AL's Rant.
 

Its that time of the year folks. Just as a warning, somethings may offend, others may shock...I don't want you to flame me so just zip it if its wholly negative. Constructive critisism is appreciated, negative flaming is NOT. And now...on with the show.

On the Nature of People

Today coming home from a lovely lunch with my mom and grandma I started takling about the nature of people and their lives, I made the point that who honestly aspires to working in a supermarket? Sure its ok for Uni students or A-Level students to do it, but you shouldn't be thinking at 45 that Tescos Sales Manager is a good career path and a good, main source of income. Yet I see people do it all the time.
Why would you think that living in a smelly, small cramped flat was a good way to live? How could you smoke and drink heavily all the time and spend hundreds of pounds on these things and then moan to the Government you haven't any money?

Who in their right minds considers that acceptable living?

Why do people CHOOSE suffering...why?


On the Nature of reality

This is how I see reality at the moment. Reality is a choice. It is a projection of our consciousness. NOT our thoughts. Our Consciousness, oru existance perpetuates reality. Or should I say, MY existance. As far as my reality goes you are not real. But other people also hold this. You have your own realiy in which you live. I am merely a pawn in your reality. But in MY reality, your are the pawn.

Flying, psychokinesis, super speed, super strength...these are not the realm of fiction. They are wholly attainable if we know how to think. If we know how to act.


On the Nature of Me

I am me. I exist as and of myself. I am the Creator, the Destroyer and the Watcher. I am Me. I am who I choose to be. Regardless of external influence. My reality is a reflection of my imperfect thoughts. My VERY imperfect thoughts. I am a boy, I am 16, I enjoy discussing things that make adults recoil into pre-set barriers of hate and repulsion. I discuss things that make my peers stare at me as though I am crazy. Yet I am also fun-loving and in many respects, wholly normal. I have just finished my GCSE exams and await the results. But I do not fear the outcome like some do. I wait expectantly, but I do not care for what I get. IF they are good, then my life moves on in one way, if they are not so good (Unlikely) then I must revaluate my position and re-do them next year.

I am removing fear from my reality slowly and surely. I fight with confidence in Karate, and I stand proud to be me most of the time. I wear what I choose, I eat what I choose, I DO what I choose and no one can stop me because I CHOOSE. Chocie is the key word in my life. Before I had very little choice, ironically because I chose to have little choice, but now I choose more choice and thus, more choice there is.

When WE choose, we open up reality to a new level, each choice affects the world like a ripple in a pond, ever expanding, never stopping. You are the Stone and the ripples are your choice.

When I chose to fight without fear. The Fighting itself changed, It was no more a thing I should fear. It was eagerly awaited. I shook with anticipation of it because I knew deep down I could win. I choose to win and I did. I fought ferociously, each punch, kick, sweep...all of it was better. I was bigger, stronger and faster than ever before, I blocked with precision and never retreated. Why? Because in one week I improved physically? No. Because I mentally changed.

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Thus ends the rant. Enjoy :D

Life can often be seen as a struggle to avoid pain and pursue pleasure. The people that you describe have reached a point in their life where the thought of change, of doing anything to improve their lot has become too painful to bear. So they tell themselves that their current circumstances are comfortable and pleasurable. Soon it becomes ingrained and they don't have to think about it anymore.
At one point in my life, I was in a similar situation to that. I would wake up in the morning and realize that there was not a whole lot that made me want to get out of bed. Lack of action and complaining had become easier than working to change things. It's only after I came out of the situation that I'm able to look back and see with clarity why I acted as I did during that time. It makes me wonder what about my present state I'll look back at in 5 years and see in a new light.
Perhaps instead of judging those people, we should work to help them break free from the mold they have set.

Regarding the first section, why do you assume that the Tesco's Sales Manager is suffering? Do you know that person well enough to know this without making assumptions? Some people just don't place the same priority on advancement and self-improvement. Is there anything wrong with that? Maybe that person is content to live a simple life and work at a job where they can go home at night, be with their family and forget about work and they don't need or want higher pay or more responsibility. Maybe they're content with the familiar. Will you judge them for that?

Basically, to sum it up, it seems like you're making a lot of assumptions and not considering the unique situation of the people in positions such as the one you cite.

We don't know where the Tescoe Sales Manager got his start. I often think that perhaps people in these positions come from very humble beginnings, more humble than we like to imagine. We can't possibly know the story. In your reality, you see these positions as low-level and menial and consider one occupying such a position as having no ambition. In his reality, it could be the pinnacle of achievement after years of hard work and struggle.

*Nods* I understand that. I believe however that it is a job for a student going through University, not a fully grown adult. That is just letting all the potential. All the energy...ALL of it go to waste...I cannot understand that. I can see why people would choose to do it. but I cannot understand wanting to do it.

You're still assuming that this person has the potential to do more than what you see.

Well he does have potential above and beyond that. We all do.

The beauty of life is that anyone can change their life by just changing their thinking. Is it easy? Well, not necessarily. But, it's not that difficult, either. It all comes down to this for me: how bad do I want it?!

As for others slaving away and all that, hell, that's their choice. It's not for me to condemn it, judge it, or try to change it for them. Only THEY can do that. Some folks are just fine with no money, dead-end jobs, getting high, etc. It WORKS FOR THEM. It's their stability. I salute anyone doing what makes them happy, regardless of what that may be.

But, their way never has to be MY WAY, and vice versa!

Humbly, brad

People actually do choose to move to a simpler life. Sometimes called 'downshifting'. Modern high stress jobs and keep up with the Jones next door can be dumped in favor of something with less stress that lets you have a lot more balance in life. Your store guy might have been a stock broker once, its possible.
I dumped a high stress (high pay) job and I have never been happier, or heathier.
:)

Akashic, you're imposing your values on the people who choose working in a supermarket (hec, someone has to).

Not everyone has the same aspirations as you do. It doesn't mean that they're not intelligent, conscious or otherwise. It just means that's how they want to make a living to pay their bills. Maybe some of them go home and read Dostoyevsky or Aristotle. I suspect many of them are very happy and content. It's all relative.

Still an assumption. What if a mental illness, such as depression or bi-polar disorder, makes it all that he can do to keep the job he's got?

You don't know the individual involved here and you can't assume anything about them. If this person's position in life concerns you, then either put out your hand and offer help or hold back your judgements until you know the situation better.

My thought is why are we associating with the body and this existence? Does it matter if you are a floor sweeper or the President & CEO? Why?

The only real choice we have that matters is whether or not we accept the world as a timeless bit of theatre.

The world may be a timeless bit of theater... but we don't have to chose the worst role in it...

Granted, everyone does not have the talent and ability to be President & CEO... but, being less than we can be is totally unacceptable...

.

On the nature of people

People have different wants, necessities, and expectations. Some may match the description of a Tesco manager or employee.

On the nature of me
Of what? The universe?

If your thoughts are imperfect then you are not infallible or perfect.

There is more in life to understand.

I remember feeling like that.
Good luck with your exams/results.
And I guess welcome to the world outside school.
I'll be waiting to feel the changes.

People seem to have stuck up for the tesco sales guy. As far as people who aspire to that kind of job... people who aren't there yet. Once they get there they may aspire to more.

Wow. The thought of nothing but university students at every grocery store. *shudders* You aren't in charge of the shopping at your house, are you? I find the grocery store manager to be a quite important position in society. He makes a lot bigger difference in my life than an artist or web designer. Do you really think all foodservice, retail, and other "menial" positions should be temporarily held by unskilled, uninterested people who view their work are meaningless? Those positions are the building blocks for our entire civilization. If it wasn't for the grocery store manager, the fireman, and sanitation workers taking care of all the necessities, there wouldn't be a lot of opportunities to grow and change now would there. You really shouldn't look down on the people that hold working class positions; you depend on them.

What if those positions were automated?

some of those postions are automated.

"Thankyou for your call, your call is important to us. If you require help with your widget press 1, if you wish to ...."

used an ATM lately?

I have seen a few petrol outlets here in oz that have an eftpos swipe on each pump, you don't even need to go into the shop anymore.

In most things we do, there is a way to do it without any human interaction.

I think though in these times when more and more people in society are time poor, we will need people who will do things for us that don't need our level of expertise (read pay) to do.

There will always be a tesco manager because the manager above him gets paid a lot more money but has excess skills (read pay) to do that job.
Some PD person said (I can't remember who it was) if you want to be paid $50/hr then spend your time doing $50/hr work, don't spend your time doing tasks that can be done by someone making $25/hr.

I've never seen someone agree with me and disagree with me so blatantly before.

The only thing that you need human interaction to accomplish is human interaction itself. I can't think of an exception.

That strikes me as a very sad and empty world, I don't think I would want to live there.

Um, then they'd be automated. And you'd depend on those positions still. They currently aren't. We currently need a human being to put out fires and pick up garbage, harvest food, etc. What happens to the people who depend on those positions for income when we give their job to a robot? Executive will get richer and perhaps people that "matter" will have access to cheaper goods, but moving to automation is not good for everyone. Look what has happened to small town America, who used to depend on their factory jobs. Entire communities have been decimated in the name of "progress". Not everyone wants to get a better job and make more money. Some people want a simple, familiar job; their idea of wealth is immaterial.

Of course you'd still depend on them, but you wouldn't be depending on "working class people". Is the working class such a precious ideal that we can't eliminate it? Is labor such an aspiration that it's worth fighting for?

What did small town America do before the advent of the factory? I'm sure they really appreciated being human cogs in the great machine, but did small town America exist before that? How far back do you go? Farming destroyed the hunter-gatherer society; do you see any hunter-gatherers today? The university broke the close relationship between academic and society at large, creating the ivory tower. Democracy destroyed the ideal of sovereignty; monarchs are effectively gone from the world now; sucks to be them. The automobile has founded the suburb, letting people become isolated and ignorant of their neighbors. Airplanes have butchered the sense distance: the entire world is but a few days away. The internet has murdered time, convincing us that everything is at our fingertips.

We should get rid of these, too? They changed our world. How terrible. Let us forever remain the same. Take a look at this book:
Dan Pink | A Whole New Mind... and more

Here's an interview with the guy:
HOWdesign.com - Doing Business

The point being is that automation pushes people to become more human in what they do. It forces you, thus, to re-integrate your life. No more separation between "work", "play", and "life": they are and should be the same thing. And in the course of your life, you thus must do everything in the context of other people.

It's not about making more money. It's about bringing a little humanity back to the people who do inhuman jobs, who don't do those jobs as well, and who could become invested in their job for a reason other than paying the bills. Sure, you say, not everyone wants that. And it's certain that at least small pockets of people will continue to slave mindlessly for a paycheck. That's okay; we still have the NRA and people toting guns out into the wilderness to shoot animals for fun.

Oh, and also see the term Luddite fallacy.

You already do. Give me a counterexample: name one thing that absolutely requires human interaction that isn't, in fact, human interaction.

the delivery guy that delivers all the stuff we bought online.

I refuse to use the self check out lanes at supermarkets and department stores.

Why?

Because that automation that some of you love so much is taking away jobs from the people who need them most --- whether they are college students or 45 year olds.

We need to step back for a minute and use common sense. I would rather be associated with a 45 year old working at any supermarket than with some of the people that have a diploma, but still don't have a clue about what real life is all about.

So do I. But that's because I think they're poorly designed and woefully incompetent. Human beings are, currently, far more capable at scanning my items and putting them in a bag.

Except... I use a debit card. When I swipe it, it automatically has a chat with my bank and then, speed of electrons, runs back and says, "It's okay! Here's the magic money!"

I'm sure my usage of the debit card and the ATM takes away the job of the bank teller. I'll tell Sandy you think she's out of a job next time I go to the bank.

1) See Luddite fallacy.

2) Then they should learn how to take control of their lives and build their own jobs.

Real life: checking other people out at the supermarket. How nice.

What does this have to do with people you associate with? You can hang out in the slums of Saint Michele for all I care; they might have a better grip on real life than you do. Supermarkets? Department stores? How ineffably luxurious.

Do you remember when they automated the telephone service? Thousands of workers, mostly women, put out of jobs. Revamped the communication system completely. As a result, we are allowed to have the Internet. But no, automation is bad. It's horrible and nasty and those poor, poor people who made their living by connecting phone lines together are now on the streets...

Well, they're probably 80 or so, now. I can hear it now. Sitting in the slums of Los Angeles with an old, crochety woman. "Back when I was young, I was the fastest hand on the switchboard. But now with all this new-fangled technology and so-called progress, I'm out on the streets, cold and hungry. I remember the good old days, when Ol' Anna asked me to make sure her son didn't talk to that Jessica girl. They were good times. Spare a dime?"

This is the system the Internet is based on. Imagine: every time you load a webpage, someone would have to receive the request, connect you to the appropriate DNS, and pray that that webpage isn't the kind that loads images and Flash and Javascript from a dozen other servers. I'd say you're looking at 5 minutes per page.

Alternatively, why have airline-delivered mail, or email, when we could use the Pony Express? Just write your letter to that guy in China and hand it off to a guy who'll canter across the Pacific for ya. Real nice of him.

The next time you get in your car, think of all the horse trainers you put out of business.

And speaking of college kids, I'm sure they all hate the electronic systems that automate the paperwork that processes millions of them through the system every quarter or semester. Drop a class? It'll be a week. Add a new one? Well, sit in. You might not get in, but we'll let you know in two weeks. Change your major? Geez, that'll involve at least two departments. A month, if you're lucky. I'm making this up, of course: I don't have such numbers. Then again, all of the above can be done today inside 10 minutes. Why? Because it's automated.

Your computer is one of the finest pieces of automation ever. To be fair, most of the job-stealing it did was before its best successes as an automater. But where does the word "computer" come from? Oh, yes. It's a glorified calculator. It computes stuff. The first computer was a counting machine.

If you have a problem with automation, fine. Turn off your computer. Ditch your automobile (auto + mobile; get it?). Stop using your telephone. Stop using the city's water supply. Grow your own garden. Use it as a bathroom. Progress, of course, destroys communities and associates you with people who are disconnected from reality.

AL,

You ask why would anyone choose suffering (over what). I’m not sure you understand suffering, what it is and why the average person holds on to it. There is no judgment in saying this only an observation. Reading the Buddha and the Christ you will know the answer from the perspective of great men. They tell us important things about the world and told us the world simply is pain and one must be prepared to give up the flesh to achieve something else. They realized the world (object) is less important then our attachment to it. We’ve heard this so often and we know they were talking in a physical/spiritual term. There exists a relationship between them.

You’re focus is on half of a puzzle. But you should see something immediately, you see it your way, just as in your pawn analogy, it’s a perspective of importance related to free choice and individuality, and there is something greater then the suffering. In a way the suffering you see over shadows and hides the suffering you don’t see.

Suffering is manifested related to the attachments we hold in and to the material world. The simplest analogy is when Jesus told the rich man to give up his wealth to obtain heaven. In spiritual terms this man could be said to live in squalor just as the person in your world does. We look at suffering having to do with to pain or some condition I wouldn’t choose for myself, but suffering also can involve pleasure. Suffering is not one sided as you think.

What you see are attachments of the world we all make and how strong they are. This also is a realization one of choice and how we hold on to choices we make. You done a good thing AL, you’ve made an observation and made a decision about that observation. I wouldn’t end here but examine it further. You’re trying to tell yourself something, that’s all. You’re opening your eyes and your awareness is expanding.

We’re here to learn something, whatever that may be, some lesson we need to learn. Most don’t recognize this and will take offense thinking I don’t have to learn that lesson (put before us) among others or that I would know something that simple. You think this person should know, but they do not. Of course I know you’re making a judgment about this person which may be completely from your perception, your ego, totally off the mark, or true. But that itself isn’t important if you look at the awareness behind it. I think you understand that concept as we all do, so I won’t go there. We construct reality and live life around them. The idea of attachment is what you’re talking about and the basis that causes suffering, the unwillingness to let them go, to even let suffering go.

Attachments cause so much what I call future suffering because we must (eventually) let them go. We are in constant struggle with this. In the end we must learn how to let them go even if you don’t realize. This is the most painful part of life. The fact a person won’t give up squalor of any form shows how hard it is give up (attachments) because these attachments mirror us and how we (want to) see reality. And don’t for an instant imagine yourself as having progressed in one leap to the present level you now hold. You acquired learning along the way, that is, if you “see”.

This journey takes forms over many lifetimes. This situation may simply be where they are on the path. This is their journey, not yours. We know the power (force) attachments of this world hold because no person can force another to change, the person themselves must see differently. I would tell you, don’t get caught up in the here and now. Understand we interact with reality as well as being its part. You’re making a judgment based on “your own” experiences and perception of what you think right and wrong, don’t make a moral judgment.

You see what’s important to you and really see yourself. You don’t even know yourself, you are learning about yourself, we all are. Our being here is one of exploration, of finding self, taking all the bumps (as you define them) life offers. You will have your own and you won’t define that as others do. It is what lesson this person is suppose to learn, what you walk away with to change. You are exactly right when you say who in the right mind would…? This recognizes illusion has identity and illusion is equal to material substance. I would rather have this because this is what I see as real. I won’t give this up, I can’t. Life is an ongoing dialogue.

Our 5 senses not only filter reality but make reality, it’s all the vast majority of the world want to lives by. They can’t live without it (or think they can’t), we on the other hand are open to learning to. There is only a different potential with us. What if along the way we slip backward once in a while, it is of no consequence, all things being equal.

I want you to understand attachment are such things as pleasure, fear, pride, yes even pain, all of it can and does hold us back. I see you saying they could do better (I just can’t see why they don’t get it), but that’s not their focus. As you say, there is ripple after ripple, these ripples are other choices. Many times people substitute something else for something else, not knowing or because they can’t find what they want in this confusion you can see around them. This is a problem with addition to. But unless you know what that is, we cannot even begin to judge. Every one of us knows if we are to move on we must transcend and give up such things as prejudice, love, hate, joy of a earthly nature all the things we are comfortable with so we can move forward along the path. All of us will in the end but this is a (long) process. I would encourage you not to focus to long on this, this is merely a distraction that keeps you from progressing yourself. Accept more and you will gain more.

In truth, there is nothing wrong with anyone being as they are, they may be so for the rest of their life, even into the next if that is their focus. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with this, this is about letting go of the physical and an awakening. It satisfies them right now. People not only choose suffering, but hold on to it. To give it up is to give up one’s view of reality and to give up what we are addicted to. Giving up one version of reality and not having another is impossible.

I'm intrigued by your ideas, and wish to subscribe to your newsletter.

All in good time. I'm still working to draw my thoughts into a coherent whole. However, I've suspected for some time that the coherent whole will end up as a series of novels. If this site is still around when I'm ready, I will of course make a post.

Someone once said "We will remain the same until the pain of remaining the same becomes greater than the pain of the change."

Some people are very comfortable where they are, and in one way or another, choose to stay there. Bill Harris talks about thresholds - some people have much lower thresholds than others - and it's when we raise our thresholds that we grow. If I look at it that way, does having a lower threshold or a higher threshold make a person better than the next? I don't think so - we're all just different.

Also, we have to keep in mind that suffering is relative. Take air conditioning for example. In the days before it became common, which is still the case in many places, dealing with high heat in the summer was normal and you just accepted it. Now if the AC goes out, we suffer and complain to no end.