I have an interesting observation for all of you living in Western society;

In today's advanced world, where we want not for food, where our villages aren't being invaded by hordes of barbarians, where medicine has advanced past chants and leeches, where we can understand the world around us with more clarity than ever, where the human mind itself is no longer such a mystery and that which ails us can be treated...

...why are so many of us so damned miserable?

Why is depression still rampant?

Why is the suicide rate still so high?

Why do people eat themselves sick?

Why are so many people numbing themselves with drugs and alcohol?

Why are SO MANY people so damned unhappy with themselves?

For me personally, in the past 3 months I have become more cognizant of the EXTENT of marital misery that surrounds us. People who you'd think led perfect lives and want for nothing are suffering in silence. Where once-upon-a-time a man's midlife crisis meant the purchase of a sports car and a young girlfriend...now both men and women are so casually destroying their homes for the pursuit of "greener pastures".

I've seen it all...young couples, old couples, poor couples, well-off couples...struggling with their relationships over the same damned thing...complacency, boredom, inattentiveness, and ultimately an emotional disconnect.

And look at the troubled youth of today...using promiscuity and drugs to quell their angst.

You would think that with our higher standards of living and relative peace, we would be living more carefree lives? But it seems to be the opposite.

What is it?

Are we too comfortable?

Are we too distracted by our modern amenities?

Are we too disconnected from God?

What is troubling our lives today?

I have been through really hard times myself in the last years and it is not easy for me to stay positive and hope for a change for the better.

It is an interesting obseravtion you are making. I spent some time in a so called 3rd world country and I very much got the impression that people are more happy there than in Europe for example.

Isn't God really the cause of all those problems?

I mean, if we're willing to evoke a creator for all of this and give him such great powers while also forming the concept that he also takes a personal role in our lives, then isn't he the cause of all this mischief?

sags2low said:

Isn't God really the cause of all those problems?

I mean, if we're willing to evoke a creator for all of this and give him such great powers while also forming the concept that he also takes a personal role in our lives, then isn't he the cause of all this mischief?

your avatar

Serious said:

sags2low said:

Isn't God really the cause of all those problems?

I mean, if we're willing to evoke a creator for all of this and give him such great powers while also forming the concept that he also takes a personal role in our lives, then isn't he the cause of all this mischief?

your avatar

That's my 3 year old daughter.

Serious said:

I have been through really hard times myself in the last years and it is not easy for me to stay positive and hope for a change for the better.

It is an interesting obseravtion you are making. I spent some time in a so called 3rd world country and I very much got the impression that people are more happy there than in Europe for example.

Interesting that you mention that;

Back when I was 12 (1982 to be exact) I spent a week visiting my dad's hometown. It's a tiny little seaside fishing village on the northern coast of Honduras.

When you talk about poverty, these people were POOR. My grandmother was one of a handful of people whose homes were cement (as opposed to thatched mud "cottages") with indoor plumbing and appliances (there was no electricity there at the time, all her appliances were gas).

BUT these were the nicest, happiest, most honest people you could ever meet. My grandmother never locked her door. People were HAPPY.

It'd be interesting to see, almost 3 decades later, if the advent of electricity and a new road that linked the village to the nearest town has changed things (for better or worse).

Sometimes I swear, that the more we have the worse we are.

sags2low said:

Isn't God really the cause of all those problems?

I mean, if we're willing to evoke a creator for all of this and give him such great powers while also forming the concept that he also takes a personal role in our lives, then isn't he the cause of all this mischief?

WELL...if you're going to play that card...then how many people who GENUINELY have "God" in their lives are troubled and miserable?

I often wonder, if my wife and I hadn't fallen "out of religion", would we have been able to better deal with our current troubles?

PurpleJedi said:

Serious said:

I have been through really hard times myself in the last years and it is not easy for me to stay positive and hope for a change for the better.

It is an interesting obseravtion you are making. I spent some time in a so called 3rd world country and I very much got the impression that people are more happy there than in Europe for example.

Interesting that you mention that;

Back when I was 12 (1982 to be exact) I spent a week visiting my dad's hometown. It's a tiny little seaside fishing village on the northern coast of Honduras.

When you talk about poverty, these people were POOR. My grandmother was one of a handful of people whose homes were cement (as opposed to thatched mud "cottages") with indoor plumbing and appliances (there was no electricity there at the time, all her appliances were gas).

BUT these were the nicest, happiest, most honest people you could ever meet. My grandmother never locked her door. People were HAPPY.

It'd be interesting to see, almost 3 decades later, if the advent of electricity and a new road that linked the village to the nearest town has changed things (for better or worse).

Sometimes I swear, that the more we have the worse we are.

I can very much relate to that . My bf lives in the rain forest half an hour away from the next house that belongs to a small fishing village. The next bigger city with an internet café, a supermarket or a pharmacy is 2 hours away. When I stay with him I have no drinking water, no electricity, no bath room, no toilet inside the house, in the beginning there wasn't even a kitchen. Everybody who knows me cannot believe I am living there like that. I never did any camping in my life, my favourite hobby is shopping and I prefer city trips for vacation, I am no beach girl at all and I love to live in the big city I am living. But I very much enjoy being overthere and don't miss much of all these things I have here that I take for granted.

Not many people in his country are living like my bf, but the standard of living is much lower than here. When I stay with friends or family of his the houses are often crowded with many people who hardly own anything, but seem to be happy. It is pretty humbling IMO.

Serious said:

PurpleJedi said:

Interesting that you mention that;

Back when I was 12 (1982 to be exact) I spent a week visiting my dad's hometown. It's a tiny little seaside fishing village on the northern coast of Honduras.

When you talk about poverty, these people were POOR. My grandmother was one of a handful of people whose homes were cement (as opposed to thatched mud "cottages") with indoor plumbing and appliances (there was no electricity there at the time, all her appliances were gas).

BUT these were the nicest, happiest, most honest people you could ever meet. My grandmother never locked her door. People were HAPPY.

It'd be interesting to see, almost 3 decades later, if the advent of electricity and a new road that linked the village to the nearest town has changed things (for better or worse).

Sometimes I swear, that the more we have the worse we are.

I can very much relate to that . My bf lives in the rain forest half an hour away from the next house that belongs to a small fishing village. The next bigger city with an internet café, a supermarket or a pharmacy is 2 hours away. When I stay with him I have no drinking water, no electricity, no bath room, no toilet inside the house, in the beginning there wasn't even a kitchen. Everybody who knows me cannot believe I am living there like that. I never did any camping in my life, my favourite hobby is shopping and I prefer city trips for vacation, I am no beach girl at all and I love to live in the big city I am living. But I very much enjoy being overthere and don't miss much of all these things I have here that I take for granted.

Not many people in his country are living like my bf, but the standard of living is much lower than here. When I stay with friends or family of his the houses are often crowded with many people who hardly own anything, but seem to be happy. It is pretty humbling IMO.

Humbling and cause for self-evaluation.

PurpleJedi said:

Serious said:

I can very much relate to that . My bf lives in the rain forest half an hour away from the next house that belongs to a small fishing village. The next bigger city with an internet café, a supermarket or a pharmacy is 2 hours away. When I stay with him I have no drinking water, no electricity, no bath room, no toilet inside the house, in the beginning there wasn't even a kitchen. Everybody who knows me cannot believe I am living there like that. I never did any camping in my life, my favourite hobby is shopping and I prefer city trips for vacation, I am no beach girl at all and I love to live in the big city I am living. But I very much enjoy being overthere and don't miss much of all these things I have here that I take for granted.

Not many people in his country are living like my bf, but the standard of living is much lower than here. When I stay with friends or family of his the houses are often crowded with many people who hardly own anything, but seem to be happy. It is pretty humbling IMO.

Humbling and cause for self-evaluation.

Still it doesn't help me at all to get any happier in my life . At least I learned a lot and gained a lot of experience in so many ways.

PurpleJedi said:

sags2low said:

Isn't God really the cause of all those problems?

I mean, if we're willing to evoke a creator for all of this and give him such great powers while also forming the concept that he also takes a personal role in our lives, then isn't he the cause of all this mischief?

WELL...if you're going to play that card...then how many people who GENUINELY have "God" in their lives are troubled and miserable?

I often wonder, if my wife and I hadn't fallen "out of religion", would we have been able to better deal with our current troubles?

Genuinely is just code for delusional in my mind.

Whatever one feels about a creator, life is full of sorrow and suffering.

We have it within us to develop compassion for each other--As far as I can see, God doesn't seem to help much.

One can argue that Fred Phelps knows nothing about God... But, I'd argue that maybe he's truly a Christian. And that's scary.

We can work this out ourselves. We don't need religion.

the cause of most people's unhappiness is other people.....

greed, lack of manners, ignorance, selfishness, etc etc

if people learned to love others before themselves and appreciate what is good instead of trying to destroy it, we wouldn't have so many problems

it's really not complicated at all.

and if you want to blame religion, that's one thing, religion is man made, but don't blame God, because if you truly understoond the Creator you would know he made it simple from jump and human beings fucked it up....

sags2low said:

PurpleJedi said:

WELL...if you're going to play that card...then how many people who GENUINELY have "God" in their lives are troubled and miserable?

I often wonder, if my wife and I hadn't fallen "out of religion", would we have been able to better deal with our current troubles?

Genuinely is just code for delusional in my mind.

Whatever one feels about a creator, life is full of sorrow and suffering.

We have it within us to develop compassion for each other--As far as I can see, God doesn't seem to help much.

One can argue that Fred Phelps knows nothing about God... But, I'd argue that maybe he's truly a Christian. And that's scary.

We can work this out ourselves. We don't need religion.

I hear what you're saying, but I disagree wholeheartedly with the bolded part.

For 40 years I resolved to keep my problems to myself, to deal with my troubles myself, to find the answers by myself.

IT IS NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE. We need counsel, we need guidance, and we need a helping hand.

Whether that's on a therapist's sofa or a priest's confessional booth, it all boils down to "deluding" ourselves with the words of others. We can choose to be inspired by the words of Confucius, Buddha, Jesus Christ, Sigmund Freud, or whomever in order to help us find the solace that we seek.

But more to the point of my thread...are you implying that religion is a part of what troubles us?

What would you say is the reason for the "angst" of the Western World?

BklynBabe said:

the cause of most people's unhappiness is other people.....

greed, lack of manners, ignorance, selfishness, etc etc

if people learned to love others before themselves and appreciate what is good instead of trying to destroy it, we wouldn't have so many problems

it's really not complicated at all.

and if you want to blame religion, that's one thing, religion is man made, but don't blame God, because if you truly understoond the Creator you would know he made it simple from jump and human beings fucked it up....

I tend to agree with you. It seems like greed/selfishness leads to a host of other issues and problems.

But why are we so afflicted with it in certain societies, while others seem somewhat immune?

WHY is it that in a society where we can learn about the universe and the atom, where we have access to so MUCH, that this greed/selfishness is so prevalant?

.... you cant tell folks nothing these days.

BklynBabe said:

the cause of most people's unhappiness is other people.....

greed, lack of manners, ignorance, selfishness, etc etc

if people learned to love others before themselves and appreciate what is good instead of trying to destroy it, we wouldn't have so many problems

it's really not complicated at all.

and if you want to blame religion, that's one thing, religion is man made, but don't blame God, because if you truly understoond the Creator you would know he made it simple from jump and human beings fucked it up....

Don't blame God for your misfortunes. Look at yourself, your life...then fix it.

saying and doing the same shyt over and over and expecting a different result. dont try to connect to me with that bullshyt. If I were God, I would own your ass and the rest of your piece of shyt body, but since god is god alone...............

i'd post about it but i don't wanna get yet another thread closed or deleted

sags2low said:

Serious said:

your avatar

That's my 3 year old daughter.

PJ

I am in the process of debriefing that past 11 yrs of my Mom's alzheimer's and her death on march 17th ... and when that process is slowly replaced with a form of balance within my understanding then I may be once again able to think about the worlds troubles ... Right now though, My Dad ~ Myself and my family are all I want to focus on

day by day

purplemookiebut said:

i'd post about it but i don't wanna get yet another thread closed or deleted :blahblah

Don't start with this shit again!

Mach said:

PJ

I am in the process of debriefing that past 11 yrs of my Mom's alzheimer's and her death on march 17th ... and when that process is slowly replaced with a form of balance within my understanding then I may be once again able to think about the worlds troubles ... Right now though, My Dad ~ Myself and my family are all I want to focus on

day by day

I'm very sorry for your loss..My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

PurpleJedi said:

What is it?

Are we too comfortable?

............a. Are we too distracted by our modern amenities?

............b. Are we too disconnected from God?

What is troubling our lives today?

I vote for a & b. I'd add (c) there's hardly any love in the world today. If love is God then...

We're programmed and not in a good way. The distractions further the separation of us from our spirit, soul the earth, our natural instincts, and each other.

The good news is we can chose to fight the malaise and then when its all said and done, we will be victorious.

PurpleJedi said:

I have an interesting observation for all of you living in Western society;

In today's advanced world, where we want not for food, where our villages aren't being invaded by hordes of barbarians, where medicine has advanced past chants and leeches, where we can understand the world around us with more clarity than ever, where the human mind itself is no longer such a mystery and that which ails us can be treated...

...why are so many of us so damned miserable?

Why is depression still rampant?

We still live in a World run by corrupt, greedy individuals. These people serve themselves and not teh people they supposedly represent. We are bled dry with Taxes and the high cost of living from greedy corporations. People cannot pay their bills, or afford even the simplest of luxuries through poor Wages. Just one of a million reasons for depression in todays so called Civilised society. Here in the UK the largest majority of people suffering from Depression are people who have Debt problems. Money really is the root of all Evil The key causes of Depression are Money, Failing relationships and Death (of a relative that is) Stress is also a common cause of Depression, This one I do know all too well after losing 3 years of my life to this illness

Why is the suicide rate still so high?

Again related to teh above I would assume.

Why do people eat themselves sick?

Cannot answer that one

Why are so many people numbing themselves with drugs and alcohol?

To get away from the grim reality of a home where they face job cuts, losing their homes, neglective parents etc etc - Numbing yourself with Alcohol or Drugs is an escape from reality. Boredom, bad relationships etc are also factors.

Why are SO MANY people so damned unhappy with themselves?

The Media bombard us with stupid celebrity reality drivel 24 / 7 - TV, Magazines etc etc all about the "perfect lifestyle" or teh "perfect look" and so forth. People are brainwashed with this drivel from an early age. Then from another perspective, some people are so caught up in a rut, they cannot afford to or do not know how to change their life etc Humans all strive to be better - Some succeed many don't.

For me personally, in the past 3 months I have become more cognizant of the EXTENT of marital misery that surrounds us. People who you'd think led perfect lives and want for nothing are suffering in silence. Where once-upon-a-time a man's midlife crisis meant the purchase of a sports car and a young girlfriend...now both men and women are so casually destroying their homes for the pursuit of "greener pastures".

I've seen it all...young couples, old couples, poor couples, well-off couples...struggling with their relationships over the same damned thing...complacency, boredom, inattentiveness, and ultimately an emotional disconnect.

And look at the troubled youth of today...using promiscuity and drugs to quell their angst.

You would think that with our higher standards of living and relative peace, we would be living more carefree lives? But it seems to be the opposite.

What is it?

Are we too comfortable?

Yes but we are also brainwashed into wanted more comfort

Are we too distracted by our modern amenities?

We are too reliant on the technologies we have so yes. When was teh last time you made a full meal from scratch?

Are we too disconnected from God?

If you strip away the technology, Medicines and luxuries, the world today is no different to what it was 100, 200 or even a 1,000 years ago. So no, we are not too disconnected from God. God has nothing to with Mans greed and his constant need to persectute and rule other men.

What is troubling our lives today?

I also want to add that we have lost a huge part of our Social interaction as people, we are self obsessed with our own wellbeing, we ignore the needs of others. In a nutshell Society has become selfish and self indulgent, this in itself has had a negative impact on our own well beings.

Just my thoughts, I could have written more but kept it short(ish)

Carl.

KingBAD said:

politics and religion it usually boils down to one or the other but since you've decided that this is a G.D. issue, i will give you the benefit of my bein BAD...

learn to accept life as it is, be thankful for the life you have, fore there are others that wish your life was theirs. if you find your life troublin then you haven't learned how to look at life. "to change the way things look, change how you look at thangs"

don't spend time thinkin that things should be whut you thin they should be. they don't have to. and when you feel like you have to lower your standards to accept others points of view, your sufferin has only just begun. in the shceme of things GOD is the only thing capable of lowerin standards to deal with someone.

if you can understand the words why hate on the spellin.

again, this thread is at best, a topic for P and R G.D. is my playroom and you bummin my vibe

i didn't write this all jumbled up like that...

sags2low said:

Isn't God really the cause of all those problems?

I mean, if we're willing to evoke a creator for all of this and give him such great powers while also forming the concept that he also takes a personal role in our lives, then isn't he the cause of all this mischief?

God? No, I disagree... I think the lust for power and money has us (as a people) messed up.

They pimp "God" and the church as their sheep's clothing to fool many into believing they have righteous desires for mankind. So us gullible people belive them and put these wolves in our lives as politicians and other high ranking people that make the laws of the land.

Heck even pastors and priests fall under the "wolf under sheeps clothing" as well. God has absolutely nothing to do with that mess.

Also, I agree with Brooklynbabe's assessment on humanity's lack of compassion for its fellow man. Wise woman!

[Edited 4/2/11 16:53pm]

I have one example...

the stevia plant:

its sweeter than sugar and can prevent people from being obese, diabetic and has no calories.

It was banned from being sold in and produced in this country because the FDA like to keep the sugar cane plants in operation here. Oh and lest we forget the sale of artificial sweeteners in the market. Its all big business and we as a people are getting fatter and unhealthier.

Why?

Profit. Those that sell sugar cane, and other sweeteners do NOT want people to know the benefits of consuming stevia.

I can go on and on about health issues and deaths and what we ahve available but isn't because of politicians and business owners do to stay/get extremely rich.

We must stop being lazy as a people and get invovled in our health and what we consume. We have to educate ourselves and be resourceful. IMHO, we only need to blame ourselves in what we allow to continue.

SherryJackson said:

BklynBabe said:

the cause of most people's unhappiness is other people.....

greed, lack of manners, ignorance, selfishness, etc etc

if people learned to love others before themselves and appreciate what is good instead of trying to destroy it, we wouldn't have so many problems

it's really not complicated at all.

and if you want to blame religion, that's one thing, religion is man made, but don't blame God, because if you truly understoond the Creator you would know he made it simple from jump and human beings fucked it up....

Don't blame God for your misfortunes. Look at yourself, your life...then fix it.

and

Michelesky said:

purplemookiebut said:

i'd post about it but i don't wanna get yet another thread closed or deleted :blahblah

Don't start with this shit again!

doesn't matter what i post about. every thread i post in ppl reply talking shit.

i'm not allowed to joke about it?