Yesterday I read a post by @clayboyn, a guy who has been, for the most part, using steemit as a journal of self-actualization and a documentation of self-improvement. In this particular post he posed seventeen questions and as I began to answer them I realized that my answers could make up their own post. So make my own post is what I decided to do.
In the interest of encouraging others to read his post I'm not listing his questions, only my answers. Also I've decided to choose only eight of them, and I think they would make a good challenge for others, so here's what I propose:
Go to @clayboyn's post and choose at least five questions to answer, make your own post of these answers, and an answer to mine, and at the end, pose a question of your own.
Also, to add further value to this post I'm including photos of sunsets over Seneca Lake that I took over the span of three evenings last week. The first set was at the end of a beautiful day, the second was in the midst of a thunderstorm (I really hoped to capture a lightning bolt, alas it eluded me) and the third was after the sun had already gone down, the rest of the sky darkening into night as the colors hung on. Answers to the questions I selected will be under each picture.
I do hope you enjoy both the mental and visual stimulation provided by the words and images below.
Could the only way to be sane in an insane world actually require being crazy enough to do what everyone else thinks is impossible?
The word impossible is tied with the word I dislike the most- can't. For me they are the real curse words. Whether doing things deemed impossible makes you crazy in the eyes of the world but sane in actuality I couldn't say with certainty, but it sounds reasonable to me.
What if people need attention because they are scared to pay attention to themselves?
I've thought about this only with slightly different wording, in fact I've even had a recent conversation about this with a good friend. It does seem as though people who can't stand to be alone tend to be those whose lives are ruled by fear. Of outside forces yes, but in my opinion that's not the root of their terror. It's more an inability to face what is on the inside because they know they won't like what they see. The biggest problem with that is they will never have the opportunity to better themselves because without introspection, without looking in that mirror, they'll never know what would be needed to improve.
Most of these types tend to have the finger pointing victim mentality as well. Everything is someone else's fault and the whole world is against them "whoa is me". To be honest as much as I love people, those with a victim mentality I find very difficult to deal with.
What if every single one of us is just a fractured thought in the mind of one being and we call it God?
Again, I've definitely thought of this but also in a slightly different way. I imagine the possibility that we are all characters in an elaborate and epic series of novels that were brought to life on a grand stage made up of water and rock and soil. There are certain things I was taught in Sunday School that have always stuck with me, and one of them was about King David. The guy was a bit of a screw up. He coveted his neighbor's wife so he sent the man to the front lines of a battle for fuck sake.
And yet we get the impression he was the kind of guy you'd like to hang out with, he danced and sang and had a blast at the parties he threw. And God loved his arse (not his literal arse...well he could have, in fact @therealpaul might argue that point ) but really, there are a number of verses to make it clear that David was one of God's favorites, calling him "a man after His own heart". In fact if you google it, you'll find countless pages of people attempting to explain why God loved this 'sinful, imperfect' man so much.
And I get it. Because I've written quite a few characters like David, and they're my favorites too. In fact being a novel writer gives me a unique perspective in this, because the characters are very real to me, every aspect of the stories I write are real to me.
Unlike my novels however, we aren't fictional but rather spirit beings, each spirit a piece of the ultimate spirit that is God or Source.
What if greed is just a lack of self worth?
I've certainly known people who seem to need material things to prove they are 'somebody'. Who define themselves by their expensive cars, houses, the elaborate vacations they take. And they are never satisfied, they always want the more expensive car, house, etc. And they are generally never more than momentarily or superficially happy.
I find that those who are content with little are far more satisfied and happy with life overall.
That isn't to say that there are no wealthy people who are happy and that all people who have little are content, it's more about what you actually need to be happy. If you can be satisfied in all of the circumstances you find yourself in, you're more likely to have a pretty solid sense of self-worth.
Is any one person greater than any other person?
This is interesting because I am currently going through some readjustments on my feelings about this. I think in the overall grand scheme of things, looking at people from the perspective of a God for instance, the differences between us, for the most part, would be so minuscule that the answer would definitely be no. Much like the way we would view an ant colony. There might be that one ant in a million who is so advanced that they stand out, but other than that exception they all appear the same.
From a much smaller and egotistical perspective, and leaving myself out of the equation, I have to admit that my answer to that would be yes. What I mean by leaving myself out is that even if I didn't think that I was greater or better, I would definitely find myself thinking that 'fric' is greater or better than 'frac'. And for many different reasons, such as I might think that fric is more enlightened or makes better choices or is just simply more likable than frac. But I've put myself in a conundrum because I'm not actually taking myself from the equation, am I? As it is myself that has determined that one individual's qualities is greater than another's.
Does it bother you to not know the answer to something?
Absolutely. While I've accepted that there are some things I may never learn the answer to while I'm in this material realm inhabiting this physical body, I will always be on a quest for knowledge, seeking the answers to things great and small, right up until I take my last breath.
Is it more or less bothersome to be wrong about what you thought the answer was?
Well that would depend on the question, wouldn't it? Are you trying to determine whether being wrong in general is bothersome to someone or being wrong about something specific?
If, for example, I was wrong about the date of a distant acquaintance's birthday and I missed it, likely they wouldn't notice I missed it therefore it wouldn't bother me. If I were wrong about the date of a close friend's birthday and I missed it, I would be bothered because I might have hurt their feelings in doing so.
And that might be a silly example, but it's one out of thousands from silly to serious that could be taken from this question.
What if an empath is just the universal balance to a psychopath?
I definitely lean toward this being the case. I believe this particular realm of existence is all about balance, such as there must be an Adolf Hitler to be a Mother Theresa. (I'm using Hitler in the way of 'common knowledge', whether he was different than what the history books tell us is a question for another day)
And here's my question:
There are many words in the English language that sound the same though they have been given different meanings. Do you think this is coincidence or intentional? If intentional, for what purpose?
(examples: world and whirled; I and eye)
Okay everyone, that concludes my collab with clayboyn. If you decide to join in the fun and make a post of your own, feel free to link it in this comment section. Hope to see you here!
Generously created for me by @son-of-satire