Just a random thought from a nobody

steelmarlin77 said:I’d go a step further and say I’ve actually landed on the idea that anger isn't necessarily some kind of bad thing. Every religion out there tells you it is, though. In Christianity, they label "wrath" as a mortal sin, grouping it right up there with sloth, gluttony, and greed. In our society, we treat being angry like it's just as anti-social as being a parasite, being lazy, or being arrogant. But honestly, if you don't have a little rage in you, how are you supposed to change anything—not just to make things better, but to move forward at all? If you’re always perfectly fine with how things are, if you’re just perpetually indifferent, doesn't that sting in its own way? Isn't that also a kind of sin? You look at our icons, the ones people study in school, and they’re either writing sweet little poems like Dobriša Cesarić or they've turned into total fossils like Krleža, or they’re clinging to old-school traditional values like Mile budak. But you aren't going to find the ones who actually talk about fury or resistance. Instead, we get people focused on defeat and shame, like Kovačić with his "In the Registry." We’ve become a nation of spineless people—folks who have nothing but a spine meant for bending, lacking the actual brainpower to use that spine to steer ourselves toward something meaningful. I'm not preaching nihilism here, I'm just pointing out that sometimes you have to tear down what's rotten if you ever want to actually progress.

It starts with pure, unadulterated rage—just being absolutely livid at certain situations or specific people. You hit that wall where you realize there’s no way out, no escape route, and no way to actually change the damn thing... and that’s when the shift happens. You stop shouting. Instead, you settle into this sort of biting irony. Sometimes, if you're feeling particularly sharp, it turns into full-blown sarcasm. It’s almost a defense mechanism, really—a way to cope when you realize you're just stuck dealing with the chaos.

Sandra Morales said:👍
You analyzed that quite well again. 🙂 Are you a surgeon by any chance? 😁

I'm not. I have this job:
I was browsing through some industrial catalogs earlier—just one of those deep dives you fall into when you can't sleep—and I stumbled upon this specific listing for industrial equipment. It’s one of those things that looks incredibly straightforward on paper, yet if you actually try to implement it in a high-stakes environment, you realize how much nuance goes into the selection process. It reminds me of a situation back when I was working a contract over in Chicago—we thought we had the perfect logistical setup, only to realize the hardware wasn't rated for the actual load we were pulling. We spent three days troubleshooting what should have been a five-minute fix. Anyway, looking at this spec sheet, there's a lot of technical density here that people tend to gloss over. You can't just click "add to cart" and assume your workflow is sorted. There are variables in efficiency and durability that aren't immediately obvious unless you're really digging into the mechanics of it. It's easy to get caught up in the flashy marketing, but the real work happens in the fine print.

I have this knack—this almost compulsive habit, really—for spotting every single thing that veers off course from what’s expected or strictly follows the rules. It’s like my brain is wired to flag anything that deviates from the established norm. Honestly, it can be exhausting sometimes... I'll be sitting there, minding my own business, and suddenly I'm hyper-aware of every minor irregularity or outlier that breaks the pattern. It’s just how I am. 😁

Benjamin Taylor6 said:So, it sounds like your biggest headache is basically your mother and your lovely wife.😁

Look, things like this definitely happen—they happen all the time—but honestly, it feels like they should be way easier to fix than they actually are. Take family dynamics, for instance; usually, a mother will eventually cave because that whole "unconditional love" thing is such a powerful motivator, right? Though, then again, I’ve heard plenty of stories about long-term marriages just imploding because a mother-in-law decided to play puppet master. You guys probably know a couple of those messy situations yourself. But hey, it doesn't always have to be that heavy; sometimes the friction is much more trivial, even if it keeps resurfacing in different ways. We've got all these social divides to deal with—class stuff, race, who knows what else. In our culture, the real headache is how people dig their heels in with this stubborn "my way or the highway" attitude. I mean, sure, there's a certain grit to it, but it’s absolutely useless when you're actually trying to solve a problem. And why isn't it helpful? Because people who constantly bend and compromise aren't actually being "nice"—they're just spineless, and frankly, they're exhausting to be around. At least that's how I see it; I can't stand those fake, smiling types who act sweet to your face while sharpening a knife behind your back or thinking they're better than everyone else. But here in the States, these clashes can stem from something incredibly petty, like where you grew up or what your roots are—you know, that classic tension between someone from a big metropolitan hub like Washington, D.C., versus someone from deep in the rural South or maybe a coastal vibe from California or Florida. It's that constant clash of mindsets, religions, or political leanings that makes things even messier. Seriously, can we not just handle these things with a little more grace and actual tolerance instead of acting like total animals? Because if we're just going to behave like animals, then I guess we deserve to be ruled by animalistic politicians who exploit us just as ruthlessly as we treat each other. It seems to be the natural order of things, doesn't it?

Let’s just be real for a second: wouldn't life be a whole lot easier if we actually had someone like Kolarić leading the main liberal party instead of that messy mess we have now, and maybe someone like Prgomet running things on the conservative side? I mean, both of them are sharper, more educated, and actually seem to have a clue about how to get stuff done. But what actually happens in this country? The second anyone dares to suggest a thought that doesn't align perfectly with the party leader, they get kicked to the curb immediately—poof, gone. If this system actually functioned properly, we’d be seeing organized debates, actual voting, and real primaries where everyone could see exactly what these people believe before casting a ballot. Maybe then, someone actually competent and capable would climb to the top and actually make life better for the rest of us. But honestly, before we even get to that, shouldn't all those folks drowning in debt and dealing with predatory lenders—the ones actually footing the bill for this whole circus—get out in the streets and show them they aren't playing around? It’s not even an impossible fix, really; you just need to have enough guts to actually stand up for yourself.

Scott Miller4 said:How did you land on the idea that this should be enough for enlightenment, self-knowledge, or the peak of self-actualization?

I have to admit, I’m not entirely sure if I follow what you’re getting at here—are you unhappy because people don't seem to appreciate your generosity, or is it more that you haven't managed to build any deep connections with anyone?

Do you really think there's nothing higher than giving? After spending years working in non-profits, I’d have to disagree. Interaction is always a two-way street, or rather, there is no such thing as a free lunch...

From a New Age perspective, that’s also fine, since you’ve essentially integrated those people into your own experience. They’re just fragments of who you are.
😁

Is that how it feels to you? It doesn't feel hopeless to me.
I think, if anything, you should start a thread over in psychology. If you even bother...

So "it'll pass" basically means it isn't hopeless. Great logic there.

🙂

steelmarlin77 said:That's all pretty abstract, though. But how do you handle a concrete mess? Like, say, you love two different people, but they absolutely loathe each other, and both of them are giving you an ultimatum: ditch the other one or lose me forever. I'm telling you, that's a real-world problem that can only be solved by triage. You have to pick who matters more and cut the other one loose, no matter how much it sucks. How would you handle that "shoulder to shoulder" thing with life in that scenario? You could also just do nothing, let them both dump you and tear each other apart, or just ditch both of them right now and go find a third option. It seems to me that for these kinds of inevitable, recurring headaches, you really need thick skin. And I see these thick-skinned types all over the place—people who delegate their problems, dodge their debts, act cold toward anyone in need, cause chaos, steal, climb the corporate ladder, and just thrive... Did life reward them with that thick skin because it just doesn't care about anyone else? In a specific case like that, do you think you should be a pacifist and let nature take its course, or should someone like that get a little "rubbed the wrong way" so their skin thins out and they actually start paying attention to others next time? I don't think it's always wrong to push back; if people acted with a bit more backbone, maybe we wouldn't run into these endless, unsolvable conflicts all the time. Because, truthfully, these impossible situations fuel the thick-skinned people, and those people, in turn, fuel the situations. It's a feedback loop.

Honestly, this just screams "son vs. wife vs. mother" to me.😁
The wife wants her husband, the mom wants her son, and the guy ends up stuck right in the middle, trying to please everyone and failing miserably.
Trying to "triage" your way out of that disaster is a complete joke; it’s just going to lead to the same old bullshit, just wrapped up in different shiny packaging.😁
It’d be a lot better if people just stopped whining and started actually living the lives they chose for themselves. Just be a husband, be a son—stop being such a coward and trying to sit on two chairs at once, if you catch my drift.

Lawrence Torres56 said:Honestly, this just screams "son vs. wife vs. mother" to me.😁
The wife wants her husband, the mom wants her son, and the guy ends up stuck right in the middle, trying to please everyone and failing miserably.
Trying to "triage" your way out of that disaster is a complete joke; it’s just going to lead to the same old bullshit, just wrapped up in different shiny packaging.😁
It’d be a lot better if people just stopped whining and started actually living the lives they chose for themselves. Just be a husband, be a son—stop being such a coward and trying to sit on two chairs at once, if you catch my drift.

Look, I’m not sitting on two chairs, Lawrence Torres56... It’s just that sometimes my heart aches, or maybe it just feels like it does, when there isn't even anything left to ache for.

steelmarlin77 said:Look, I’m not sitting on two chairs, Lawrence Torres56... It’s just that sometimes my heart aches, or maybe it just feels like it does, when there isn't even anything left to ache for.

Are you absolutely sure you aren't just sitting there?😉
The whole mess isn't happening because you love both of them; it's happening because from day one, you failed to draw a line in the sand and tell them where they can and can't go...
And this whole triage thing? It's just the inevitable fallout from all those wrong moves you made early on...

Don't even bother trying to pick one over the other,
A wife is a wife, and a mother is a mother... just get them both in line... do it for your own sanity 😛
Because look, your mom doesn't have any right to meddle in your life or your marriage, and your wife doesn't have any right to interfere in the bond between you and your mother... if they can't get along, that's their problem, not yours, right?
Honestly, the smartest move is to sit them both down at the same table and be brutally honest—tell them either they find common ground right now, or you're walking out and leaving them both behind... let them decide the stakes themselves...

Of course, that's assuming we're talking about a spouse and an elderly parent...😉

Adam Ross6 said:Well, buddy, that’s exactly where he runs into trouble. He can't find anyone who actually matters to him because whenever he meets someone who *could* be important, he approaches them with that attitude of yours: "No big deal, I can step up if I have to (but if I don't have to, I won't)."

...and so he just goes through the motions, consuming people and then showering them with gifts only as much as he can stomach, and only when it fits his own temporary little moment.

So, you with your marijuana-nirvana, and those self-absorbed, six-headed trolls (let's not even get into your equinox jam-making antics right now)—you guys aren't exactly producing much in the way of actual self-fulfillment.

He who leans toward emptiness finds his fulfillment in that emptiness.
He who leans toward fullness will be filled.

@ Mr. steelmarlin77, you're searching for fulfillment by looking at your own reflection in the people you've showered—and continue to shower—with attention.
...And hey, let them tell you how much they actually care about you. Don't pretend to be something you're not.

(I've always found it funny how the people who claim to be the most self-aware are usually the ones with the least amount of sincerity. It's always such a shock to them when there's nobody left to remind them of what they've actually achieved—which, let's face it, is usually quite a lot.)

@ Mr. steelmarlin77, why don't you try giving back to those people in your life, not for your own sake, but for the sake of God? That is, for the One who is in charge, for the end justifies the means, and in Him lies the realization of everything. 🙂

He is the giver of Truth to every single one of us—on our own time and on our own terms.

Top tier!

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.

The way you loathe yourself... it's almost blissful.

Lawrence Torres56 said:Honestly, this just screams "son vs. wife vs. mother" to me.😁
The wife wants her husband, the mom wants her son, and the guy ends up stuck right in the middle, trying to please everyone and failing miserably.
Trying to "triage" your way out of that disaster is a complete joke; it’s just going to lead to the same old bullshit, just wrapped up in different shiny packaging.😁
It’d be a lot better if people just stopped whining and started actually living the lives they chose for themselves. Just be a husband, be a son—stop being such a coward and trying to sit on two chairs at once, if you catch my drift.

An artist of life—that’s someone who actually figures out how to claim his throne, where his mother and his wife are there to serve him. It sounds heavy-handed, I know, but there's a certain philosophy to it—a way of existing where you aren't just drifting through the chaos, but actually commanding your own space. It’s about that specific kind of domestic order—though, god, some might call that outdated—where the center of gravity is clearly defined. I was reading something similar once in an old biography about a classic American statesman, and it hit me—it isn't just about ego; it's about finding a position of stability in a world that's constantly trying to pull you off balance. Some people would argue that's a bit much, but if you don't establish your own sovereignty, who will? 😁

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.

Michael Anderson2 said: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.

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."

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...

Enlightenment is basically realizing there’s absolutely nothing to it, yet somehow, it’s everything. Once you wrap your head around that, we’re all enlightened, so why am I even still typing? Let's just lock this thread. Honestly, why do some people even feel the need for God? People are inherently unfair, aren't they? They spend their whole lives bickering over trivial nonsense—who’s got more, who’s got less, who’s winning at life. It feels like people cling to the idea of God because they want someone to step in and actually distribute things fairly, and apparently, that’s a job only God can handle. But what happens when two different versions of God clash? Which one is supposedly the "fair" one? It’s a total mess. If I’m out here doing something in the name of my God, and someone else jumps in with their own version of God to tell me I’m being unjust, isn't that really just both of us acting on our own whims? Who the hell knows what God is actually thinking, assuming there even is a God? Why bother making everything so damn complicated if the world is fundamentally broken? Maybe that’s just how it works—maybe the injustice itself is part of the design.

steelmarlin77 said:Enlightenment is basically realizing there’s absolutely nothing to it, yet somehow, it’s everything. Once you wrap your head around that, we’re all enlightened, so why am I even still typing? Let's just lock this thread. Honestly, why do some people even feel the need for God? People are inherently unfair, aren't they? They spend their whole lives bickering over trivial nonsense—who’s got more, who’s got less, who’s winning at life. It feels like people cling to the idea of God because they want someone to step in and actually distribute things fairly, and apparently, that’s a job only God can handle. But what happens when two different versions of God clash? Which one is supposedly the "fair" one? It’s a total mess. If I’m out here doing something in the name of my God, and someone else jumps in with their own version of God to tell me I’m being unjust, isn't that really just both of us acting on our own whims? Who the hell knows what God is actually thinking, assuming there even is a God? Why bother making everything so damn complicated if the world is fundamentally broken? Maybe that’s just how it works—maybe the injustice itself is part of the design.

It doesn't have to be that way, but that's just the hand we've been dealt right now.

Michael Anderson2 said: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...

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. 😁

steelmarlin77 said:Enlightenment is basically realizing there’s absolutely nothing to it, yet somehow, it’s everything. Once you wrap your head around that, we’re all enlightened, so why am I even still typing? Let's just lock this thread. Honestly, why do some people even feel the need for God? People are inherently unfair, aren't they? They spend their whole lives bickering over trivial nonsense—who’s got more, who’s got less, who’s winning at life. It feels like people cling to the idea of God because they want someone to step in and actually distribute things fairly, and apparently, that’s a job only God can handle. But what happens when two different versions of God clash? Which one is supposedly the "fair" one? It’s a total mess. If I’m out here doing something in the name of my God, and someone else jumps in with their own version of God to tell me I’m being unjust, isn't that really just both of us acting on our own whims? Who the hell knows what God is actually thinking, assuming there even is a God? Why bother making everything so damn complicated if the world is fundamentally broken? Maybe that’s just how it works—maybe the injustice itself is part of the design.

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:

Benjamin Taylor6, you’re exactly the person I need to talk to right now. Honestly, I’ve been thinking about how unfair monogamy really is. It just doesn't sit right with me—the idea that I should have two partners, yet each of them only gets half of who I am. But hey, if they wanted to go out and find someone else on the side, it wouldn't even bother me, as long as I don't end up losing one of them forever. Monogamy feels inherently unjust. People aren't just property to be owned like you’d own livestock, or cattle, or poultry. If people decide they want to live together in a community made up of multiple free-willed individuals, why shouldn't they have that right? They absolutely should. But there's always someone stepping in to ruin it, always someone dragging jealousy or possessiveness into the mix. I wonder, though... how did Makaj manage to set things up so that none of that bothered them?

No one is truly insignificant, because every single person plays a specific role in this life, even if most people spend their whole lives failing to grasp the actual purpose or meaning behind it all.
Most folks aren't even aware of it—we basically build ourselves through the entire span of our existence by shaping things through our own thoughts, our words, and our actions. And what kind of person we end up becoming really just boils down to which self-image an individual decides to pursue and live out.
There isn't some master manual for living, and let's face it, there are plenty of circumstances and situations where we have absolutely zero control over what happens, but what we *can* do is choose how we react to them, based entirely on who we believe we actually are. If we think we’re nothing more than physical bodies moving through space, we’re definitely going to react in a completely different way than someone who is actually aware of the spiritual oneness connecting everything on this Earth.

And here’s the kicker—as much as people might hate hearing it, every person we meet and every single thing that happens to us isn't just some random accident, but rather a series of opportunities handed to us to realize the most magnificent version of the being we claim to be.

Btw, the OP mentioned in a previous post that they concluded rage isn't necessarily a negative emotion. I couldn't disagree more on that point... because people kill, wage wars, and commit absolute atrocities when they are fueled by rage; it’s something that becomes impossible to restrain or keep under control. Now, a positive and natural emotion is simple frustration or annoyance—just a way to express disagreement or reject something that doesn't sit right with us—and that doesn't have to be insulting or harmful to anyone else, plus it's something we can actually manage and direct. But if you keep suppressing that frustration, it eventually morphs into rage, which is a negative and deeply unnatural emotion.

No one is particularly important. Nobody holds a role other than the one shaped by a random chain of events. Most people aren't even aware of any "special" purpose because such things don't actually exist unless you invent them through religion. Spiritual unity is just a mental construct without any real weight. Every person we meet and every event we experience is either pure coincidence or the direct consequence of previous decisions and circumstances. Thinking of life as some grand, majestic achievement is just a religious projection. Emotions are natural, sure, but they’re only useful insofar as they provide actual value in a given situation.

☕

Life’s unity is an absolute fact.

I’m with bluemason3 on this—trying to experience wholeness as a central concept is just as much of a mental construct as experiencing any single part of it. It all happens within the human mind, which acts like a black hole. Throughout our lives, we use our five senses to suck in impressions that don't actually reflect the world as it truly is. Instead, they're just reflections of impulses being fed through a "dial-up input," processed by a very limited intellectual engine.

Even within the scientific method, you run into this. You can dive deep into the structure of a phenomenon or take a high-level view of a larger system, but the entire operation still takes place inside that tiny human box of intellectual reasoning. We're working strictly off external factors—the surface level of a phenomenon (though even a blind chicken might peck at a grain of corn once in a while). Usually, the goal is just to exploit these things for narrow technological purposes rather than understanding the deeper connection between nature and humanity. People should be trying to align themselves with nature and understand their true essence, instead of submitting to distorted psychological worlds of fantasy and imagination where individuality is just an illusion—all while having zero actual grasp of who they are or why they do what they do.

The reality is that people think they’re setting their own life goals and finding their own meaning. In truth, some of their random ideas actually support the nature they are made of, while others completely block it.

You can't defeat life for what it fundamentally is. But you can certainly joke around with it as long as biological processes continue in whatever form they take—physical or otherwise. And even that isn't the end of the line; it keeps going until, say, a nuclear meltdown wipes us out.

🕺