'd just flip on you and insult you too.
And I'm guessing you aren't really doing anything about it, at least not actively.
And then you act surprised by the kind of people out there.
Right now, in your class (in this world), there are probably at least 5 or 6 other people feeling exactly like you do, but they aren't doing a damn thing either.
Because by being passive (just like everyone else around you), you're basically telling them you're "one of them"—part of a society where this stuff is just "fine."
And now you're shocked.
If you've got the guts, do something. You'll probably see that almost nobody will back you up (like, 99.9% of people won't), but at least you'll know you're above them.
Even if you end up looking like a total loser...☕
Yeah, you'll look like some jerk defending a nobody, but at least when life gets heavy later on and you're raising your own kid, you'll remember you acted like a decent human being.
That matters way more than your "street cred" in whatever sick school you're stuck in right now.

👍