Luck needs to be on my side...

Lisa Morales4 said:Without a struggle, without any real core, life just becomes one endless slog on a treadmill. Even when you try to stay positive, those thoughts don't actually lead anywhere meaningful. They just circle back to the mundane and the tasteless—to that sense of instability and fleetingness where everything feels temporary. It’s all just a cycle of short-lived pleasures and passing thrills that ultimately lead to emptiness, hopelessness, and a total void.

The molecular machinery of God's alchemy transformed us from mere stardust into rational, conscious beings possessed of a divine heart and soul. Now, the choice is ours: will we remain just apes that got lucky, or will we become the elected—the chosen ones?

We need more than just basic logic or the collective intelligence of the entire world if we ever hope to truly master the art of happiness. It’s about learning how to actually understand and connect with the soul of the person standing right in front of you.
That's how we tell each other apart. 🙂



my Soul Sings
(Watching the 24/7 international live worship stream. )

🙂

The thing is, "emptiness"—or what existentialists call "pointlessness"—is likely just the fundamental state of existence. But saying that doesn't mean we're helpless, nor does it mean everything is equal on the level of our actual lived experience. Everything we discuss here is secondary, basically just rationalizations or concepts. To one person, that might be God; to another, it might be nothing at all. They are all optical illusions, but we simply have to hold onto them, whatever shape they take. To me, the only thing that matters is trying not to make life feel small and miserable.

Brenda Cook4 said:The thing is, "emptiness"—or what existentialists call "pointlessness"—is likely just the fundamental state of existence. But saying that doesn't mean we're helpless, nor does it mean everything is equal on the level of our actual lived experience. Everything we discuss here is secondary, basically just rationalizations or concepts. To one person, that might be God; to another, it might be nothing at all. They are all optical illusions, but we simply have to hold onto them, whatever shape they take. To me, the only thing that matters is trying not to make life feel small and miserable.

optical illusions 😲

It’s all pretty pointless—just a byproduct of the secular worldview where everything is fleeting. That constant anxiety and dread stems from the fact that everything comes just to leave

I'm with you there... at the end of the day, nobody wants to die in a pointless way that adds up to zero; we all want to go out like heroes🙂

Hey T, is your avatar trying to suggest that we women are totally helpless unless our manicures are perfect? 😍

Lisa Morales4 said:optical illusions 😲

It’s all pretty pointless—just a byproduct of the secular worldview where everything is fleeting. That constant anxiety and dread stems from the fact that everything comes just to leave

I'm with you there... at the end of the day, nobody wants to die in a pointless way that adds up to zero; we all want to go out like heroes🙂

Hey T, is your avatar trying to suggest that we women are totally helpless unless our manicures are perfect? 😍

Oh, please—what "heroes"? In the end, it all sums to zero anyway. It really just comes down to which rationalization you decide to live by. Some people stare straight into the abyss without any filters at all, which can feel incredibly liberating, but let’s be honest... even that is just another way of coping.

Is your avatar suggesting that women are helpless unless their manicures are perfect?😍

Wait, what? This is Kirsten Dunst in Trier's Melancholy Forgetsake... honestly, it's actually a perfect movie for this conversation...

Brenda Cook4 said:Actually, they do—and it leads to a much better quality of life (though we could probably spend all day debating what "quality" even means). Think about it: people who are stuck in survival mode, just scraping by from paycheck to paycheck, barely have the mental bandwidth to think about anything else, let alone dive into the deep mysteries of the universe.

I’m going to repost the commented entry along with the next sentence:

I'm not totally convinced those things are linked to happiness or core values. If that were true, then usually, people with more money would automatically lead better lives. If we set aside the extreme cases where someone is literally struggling for basic survival needs, then all those "lucky" people could definitely be called into question.

Hopefully, it's clearer now what I meant by that, and more importantly, what I didn't mean!

To build on that, I honestly don't think your average American is even close to the edge of necessity. They're mostly just whining because they went overboard on loans they never needed and now they're stressed about how to pay them back. That’s exactly how so many millionaires have gone broke too—they just took way more than they could chew. If people actually thought things through, we probably wouldn't feel this constant pressure to follow every single trend, especially those from "developed nations" where people swap out their clothes and shoes twice a year, get new furniture every two years, change cars every three, and somehow think the peak of wisdom is selling off your assets just to become a renter.

wearyhawk83 said:I’m going to repost the commented entry along with the next sentence:

I'm not totally convinced those things are linked to happiness or core values. If that were true, then usually, people with more money would automatically lead better lives. If we set aside the extreme cases where someone is literally struggling for basic survival needs, then all those "lucky" people could definitely be called into question.

Hopefully, it's clearer now what I meant by that, and more importantly, what I didn't mean!

To build on that, I honestly don't think your average American is even close to the edge of necessity. They're mostly just whining because they went overboard on loans they never needed and now they're stressed about how to pay them back. That’s exactly how so many millionaires have gone broke too—they just took way more than they could chew. If people actually thought things through, we probably wouldn't feel this constant pressure to follow every single trend, especially those from "developed nations" where people swap out their clothes and shoes twice a year, get new furniture every two years, change cars every three, and somehow think the peak of wisdom is selling off your assets just to become a renter.

Personally, I think the average American really *is* walking right on the edge, and plenty of people have already fallen off. You can practically feel the nation's pulse racing in that regard.
But I am right there with you regarding consumerism. Humanity, as a whole, goes overboard. So much of what we buy is just unnecessary junk, and spending your entire life working just to afford it is, quite frankly, pointless.
As Schopenhauer says, Schopenhauer All good things are vanity, The World in All its ends bankrupt.

wearyhawk83, you’ve got a point there. We basically just drop into an environment that hands us a blueprint for life—one that’s as deeply rooted and painfully average as it gets. It takes real grit to break free from that mold. It isn't just about being lucky; it requires a level of strength most people don't possess. Social circles tend to act like closed feedback loops... it’s nearly impossible to catapult yourself out of them without some major upheaval, whether that’s personal or coming from the family side of things.

Everywhere you look, there are hierarchies and unspoken caste systems. People judge you based on your pedigree, your bank account, your degree, or any other material marker that signals which "tier" you belong to. That whole story about Rockefeller and the apple? That’s a tale reserved for the outliers, the exceptionally gifted. But most of us are just... well, average. If the idea that anyone can achieve whatever they want were actually true, we wouldn't have all this widespread unhappiness, failure, or disillusionment. And that tired cliché about just "wanting it enough" or "grinding harder" is mostly nonsense. Imagine being born the son of a tribal chief, or coming from some old-money East Coast dynasty. The doors are already propped open for you; it's just a matter of whether you have the drive to push them even further. What kind of chance does a kid from a working-class neighborhood really have if they can't even scrape together the cash for a trip to Yale, let alone tuition? Sure, there are exceptions—those young prodigies who are so undeniably talented that people can't help but notice and give them a shot. But unfortunately, the vast majority are just ordinary. Not everyone has the sheer focus, courage, or endless patience required to wait out their dreams, regardless of how much potential they might have...

So, I suppose the real skill lies in recognizing the limitations our surroundings impose on us, accepting them without feeling like a total failure, and figuring out how to live a life that actually fits... given the circumstances at hand.

Brenda Cook4 said:Personally, I think the average American really *is* walking right on the edge, and plenty of people have already fallen off. You can practically feel the nation's pulse racing in that regard.
But I am right there with you regarding consumerism. Humanity, as a whole, goes overboard. So much of what we buy is just unnecessary junk, and spending your entire life working just to afford it is, quite frankly, pointless.
As Schopenhauer says, Schopenhauer All good things are vanity, The World in All its ends bankrupt.

That’s just the essence of capitalism, isn't it? Imposing values just to squeeze out more profit. They manufacture these artificial needs that people fall for—people who want to feel important, or try to act like some kind of "alpha," because otherwise, they don't feel fulfilled... We end up setting goals based on "values" we didn't actually find within ourselves, but just passively absorbed from society. It gives us this sense of security, a feeling of belonging, or an illusion of being "right" because we think we want what society deems valuable. Mimicking the patterns around us without ever truly creating or recognizing them in our own souls... we aren't even aware we're doing it. That's the root of all our frustration, that nagging sense of failure and emptiness...

And eventually, we circle back to that old argument about desire. When your wants are built on manufactured needs, you're stuck in this constant state of tension, terrified that you won't be able to present yourself—to others or even to your own reflection—as a "success." It’s the struggle between having and being...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olqC-HVQkLA

Lisa Morales4 said:For me, this is pretty much... FO The Way Quote 🙂

That's basically what I've been trying to say since this thread started.

So, what does that actually mean, FO? I guess I'm not quite following what you were getting at 🙂

Paul Jones7 said:So, what does that actually mean, FO? I guess I'm not quite following what you were getting at 🙂

Fuck off? 🙄

cosmictinker21 said:Fuck off? 🙄

I mean, that’s really the only thing that comes to mind—though I honestly can't believe someone actually said it. 🙂

Paul Jones7 said:I mean, that’s really the only thing that comes to mind—though I honestly can't believe someone actually said it. 🙂

😂😂 It fits the context, sure, but besides that, you have no idea how blunt and intense our grandma can get when she wants to be! 😍

Paul Jones7 said:I mean, that’s really the only thing that comes to mind—though I honestly can't believe someone actually said it. 🙂

FO - full on.

Brenda Cook4 said:FO - full on.

Hmm, I suppose that actually fits within the context... 😁

🤣

thanks, Brenda Cook4

Paul Jones7 said:I guess I never really faced any real consequences for my own weaknesses. Why? Not because I didn't deserve them—believe me, I deserved them, big time—but it wasn't because I was "manifesting" or "attracting" things. At least, not consciously. And it wasn't because I wasn't afraid; I’m definitely not immune to fear. It’s more like there's a larger plan at play involving the current stage of life we're in—in my case, a punishment would have just been counterproductive. As for the lessons tied to those flaws, they'll come eventually. Everything happens in its own time, I suppose.

You went through that consequence, sure, but maybe being punished for a weakness was actually more necessary for you because grasping that specific lesson was more vital for your path right then than it was for mine. If that fallout was the best way for you to learn, then it served a purpose—it was directed toward a goal, much more so than just being about the mistake itself.

True. Some people might even go so far as to say that every single experience holds the potential for growth and change.

Honestly, looking at it purely through a rational lens, it feels like "punishment" has to actually mean something—because, at the end of the day, the universe just feels inherently logical to me, almost like we’re all part of some massive, cosmic game. I wasn't quite sure what you meant by being "hexed," though—I used to be pretty cynical about that kind of thing myself—but yeah, it’s a bit cheap to think everything boils down to whether we choose to think positive or negative thoughts. That said, there’s that old idea that demons gravitate toward unhappy people because they can't stand hanging out with anyone who's actually cheerful... so maybe our own pessimism is just a way of inviting that darker energy into our lives? It reminds me of that old story about Brother Jaglenac and his sister Rutvica—you know, how those evil spirits from the enchanted hill couldn't touch Jaglenac because he was just so genuinely pure and believed in the good in everything. But then again, real life—and just plain old experience—shows us that plenty of terrible people are absolutely killing it, while some of the kindest souls seem to get hit with nothing but bad luck. It's like we really can fall under the sway of dark forces, where even divine grace can somehow flip into divine wrath. Some folks believe there aren't actually any truly evil people at all—that everyone is fundamentally good deep down, and we just lose our way when those darker influences take hold.

Look, you definitely caught some heat there—but honestly? Maybe getting hit with a penalty for showing weakness was actually more important for you in that moment than understanding the deeper lesson about the weakness itself was for me. If that punishment was what it took to make the lesson stick for you, then it served a massive purpose. It wasn't just about the penalty itself; it was about hitting that specific goal you needed to reach, which honestly matters way more than anything else.

I don't know, I can't shake the feeling that I totally missed the mark on this lesson—honestly, it felt more counterproductive than anything else. Instead of feeling like it gave me that much-needed push forward, I just feel completely deflated. It’s like I’ve been punished rather than actually learned something, though I realize that’s probably just my own headspace talking. There's a massive difference between rationally understanding what happened and actually shifting your mental state enough to change how you act and move on... and right now, I'm definitely stuck in that gap.

Yeah, honestly... I feel like some people really need to hear that more often—that there's actually potential for growth and change tucked away inside every single experience we go through, even the rough ones.

Oh, the potential is definitely there—it’s massive—but man, it’s all about how much runway we actually need to turn that spark into something real. Sometimes I get this feeling that we’re just stuck, you know? Like we're constantly being held back by these tiny little weaknesses or those small, nagging ways we fail ourselves. It's like we have all this momentum building up, but then we trip over our own feet because of some minor flaw we can't quite shake. It's frustrating, honestly. 😢

Yeah, so there’s this one country...
Where did I put that? Honestly, man... I’m slowly starting to forget everything.
It’s just one of those things that weighs on you—that feeling of being crushed by all these nameless, faceless people out there.
Just there, tucked away—head down, fast asleep.
Honestly, we all like to act like we've got it all figured out, but let's be real—we actually don't know a damn thing.
Even when the silence is heavy, you can still hear the echoes of what was lost—it’s like that old saying about how a song lingers even after the singer has passed away. It’s a heavy thought, honestly. Sometimes the most powerful things are said when there's nothing left to say, just a quiet, fading melody hanging in the air.
So, I was just wondering—is Sprud actually heading out on a trip?
Honestly, there’s just nothing to cry about.

I’d say I only have a surface-level understanding of my own loneliness—like, I know it’s there, but I haven't really sat down to truly get to know it yet. It’s one of those things that feels familiar, but if you actually tried to pin down exactly what it looks like or how it works, you'd probably realize you're still just scratching the surface.
I tell myself I've got all the time in the world,
but what kind of time is that? It feels like I'm starving through some endless, hollow stretch of nothingness,
just drifting through this celestial void that keeps fading out on me,
like a tiny speck lost in my own sky,
rising up in flickering gusts of wind
made of nothing but microscopic particles from years of darkness.

You want me to just get from point A to point B? No chance.
I can't even step outside because I'm stuck in a land without any landmarks or signs to guide me.
It’s actually pretty wild how much you guys have there—you've got something truly beautiful in your hands.

And honestly, don't bother asking me what's going on anymore.
It's just a swirling vortex of current dust, or whatever you want to call it.
Peace, love, hate... peace, peace.

Samuel Beckett

😢

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXNh...ayer_embedded#!

cosmictinker21 said:That’s just the essence of capitalism, isn't it? Imposing values just to squeeze out more profit. They manufacture these artificial needs that people fall for—people who want to feel important, or try to act like some kind of "alpha," because otherwise, they don't feel fulfilled... We end up setting goals based on "values" we didn't actually find within ourselves, but just passively absorbed from society. It gives us this sense of security, a feeling of belonging, or an illusion of being "right" because we think we want what society deems valuable. Mimicking the patterns around us without ever truly creating or recognizing them in our own souls... we aren't even aware we're doing it. That's the root of all our frustration, that nagging sense of failure and emptiness...

And eventually, we circle back to that old argument about desire. When your wants are built on manufactured needs, you're stuck in this constant state of tension, terrified that you won't be able to present yourself—to others or even to your own reflection—as a "success." It’s the struggle between having and being...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olqC-HVQkLA

Society really needs to stop being so material-obsessed... honestly, I think a better world could be found through simplicity. At the very least, it would lower the collective anxiety levels. 😬

Brenda Cook4 said:Society really needs to stop being so material-obsessed... honestly, I think a better world could be found through simplicity. At the very least, it would lower the collective anxiety levels. 😬

Now, you might totally disagree with me on this one, but there are people out there who argue that communism would have been the perfect system if they hadn't stripped away the idea of God from it—they even claim Jesus was basically the original communist.🙂

briskbison62 said:Now, you might totally disagree with me on this one, but there are people out there who argue that communism would have been the perfect system if they hadn't stripped away the idea of God from it—they even claim Jesus was basically the original communist.🙂

So, it's a choice between communism or Jesus? 😁 Honestly, looking at how much he focused on shared resources rather than personal hoarding, I'd say Jesus leaned way more toward communist values than capitalist ones. Look, there’s no such thing as a "perfect" societal setup, but some are definitely better than others. Though, if you ask me, the absolute best way to live is without any forced structure at all...

Brenda Cook4 said:So, it's a choice between communism or Jesus? 😁 Honestly, looking at how much he focused on shared resources rather than personal hoarding, I'd say Jesus leaned way more toward communist values than capitalist ones. Look, there’s no such thing as a "perfect" societal setup, but some are definitely better than others. Though, if you ask me, the absolute best way to live is without any forced structure at all...

Don't forget that underneath it all, we're still just animals. Sure, we've been reshaped by technology and culture, but deep down, we're still playing by pack rules. Everything about our current situation—all those social performances we put on—it's all rooted in the basic existential mission of our species: survival. First, you survive as an individual in your environment, and then as a pack as a whole. There's always going to be that 10% capable of stepping up as the alpha and calling the shots, while everyone else just adapts, trying to dodge the hits and grab as much food as possible...🤷