Not that wise when you think about it.

[Red Lion]

ever come across a saying and it's delivered to you like the speaker has come to understand some weighty truth about the universe? Here's the one I get all the time.

"We always yearn for things we can't/don't have." this is usually accompanied by sagely nodding and a knowing smile. 

Well, yeah, I mean, if we had those things we wouldn't yearn for them. If you found a genie tomorrow you wouldn't wish for something you already had you'd wish for something you can't get or don't have. Also why is yearning for things generally viewed as a bad thing? Isn't that how we form goals and find purpose in our lives? By wanting things we don't have and then working to get them? 

Whenever I start a collection of items I always feel a little sad when the collection is finished because it's like "I have what I wanted so what do I do now?" Sure, mindlessly coveting things can lead to trouble but I don't see the inherent wrong in wanting what you can't/don't have. Especially considering that contentment leads to complacency and frankly no one bettered the world in any way by being content to never pursue anything. 

Acknowledging that we as a species yearn for things we don't already own or are difficult to obtain is really kind of like saying "Humans are mammals". It doesn't make you some world wise sage...

*The sound fades out as Red continues to further ramble and over-analyze trivial bullshit*

 

 

[root]

"Everything happens for a reason." No shit, also no it doesn't if you believe in the existence of true randomness.

[Guest]

I super fucking hate "God has a plan" from religious people. Does your god *seriously* allow for some sick shit that happens in the world? What bullshit. 

[Endless/Nameless]

It's best to not brush the old clichés aside lightly, because there's a bit of truth hidden in most all of them. 

But sometimes they really are just bullshit when applied to a situation. 

Never take anything at face value. Filter everything through your logic center. 

[Rabbit Head]

1 hour ago, Red Lion said:

Also why is yearning for things generally viewed as a bad thing? Isn't that how we form goals and find purpose in our lives? By wanting things we don't have and then working to get them? 

Yeah, lot of religions and philoso-babble really seem keen on quashing any feelings for desire or want.  

 I think it may have something to do with trying to instill guilt on your followers over having the most basic human qualities. This way, your follower-ship feels like they NEED your ideology/religion in order to curb said basic human quality.

Christianity, Buddhism, and Islamic religions do this the most from what I've seen. 

 

 

[PastryOfApathy]

Virtually every saying ever can be deconstructed if you try hard enough. Conversely they can be reconstructed if they're sufficiently vague and you're bored enough.

For example...

14 minutes ago, Lemon said:

I super fucking hate "God has a plan" from religious people. Does your god *seriously* allow for some sick shit that happens in the world? What bullshit. 

What if God's plan is to simply not do anything? What if his plan was to create the universe as we see and comprehend it, and just kinda see what happens? Then it is his plan isn't it?

Boy o' boy, I love acting like a pretentious jackass who just got out of their first philosophy class!

[Endless/Nameless]

13 minutes ago, PastryOfApathy said:

Virtually every saying ever can be deconstructed if you try hard enough. Conversely they can be reconstructed if they're sufficiently vague and you're bored enough.

For example...

What if God's plan is to simply not do anything? What if his plan was to create the universe as we see and comprehend it, and just kinda see what happens? Then it is his plan isn't it?

Boy o' boy, I love acting like a pretentious jackass who just got out of their first philosophy class!

I'm out of likes. 

But wanted to say I like these bullshit thought experiments.  

[root]

1 hour ago, Lemon said:

I super fucking hate "God has a plan" from religious people. Does your god *seriously* allow for some sick shit that happens in the world? What bullshit. 

"God only helps those who help themselves." In other words, he doesn't do anything.

[Red Lion]

2 hours ago, PastryOfApathy said:

Virtually every saying ever can be deconstructed if you try hard enough. Conversely they can be reconstructed if they're sufficiently vague and you're bored enough.

For example...

What if God's plan is to simply not do anything? What if his plan was to create the universe as we see and comprehend it, and just kinda see what happens? Then it is his plan isn't it?

Boy o' boy, I love acting like a pretentious jackass who just got out of their first philosophy class!

If this were the case and God simply made the world but never interfered then I would probably have been more tolerant with Christianity. A neutral God who just lets the world do its thing is no where near as hateable as the whiny, vengeful, needy tyrant so many branches of Christianity seem to favor. 

[PastryOfApathy]

50 minutes ago, Red Lion said:

If this were the case and God simply made the world but never interfered then I would probably have been more tolerant with Christianity. A neutral God who just lets the world do its thing is no where near as hateable as the whiny, vengeful, needy tyrant so many branches of Christianity seem to favor. 

Well that's the thing right?

The Christians (somewhat like myself minus the actual Christian part since the closest thing I'd label myself as is an agnostic) who believe in the idea that God is like some kind of masterful, celestial clock-maker who finely crafts a beautiful clock known as the universe, and displays as on his mantle while occasionally looking at it in smug self-satisfaction don't go around preaching the gospel since they don't believe God gives much of a shit (hell me may not even know we exist).*

Then this is the part where I go off on a tangent about "how the loudest voices are the only ones people hear" and such.

Besides if there's supposedly all these different universes n' shit why the fuck does he care if I can't find my remote control or something lmao. Not to mention that the Bible was written by like a billion different people with contradictory ideas of what God thinks and does over a period of like a thousand years, so it seems kinda dumb to take it face value like a lot of fundies insist.

*I forgot who it was, but I think it was like Thomas Jefferson or Benjamin Franklin who came up with the whole clock-maker analogy. Either way I didn't make it up.

[Gator]

9 hours ago, Lemon said:

I super fucking hate "God has a plan" from religious people. Does your god *seriously* allow for some sick shit that happens in the world? What bullshit. 

kind of goes along with the whole prayer thing: no matter which way it goes, it was all just god's plan.  something terrible happens, "god listens to our prayers, but his answer isn't always what we want because we can't understand his plan".  something wonderful happens, "god is listening to our prayers, praise the lord!"

[LazerMaster5]

[FlynnCoyote]

"You will always find something in the last place you look."

What, you don't search an extra two or three places after you've found it, just to be sure? :v

[Mapa]

7 hours ago, Red Lion said:

If this were the case and God simply made the world but never interfered then I would probably have been more tolerant with Christianity. A neutral God who just lets the world do its thing is no where near as hateable as the whiny, vengeful, needy tyrant so many branches of Christianity seem to favor. 

At this point is it even Christianity anymore? If you accept that God never interacts with the world, then you kind of have to reject the whole "Jesus is our saviour" thing.

What's the point of deism anyway? A deist god is completely indistinguishable from no god at all, so it's not like you've gained any understanding of the universe through it.

[Guest]

29 minutes ago, pothocket said:

At this point is it even Christianity anymore? If you accept that God never interacts with the world, then you kind of have to reject the whole "Jesus is our saviour" thing.

What's the point of deism anyway? A deist god is completely indistinguishable from no god at all, so it's not like you've gained any understanding of the universe through it.

I've understood that its purely a comfort. Its easier to go to bed at night believing you have someone looking out for you.

I'll be bold faced honest and say that I am envious of christians. They can believe in what I perceive to be nothing. I wish I could go to bed in comfort the way some of them I know do. 

[Mapa]

2 minutes ago, Lemon said:

I've understood that its purely a comfort. Its easier to go to bed at night believing you have someone looking out for you.

I'll be bold faced honest and say that I am envious of christians. They can believe in what I perceive to be nothing. I wish I could go to bed in comfort the way some of them I know do. 

Yeah, religion is a great coping mechanism, and I wouldn't want to take that away from anyone. This doesn't apply if you don't believe that God interacts with the world at all, though.

[root]

1 hour ago, Gator said:

kind of goes along with the whole prayer thing: no matter which way it goes, it was all just god's plan.  something terrible happens, "god listens to our prayers, but his answer isn't always what we want because we can't understand his plan".  something wonderful happens, "god is listening to our prayers, praise the lord!"

Maybe I'm just an asshole atheist, but whenever anyone mentions prayer, I just have to cringe. Is God so narcissistic that he refuses to even think about helping unless groups of people beg for it? It's certainly not to raise awareness since he's omniscient and stuff.

[FlynnCoyote]

Just now, root said:

Maybe I'm just an asshole atheist, but whenever anyone mentions prayer, I just have to cringe. Is God so narcissistic that he refuses to even think about helping unless groups of people beg for it? It's certainly not to raise awareness since he's omniscient and stuff.

None of them have quite grasped the irony of the concept yet. Shh. It's funny.

[Gator]

28 minutes ago, root said:

Maybe I'm just an asshole atheist, but whenever anyone mentions prayer, I just have to cringe. Is God so narcissistic that he refuses to even think about helping unless groups of people beg for it? It's certainly not to raise awareness since he's omniscient and stuff.

well, considering the apparent need for worship and the threat of eternal punishment for not doing so, i'd say we probably have our answer.

[Spot]

"Yeah, well, that's just like uh, your opinion, man."

Well of course it's my opinion, who's else could it be? If I didn't say it then it wouldn't be my opinion now would it? 

 

Ah, ain't word play fun. 

[Xaende]

4 hours ago, pothocket said:

Yeah, religion is a great coping mechanism, and I wouldn't want to take that away from anyone. This doesn't apply if you don't believe that God interacts with the world at all, though.

Not trying to start an argument here, just writing what comes to mind.

If religion is such a great coping mechanism, then why does it create so much unnecessary drama? Why religious persecution? Why does the creator of the universe supposedly hate me whenever I have a sexual thought, and why is it always "God's plan" whenever something bad happens? How does justifying things like spanking your kids, and telling people they're going to hell if they don't believe everything exactly the same as my denomination, actually help anyone?

Although I come from a religious background, I cope by taking breaks from religion. Religion can be stressful, and stress isn't always good for one's mental health.

 

 

[Mikazuki Marazhu]

12 minutes ago, Xaende said:

Not trying to start an argument here, just writing what comes to mind.

If religion is such a great coping mechanism, then why does it create so much unnecessary drama? Why religious persecution? Why does the creator of the universe supposedly hate me whenever I have a sexual thought, and why is it always "God's plan" whenever something bad happens? How does justifying things like spanking your kids, and telling people they're going to hell if they don't believe everything exactly the same as my denomination, actually help anyone?

Although I come from a religious background, I cope by taking breaks from religion. Religion can be quite stressful, and that isn't necessarily good for one's mental health.

If God is real, I'd imagine he's doing an eternal facepalm.

 

 

I'm not a christian but I've gotten a response: "It's god's way to test your faith on the face of challenges/adversity"

[Mapa]

13 minutes ago, Xaende said:

Not trying to start an argument here, just writing what comes to mind.

If religion is such a great coping mechanism, then why does it create so much unnecessary drama? Why religious persecution? Why does the creator of the universe supposedly hate me whenever I have a sexual thought, and why is it always "God's plan" whenever something bad happens? How does justifying things like spanking your kids, and telling people they're going to hell if they don't believe everything exactly the same as my denomination, actually help anyone?

Although I come from a religious background, I cope by taking breaks from religion. Religion can be quite stressful, and stress isn't necessarily good for one's mental health.

If God is real, I'd imagine he's doing an eternal facepalm.

 

 

I can't speak about the specific teachings of Christianity, but if someone is hateful or prone to spread drama, they'd probably be the same way regardless of their religion. I know religion was a big factor in bringing my mother back from a very dark place, so I guess it depends on the person.

[Lopori]

When people say shortened versions of otherwise good proverbs so it changes the meaning.

"Blood is thicker than water" should really say "the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb", the former implies you have to be on your family's side no matter what shitty things they do. And is often used as a guilt trip tactic, it's a load of bullshit really. The phrase makes much more sense in full, my genetic family have done all sorts of shitty things to me and I'm supposed to forgive them because "family". I have built my own family out of friends, people who I love and actually have a say in knowing.

 

[Vae]

Why are we starting a religious debate in here? Guys, stop that r/atheism shit.

Anyway,
"Money doesn't buy happiness."
Yeah, no, being financially secure and having access to better health / food / living standards / more opportunities / more activities / etc totally doesn't foster a more encouraging mental environment.
Not at all.

[Dr. Doggo]

"God has a plan" is one of those things that people say as if to imply that they've been selected for the afterlife, perhaps for a greater and obscure purpose in an alternate plane of existence. It's reassurance that death may not be the end.

I'm not religious and I believe in no god, but I find religious/spiritual philosophy/theory very interesting. I personally think that the universe as it actually is, is more complex than tangible, three-dimensional physical space, and far beyond our comprehension and various things may not ever be testable by us.

agnostics rule ok

5 hours ago, FlynnCoyote said:

"You will always find something in the last place you look."

What, you don't search an extra two or three places after you've found it, just to be sure? :v

came to this thread just to post this one tbh

like of course its in the last place i look

i wouldnt be looking after i found it would i

i mean i know you're saying that its in the place i least expected it to be but cmooon

[I Did It For The Cat Girls]

Not sure if this counts, but I've harbored a longstanding abhorrence for the good old "Just be yourself!" axiom.

One thing I've noticed about everyday social interaction is how disgustingly two-faced you have to be in order to successfully and efficiently get along with average people on a day-to-day basis. Being yourself is a surefire way to be shot down by almost every person that you run up against. You have to fake it to win it.

Trying to get some average girl to foster a strong echelon of attraction for you? Don't talk about how you LARP, don't mention that the Imperium of Man is your favorite Warhammer 40k faction, and don't you dare start rattling off your list of favorite long guns and pistols. Keeping it fresh with a follower of the social par entails that you fall in tow with the waves and that you don't rock the current too badly. If the person you're chopping it up with turns out to be a brow-beating Republican, you become a brow-beating Republican. Immediately start talking about how the out-of-wedlock birth epidemic is the harbinger of the antichrist or that the removal of daily prayer from public school classrooms is the keystone reason why today's youth are nothing more than a bunch of over-sexualized and lazy good-for-nothings with zero agency or direction whatsoever.

Bit, bap, boom! Instant gratification from the zombie. You've just successfully left an awesome impression on them. You're in. 

Watch how quickly you walk away with a new "friend" with his or her arm curled over your shoulder.

And look, I'm not pissy because I can't contain my inner sperg for an elongated stretch of time, but it really siphons the delight out of the pastime of socialization when you basically have to take the "natural you"--the persona that you're most comfortable with--and substitute it for a substandard and temporary (yet dynamically malleable) variant that you'll grow to loath within a comparatively minute period of time just so that you can "get along" with someone. It makes the quest for meaningful companionship arduous at best and flat-out impossible at worst.

This shit is beyond agonizing and is one of the foundational reasons why I detest interacting with most people. I'm mucho good at being fake. Merely listen to your target, watch their body language, and pick up on how they perceive the world around them by casually asking them about themselves---and then subsequently adjust your gooey fake personality accordingly.

 I can run this dismally sordid game with the best of them and get favors, loyalty, and free material out of almost anyone given enough time.

Just be yourself?

Trash advice for the innately gullible or uninitiated.

 

[Conker]

Not to keep on the religious bandwagon, but I've always hated the "God works in mysterious ways" phrase to handwave bad things that happen.

You realize that mysterious ways could mean anything right? Fucking Azathoth works in mysterious ways. He also needs to be sated by cosmic fluters or he'll wake up and devour the universe.

Putting all your faith in a thing you cannot understand because he's so big and mysterious is just...really scary to me. We only assume mysterious ways = it's all for the greater good in the end, but it needn't be. A God needn't be good or even rational. A God could be fucking evil as hell.

[Dr. Doggo]

27 minutes ago, I Did It For The Cat Girls said:

don't mention that the Imperium of Man is your favorite Warhammer 40k faction

 

xeno filth and slaaneshi harlots are not worth lying to yourself for

[I Did It For The Cat Girls]

46 minutes ago, Sir Gibby said:

 

xeno filth and slaaneshi harlots are not worth lying to yourself for

Honestly, I secretly make concessions for daemonettes, but I don't let this fact readily escape the confines of my mind when "certain company" is present.

Being on the wrong side of an inquisitor's bolter isn't exactly healthy. :v

[Dr. Doggo]

2 minutes ago, I Did It For The Cat Girls said:

Honestly, I secretly make concessions for daemonettes, but I don't let this fact readily escape the confines of my mind.

Being on the wrong side of an inquisitor's bolter isn't exactly healthy. :v

it's better to be penetrated by a blessed bolter round than a daemonette's penis

[FlynnCoyote]

I feel like I'm back on Heresy.

 

[Osrik]

I can think of a number of these "wise" sayings that actually hold little meaning.

I think the most humorous (though small scale) example I can think of is one that a friend of mine in high school actually created, but we eventually managed to spread to a portion of the student body. 

This saying was "Big pot, little stew".

It had absolutely no real meaning, but both of us and some other friends began using it in response to situations that sounded fitting, usually proceeded by "you know what they say...". A while after we had been doing this, a good number of other people in the school began to use it, even those who we did not commonly talk to. When I asked many of these people about the phrase, it seemed that they did not directly attribute it to us, but rather thought it was something they had heard "around" and usually had a somewhat distinct idea about its meaning, despite it lacking any...

[#00Buck]

9 hours ago, I Did It For The Cat Girls said:

Trying to get some average girl to foster a strong echelon of attraction for you? Don't talk about how you LARP, don't mention that the Imperium of Man is your favorite Warhammer 40k faction.

Ha!

Nerd! 

14 minutes ago, Osrik said:

I can think of a number of these "wise" sayings that actually hold little meaning.

I think the most humorous (though small scale) example I can think of is one that a friend of mine in high school actually created, but we eventually managed to spread to a portion of the student body. 

This saying was "Big pot, little stew".

It had absolutely no real meaning, but both of us and some other friends began using it in response to situations that sounded fitting, usually proceeded by "you know what they say...". A while after we had been doing this, a good number of other people in the school began to use it, even those who we did not commonly talk to. When I asked many of these people about the phrase, it seemed that they did not directly attribute it to us, but rather thought it was something they had heard "around" and usually had a somewhat distinct idea about its meaning, despite it lacking any...

You know what they say.

Big stew. Big pot. 

[Derin Darkpaw]

@I Did It For The Cat Girls On the topic of the whole be yourself thing lately I have found my self thinking maybe there is no single true self that one can even point to as oneself.  We act differently when we are alone and many people act differently when they are around others, but can we really say that one or the other is your true self.  The way we feel, act, and all the other things that one would generally attribute to your true self are all dependent on context and I don't think we can reasonably separate one from the other.  Ultimately I feel that no matter how hard you act or how much you wish to you can never escape being yourself.  So when you say that you put on a mask and act differently in order to manipulate people or garner a more positive reaction from them you are still in essence at that moment, as in all other moments, yourself.

To put it a little more succinctly my view here is mostly summed up in this quote from the Netflix series Bojack Horseman

"I don't think I believe in deep down.  I kind of think that all your are is just the things that you do." -Diane Nguyen

[willow]

18 minutes ago, Derin Darkpaw said:

@I Did It For The Cat Girls On the topic of the whole be yourself thing lately I have found my self thinking maybe there is no single true self that one can even point to as oneself.  We act differently when we are alone and many people act differently when they are around others, but can we really say that one or the other is your true self.  The way we feel, act, and all the other things that one would generally attribute to your true self are all dependent on context and I don't think we can reasonably separate one from the other.  Ultimately I feel that no matter how hard you act or how much you wish to you can never escape being yourself.  So when you say that you put on a mask and act differently in order to manipulate people or garner a more positive reaction from them you are still in essence at that moment, as in all other moments, yourself.

To put it a little more succinctly my view here is mostly summed up in this quote from the Netflix series Bojack Horseman

"I don't think I believe in deep down.  I kind of think that all your are is just the things that you do." -Diane Nguyen

I believe what you're referring to are called personas

[Endless/Nameless]

5 hours ago, Derin Darkpaw said:

@I Did It For The Cat Girls On the topic of the whole be yourself thing lately I have found my self thinking maybe there is no single true self that one can even point to as oneself.  We act differently when we are alone and many people act differently when they are around others, but can we really say that one or the other is your true self.  The way we feel, act, and all the other things that one would generally attribute to your true self are all dependent on context and I don't think we can reasonably separate one from the other.  Ultimately I feel that no matter how hard you act or how much you wish to you can never escape being yourself.  So when you say that you put on a mask and act differently in order to manipulate people or garner a more positive reaction from them you are still in essence at that moment, as in all other moments, yourself.

To put it a little more succinctly my view here is mostly summed up in this quote from the Netflix series Bojack Horseman

"I don't think I believe in deep down.  I kind of think that all your are is just the things that you do." -Diane Nguyen

 

4 hours ago, willow said:

I believe what you're referring to are called personas

Darkpaw's theory has merit, but the problem is that, as Willow pointed out, each person inhabits different personas. 

Each persona is like a role in your personal movie of life. While you may technically still be doing you while you're in any situation, whichever role you're filling at that time may not truly reflect how you truly are underneath. It's a construct.

Is that construct the real you? I personally think not. But idk

[willow]

10 minutes ago, Endless/Nameless said:

 

Darkpaw's theory has merit, but the problem is that, as Willow pointed out, each person inhabits different personas. 

Each persona is like a role in your personal movie of life. While you may technically still be doing you while you're in any situation, whichever role you're filling at that time may not truly reflect how you truly are underneath. It's a construct.

Is that construct the real you? I personally think not. But idk

that's correct. Darkpaw's not wrong either though. personas are a part of our conscious self, but they're also merely projections of those parts of us that we generally want people to see. so in a sense, they're constructed from parts of us that already exist. the opposite of a persona is a shadow. which are the parts of our selves we don't really identify with or don't want people to see. you could argue that shadows are in a way a part of our true selves and that acknowledging their existence can help one live more "authentically"

and the more I talk about this, the more I wanna play Persona 4....

[#00Buck]

I am always myself. 

[DevilishlyHandsome49]

I never for the life of me understand the saying of "That's what you get for thoughting instead of thinking"

My family uses this all the time and it makes no sense. Thought is the past tense of think, therefore I was thinking, so what really is the point of that saying?

 

[Xaende]

"The early bird gets the worm."

Another way of saying "First come, first served", or a sneaky way for morning people to claim superiority?

 

I prefer the extended version:

"The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese."

 

On 5/21/2016 at 1:14 PM, Mikazuki Marazhu said:

I'm not a christian but I've gotten a response: "It's god's way to test your faith on the face of challenges/adversity"

Could be. Life itself can be seen as a test, even in a purely materialistic sense, but I'd like to think that if there is a god we shouldn't take the tough times personally. 

 

On 5/21/2016 at 1:21 PM, pothocket said:

I can't speak about the specific teachings of Christianity, but if someone is hateful or prone to spread drama, they'd probably be the same way regardless of their religion. I know religion was a big factor in bringing my mother back from a very dark place, so I guess it depends on the person.

Good point. That's the sort of thing that brings me back to my senses. By blaming religions for the bad behavior of some religious individuals, we risk losing sight of personal responsibility. There are bigots, jerks, and well meaning but ignorant types in most religious and secular groups. It's part of the human condition.

[Ricky]

On 5/20/2016 at 5:32 PM, Red Lion said:

"We always yearn for things we can't/don't have." this is usually accompanied by sagely nodding and a knowing smile.

Whoever said this was wrong, at least in a good chunk of cases.

Repression often leads to strong feelings of negativity toward it, like homophobia and repressed homosexuality.

This has been known since Ancient Greece in one of Aesop's Fables, and quite possibly before that.

I have no idea why so many people forget this simple yet ubiquitous fact in so many cases.

[Endless/Nameless]

"How will others love you if you don't first love yourself?"

This is bullshit. 

a.) One can certainly be loved without loving oneself. 

b.) One's self is not something to be loved, you simply exist unto yourself. 

[Jerry]

1 hour ago, Endless/Nameless said:

"How will others love you if you don't first love yourself?"

This is bullshit. 

a.) One can certainly be loved without loving oneself. 

b.) One's self is not something to be loved, you simply exist unto yourself. 

I think what people usually mean with this expression is that it's kinda hard to love somebody whose only things you hear from is how they're a piece of shit and they're no good at anything.

It's mostly a matter of confidence.

[Vallium]

2 hours ago, Endless/Nameless said:

"How will others love you if you don't first love yourself?"

This is bullshit. 

a.) One can certainly be loved without loving oneself. 

b.) One's self is not something to be loved, you simply exist unto yourself. 

I disagree but okay

For one, if you hate yourself to an extreme degree, find no positives in yourself, never seek to improve, what do others see?

 

You dont have to 'love yourself' per se, but expecting someone else to uphold you to esteem when you cant do it yourself just exhausts the other person, they cant tell you youre an amazing person if youre not going to take their words to heart

[#00Buck]

42 minutes ago, Jerry said:

I think what people usually mean with this expression is that it's kinda hard to love somebody whose only things you hear from is how they're a piece of shit and they're no good at anything.

It's mostly a matter of confidence.

Unless they are your slave and their name is toilet seat. 

If your lover has a name like toilet seat then you have to expect them to have lower self-esteem. 

[Vallium]

On Friday, May 20, 2016 at 7:32 PM, Red Lion said:

 

I too often wonder why its bad to want things we enjoy. It really isnt. 

But that expression isnt inherently wrong, either. Its all in the mindset of the person wanting new things. Are they bitter and angry or are they hopeful and wistful? Also its keeping in mind people tend to hoard and forget to love what it is they already have

Expressions and wise sayings tend to be a double edged sword, not often fit for every situation and general use, but typically catered to a situation itself and given meaning to people on individual merit and what speaks in their own life and advice on what applies to others

[Lopaw]

"slow and steady wins the race"

Going slow doesn't win races, going fast as possible in a safe manner does.

[Vallium]

11 minutes ago, Lopaw said:

"slow and steady wins the race"

Going slow doesn't win races, going fast as possible in a safe manner does.

Conversely, people who rush too fast either make mistakes and trip up or get cocky

People who go slow enough to check for error and mark for perfection win on accuracy,

 

It depends on the race but the overall context of that moral was told from the story of "the tortoise and the hare", in which the tortoise won based on effort and the rabbit lost based on arrogance. 

Conversely, an 'egg race' in which you balance an egg on a spoon requires balance and elegance along with speed, speed alone will cause the egg to fall and have to start over.

[Jtrekkie]

On 5/20/2016 at 7:59 PM, Lemon said:

I super fucking hate "God has a plan" from religious people. Does your god *seriously* allow for some sick shit that happens in the world? What bullshit. 

 

Religious people may have a more optimistic view of the world. They say that good things can come from evil circumstances, and that there are no isolated events. Taken together, it just means that every person has had an effect on the whole of the world, and that things on the whole tend to get better. 

From my own experience, I've had some pretty sucky things happen to me (like every human alive) and at the time I couldn't see past that they were sucky. But now I can see that they made me a better person (for what that's worth.)

 

"He who hesitates is lost."

That's not necessarily true, and that sentiment is likely to move us to act unprepared. I think that's it's better to decide what it is you're doing if you have that opportunity. There's no shame in thinking over a problem.