Thread - Nostr Hypermedia

The only reason we don’t just suffer endlessly is that we take care of each other. Parents take care of children; men and women take care of each other; relatives, friends, the free market, the structures of society take care of them all. Or, at the very least, provide some sort of underlying structure and laws, and I don’t mean strictly in a judicial sense. And God, metaphorically speaking, takes care of those structures. And if there is no God, then whatever else is at the top of the meaning hierarchy takes its place and becomes the guiding principle for the whole thing. That usually tends to be the State or the ego or an amalgam of those things which manifests as authoritarianism, tyranny, slavery, and in general - crimes against humanity. In other words, Hell. So there’s nothing trivial about any of this, and there’s certainly nothing trivial about the notion that God is dead. Even if God doesn’t exist, even if God is just a codeword for a set of moral and ethical guidelines, or a personified explanation of the Natural Law, or a description of the Most Good Being - without it, we’re lost. Related: View quoted note →

Kontext

Do not forget: suffering is not abnormal. Suffering is the most real thing there is, it is the base state of human existence. There is tension between who you are right now, and who you want to - and could - be. That tension is resistance, and overcoming that resistance means work - and work is suffering. So one shouldn’t be worried about suffering. One should be worried about not suffering - because that’s when you are stagnant, that’s when you don’t have a goal to strive for. And not having a goal - that’s a slow, psychological and spiritual death. Not having a goal is when you are prone to drown in the ocean of life and sink into the meaninglessness below. Physical resistance grows and sustains your muscles; psychological resistance grows and sustains your mind; spiritual resistance grows and sustains your soul.

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Replies (3)

StackinBeets stackinbeets@nostrcheck.me 5 months ago

Well said

hit with a hint of s scooter1973@nostrcheck.me 4 months ago

Would you take care of me? Even if I disagree with you. I am probably sinner according to your god. Probably a serious one. I don’t repent. I don’t want to suffer. I don’t believe in your god or in the structures. Or maybe I believe in the God you hate? Maybe I have a skin colour you don’t like? Maybe I do things you despise. I probably wouldn’t be grateful either. Would you still take care of me? Or is your care fused on yours?

1 replies ↓

Kontext kontext@satosh.ee 4 months ago

1) We help out our friends and family without putting a monetary "price" to it. The de facto expectation is that they will also help us, in one way or the other, when necessary. It's called social capital. If you're an asshole and take advantage of the people close to you, sooner or later, you will inevitably run out. Capitalism and money helps to expand and extend that close-knit circle (which is based on trust) to the world and minimizes the trust barrier (via money). 2) You don't repent? You don't fix your mistakes? You don't try to get better at the things you're bad at? Suffering is inevitable, but if you don't repent (i.e. do your best to make less mistakes) you will suffer even more because you'll know that you could actually do better, but choose not to. You don't have to believe in any God or structure, that doesn't mean they don't exist or don't help you. There's plenty of people who don't believe in capitalism. Yet, the minuscule amount of actual free market capitalism that exists has provided us (and the people who object to capitalism!) a lot of protection and provisions. 3) It doesn't matter what you believe or look like or do, it has nothing to do with me. As long as you're not breaching anybody's right to life, liberty and property, you are free to do as you wish. 4) Regarding gratitude I would say the same as repentance - you can live without it, if you want to. But it will probably be a miserable existence, at least more miserable than it has to be. 5) The things I have offered to the world are out there, and I will continue putting them out there. Interacting with them, using them, building upon them - can be done without permission. As you are not part of my close friends or family, the extent of my care towards you has limits. But writing this, hopefully giving you some food for thought, I'd say, also qualifies as care - care within boundaries. 6) Everything is fused with everything :) BTW, I don't subscribe to any particular religion. I think all religions, while (originally) trying to convey something true and meaningful, have fallen victim to what every centralized entity falls prey to: power and corruption. Also, I don't think viewing God as a separate, personified entity is a very narrow view. If one wants to personify God, I'd say probably the 2 best ways to do that would be to: 1) Regard God as your conscience 2) Regard God as the ideal version of yourself. I have a WIP text on how I view the nature of reality, and what the word "God" means in my estimation, if you want a further insight into my thought process:

Medium

Unified Creation Energy Theory

GOD IS ENERGY; EXPRESSED IN LAYERS