Another interesting topic. Not only is death universal, it's necessary for life to continue. If we didn't die off by age, disease, there would have been kill squads millennia ago. But why fear death? I imagine if you've been bad and are religious, you might fear the "accounting". But, if you've been good and are religious, then you go to God. Nothing wrong with that. If you're not religious, then it's just oblivion. Nothing wrong with that. No more suffering and thinking about the continual suffering that goes on around every minute of every day in all life.
Nothing seems more useless than anticipatory fear. Time enough to fear the Great White Shark when you see him (or don't) speeding towards you, but still go swimming in the meantime.
I should have ended my post with a remark about how fearing death can't keep us from living if I were to be more explicit. There's nothing inherently wrong with being afraid of death, but if the fear of death keeps one from living then what life is that? And I think with COVID we've essentially lived off of the notion that we need to keep people alive but now allow people to live and that was inherently so detrimental to us as a species.
Rational fear has helped us, irrational fear will certainly hurt us. Modern inventions are certainly what's feeding into our irrational fear.
Thank you SQ. Yes, I remember that nursing home where some of the residents were holding signs saying something within the veins of "we would rather die of COVID rather than die of loneliness". The older I get the more I tend to think of these things, and the fact that many elderly people would rather get sick than to not see loved ones makes the whole situation all the more frustrating.
Yes, I meant to include a few articles but some of them, similar to the existential dread, argue that if one doesn't live a life of fulfillment they are likely to be far more fearful of death, as if to say that they haven't quite done all that they had hoped for. Strangely this tends to be the trope in a lot of movies in general so it's something that makes sense on a psychological and also cultural level.
Seems simple. The "meaning" pod life, is to live. Give love. Share the gifts received.
The neurosis of the culture of separation (I, you, we, are separate from life and death) thinks we gotta justify, earn brownie points or karma, to save ourselves from this place. So we kill it all and wonder why we are empty.
Considering that none of us know how many minutes we have left on this orb we call home, one might think would make each moment so valuable that spending even a single minute on fear would be unthinkable. Alas, not so ! We waste so many of our precious minutes.
Rightfully true! It certainly doesn't mean every waking moment must have meaning, but one should take into account if they can consider their life meaningful. I think my generation and the upcoming ones have lost meaning and have mistaken identity politics and all this other stuff as a measure of having meaning, but that's probably something for a separate post!
In any case, as I get older I start to realize the littlest things have meaning to me and having the perspective and understanding that meaning really isn't monetizable is something that more people should should take account of.
Oct 25, 2022·edited Oct 25, 2022Liked by Modern Discontent
It is mystifying that all people, not just a few, seem to "waste" so much of the limited time they have ! Waste it in so many ways, fighting and arguing with family members, neighbors, and co-workers, arguing over whose tree is depositing the leaves on the lawn for instance ! But it goes far beyond that. Only a few days ago a man followed me (I live in a retirement community where golf carts are commonly used for errands as well as playing golf) a number of blocks for the sole purpose of calling me really vial names (he probably would not call another man) for going too slow ! I was driving the cart the legal limit of 21 mph, but he was in a hurry and was upset that the narrow path left him no way to "pass", yet, he had the time to follow me a number of blocks out of the way to inform me I should exceed the speed limit ! ? Such a waste of emotion, time, and having to live with anger when your slightest desire is diverted (in this case going 30 mph in your street legal "golf cart"), and we see it every day in our automobiles, the road rage, the rage in grocery store lines, the number of people who, when given the opportunity to brighten someone's day, to uplift a co-worker, to just smile at a stranger or a customer, or even to engage in something that gives them pleasure, "pass" on it in favor of doing or saying something negative. Cutting off all communication with friends and family and using "Covid" as an excuse, only magnified all of this. When the truth of the useless nature of the vaccines and boosters, finally became so apparent even those in charge could no longer deny it, many clung to the idea that a mask of thin cotton could protect them, or believe that the latest round of boosters will keep them safe, has always seemed to me something people "needed" to cling to, like those of old keeping an amulet or the foot of a rabbit, or a new penny, in their pocket. The "protection" was for mental health, to fight depression, to have "hope", I've always thought that is why so many to this day continue to cling to these, and other (like wearing disposable gloves when opening mail, or "disinfecting" groceries brought into the home) rituals. My career experience and formal education tell me it is fear that is still driving individuals.
At the end of the year I wrote a post, mostly out of anger, where I was very critical of things I have heard from friends and family. I sort of realized that the post served as a more cathartic experience, and afterwards I realized that I didn't quite feel the same.
I'm very critical of those who thought it was a good idea that I lose my job for not being vaccinated (people such as Chomsky), but I'm also trying to learn that divisiveness just breeds more hatred and anger and all of that negative energy is really not good for one's livelihood.
I think that's why I've become a bit more critical with some of the posts I've seen on Substack. It's hard to look at new posts or recommendations and not get saddened or mentally fatigued.
I'm sorry that you had that experience Ann. It's quite funny because I've driven the speed limit or have even gone several miles over the speed limit and have been honked at repeatedly. Then you tend to see that those drivers are people who continuously swerve in and out of traffic with reckless abandonment.
Much of the world is filled with unnecessary anger and fear. It's probably a sign of how unwell we are as a species.
Exactly, mental health, in a general sense, has never as far as I have been able to verify, been at a lower point, not even after 911, WW I, WW II. I believe individuals are just much more fragile now, often wonder if people today have the grit and determination and would be able to accept the self sacrifices it took for our grand parents to survive, and even thrive, in a world war. Many of the experiences of ardship, actually build and strengthen the qualities needed for physical and MENTAL health.
A small, but bright, note this week was that a few individuals are beginning to be successful in suing their employers to get their positions restored after being terminated for refusing the experimental injections ! That's a good sign and will start the ball rolling hopefully. It makes me wonder if these successful reinstatement's may be due to the data slowly filtering in from other countries concerning the side effects, and people finding out that some countries are not banning the "vaccines". I believe it's a drip, drip, drip, no government can suppress the data indefinitely. Hopefully all who were discriminated against will be restored.
Another interesting topic. Not only is death universal, it's necessary for life to continue. If we didn't die off by age, disease, there would have been kill squads millennia ago. But why fear death? I imagine if you've been bad and are religious, you might fear the "accounting". But, if you've been good and are religious, then you go to God. Nothing wrong with that. If you're not religious, then it's just oblivion. Nothing wrong with that. No more suffering and thinking about the continual suffering that goes on around every minute of every day in all life.
Nothing seems more useless than anticipatory fear. Time enough to fear the Great White Shark when you see him (or don't) speeding towards you, but still go swimming in the meantime.
Thank you SQ!
I should have ended my post with a remark about how fearing death can't keep us from living if I were to be more explicit. There's nothing inherently wrong with being afraid of death, but if the fear of death keeps one from living then what life is that? And I think with COVID we've essentially lived off of the notion that we need to keep people alive but now allow people to live and that was inherently so detrimental to us as a species.
Rational fear has helped us, irrational fear will certainly hurt us. Modern inventions are certainly what's feeding into our irrational fear.
Agreed, especially for the elderly. They were basically tortured and many died due to isolation. Keep up the great writing!
Thank you SQ. Yes, I remember that nursing home where some of the residents were holding signs saying something within the veins of "we would rather die of COVID rather than die of loneliness". The older I get the more I tend to think of these things, and the fact that many elderly people would rather get sick than to not see loved ones makes the whole situation all the more frustrating.
Fear of death equates to fear of living. JMO.
Yes, I meant to include a few articles but some of them, similar to the existential dread, argue that if one doesn't live a life of fulfillment they are likely to be far more fearful of death, as if to say that they haven't quite done all that they had hoped for. Strangely this tends to be the trope in a lot of movies in general so it's something that makes sense on a psychological and also cultural level.
Seems simple. The "meaning" pod life, is to live. Give love. Share the gifts received.
The neurosis of the culture of separation (I, you, we, are separate from life and death) thinks we gotta justify, earn brownie points or karma, to save ourselves from this place. So we kill it all and wonder why we are empty.
Considering that none of us know how many minutes we have left on this orb we call home, one might think would make each moment so valuable that spending even a single minute on fear would be unthinkable. Alas, not so ! We waste so many of our precious minutes.
Rightfully true! It certainly doesn't mean every waking moment must have meaning, but one should take into account if they can consider their life meaningful. I think my generation and the upcoming ones have lost meaning and have mistaken identity politics and all this other stuff as a measure of having meaning, but that's probably something for a separate post!
In any case, as I get older I start to realize the littlest things have meaning to me and having the perspective and understanding that meaning really isn't monetizable is something that more people should should take account of.
It is mystifying that all people, not just a few, seem to "waste" so much of the limited time they have ! Waste it in so many ways, fighting and arguing with family members, neighbors, and co-workers, arguing over whose tree is depositing the leaves on the lawn for instance ! But it goes far beyond that. Only a few days ago a man followed me (I live in a retirement community where golf carts are commonly used for errands as well as playing golf) a number of blocks for the sole purpose of calling me really vial names (he probably would not call another man) for going too slow ! I was driving the cart the legal limit of 21 mph, but he was in a hurry and was upset that the narrow path left him no way to "pass", yet, he had the time to follow me a number of blocks out of the way to inform me I should exceed the speed limit ! ? Such a waste of emotion, time, and having to live with anger when your slightest desire is diverted (in this case going 30 mph in your street legal "golf cart"), and we see it every day in our automobiles, the road rage, the rage in grocery store lines, the number of people who, when given the opportunity to brighten someone's day, to uplift a co-worker, to just smile at a stranger or a customer, or even to engage in something that gives them pleasure, "pass" on it in favor of doing or saying something negative. Cutting off all communication with friends and family and using "Covid" as an excuse, only magnified all of this. When the truth of the useless nature of the vaccines and boosters, finally became so apparent even those in charge could no longer deny it, many clung to the idea that a mask of thin cotton could protect them, or believe that the latest round of boosters will keep them safe, has always seemed to me something people "needed" to cling to, like those of old keeping an amulet or the foot of a rabbit, or a new penny, in their pocket. The "protection" was for mental health, to fight depression, to have "hope", I've always thought that is why so many to this day continue to cling to these, and other (like wearing disposable gloves when opening mail, or "disinfecting" groceries brought into the home) rituals. My career experience and formal education tell me it is fear that is still driving individuals.
At the end of the year I wrote a post, mostly out of anger, where I was very critical of things I have heard from friends and family. I sort of realized that the post served as a more cathartic experience, and afterwards I realized that I didn't quite feel the same.
I'm very critical of those who thought it was a good idea that I lose my job for not being vaccinated (people such as Chomsky), but I'm also trying to learn that divisiveness just breeds more hatred and anger and all of that negative energy is really not good for one's livelihood.
I think that's why I've become a bit more critical with some of the posts I've seen on Substack. It's hard to look at new posts or recommendations and not get saddened or mentally fatigued.
I'm sorry that you had that experience Ann. It's quite funny because I've driven the speed limit or have even gone several miles over the speed limit and have been honked at repeatedly. Then you tend to see that those drivers are people who continuously swerve in and out of traffic with reckless abandonment.
Much of the world is filled with unnecessary anger and fear. It's probably a sign of how unwell we are as a species.
Exactly, mental health, in a general sense, has never as far as I have been able to verify, been at a lower point, not even after 911, WW I, WW II. I believe individuals are just much more fragile now, often wonder if people today have the grit and determination and would be able to accept the self sacrifices it took for our grand parents to survive, and even thrive, in a world war. Many of the experiences of ardship, actually build and strengthen the qualities needed for physical and MENTAL health.
A small, but bright, note this week was that a few individuals are beginning to be successful in suing their employers to get their positions restored after being terminated for refusing the experimental injections ! That's a good sign and will start the ball rolling hopefully. It makes me wonder if these successful reinstatement's may be due to the data slowly filtering in from other countries concerning the side effects, and people finding out that some countries are not banning the "vaccines". I believe it's a drip, drip, drip, no government can suppress the data indefinitely. Hopefully all who were discriminated against will be restored.
A lovely read. Brings to mind one of my favorite songs to sing, by Susan Werner, May I Suggest https://youtu.be/eW1DDSQnEYo