What Happened

[Balthazzar]

My entire life, I recall being more peace oriented than anything else. I never held grudges, I rarely judged anyone, I've never been racist, or viewed differing sexual orientations as something wrong. I've always tried to be a friend to everyone, and I never made habit of screwing people over, although I have screwed people over before.

Fact is I'm changing.

I'm less peaceful, less tolerant, I'm less a friend (although I now refuse to screw people over), I'm less trusting and I get angry. I do my best to be a good and decent citizen, but I'm hate filled nowadays. I'm like "just leave me alone". I isolate, I'm reserved, but I can be a total goof off. I care less than I once did. I think that's the gist. I care less than I once did. What happened? The world changed and I changed with it.

Happy super moon partial eclipse day.

 

[JustGeorge]

My entire life, I recall being more peace oriented than anything else. I never held grudges, I rarely judged anyone, I've never been racist, or viewed differing sexual orientations as something wrong. I've always tried to be a friend to everyone, and I never made habit of screwing people over, although I have screwed people over before.

Fact is I'm changing.

I'm less peaceful, less tolerant, I'm less a friend (although I now refuse to screw people over), I'm less trusting and I get angry. I do my best to be a good and decent citizen, but I'm hate filled nowadays. I'm like "just leave me alone". I isolate, I'm reserved, but I can be a total goof off. I care less than I once did. I think that's the gist. I care less than I once did. What happened? The world changed and I changed with it.

Happy super moon partial eclipse day.

Sometimes its hard not to change with it.

Do you view this as a positive or a negative?

 

[Balthazzar]

Sometimes its hard not to change with it.

Do you view this as a positive or a negative?

I suppose at this juncture it could go one way or the other. Silver linings aren't always so easily found.

 

[JustGeorge]

I suppose at this juncture it could go one way or the other. Silver linings aren't always so easily found.

I guess that's one way I've changed... I've stopped looking for them.

 

[Quagmire]

Hmmmm, maybe . . .

The internet? The thing about the internet is that it doesn't just afford you the opportunity of finding out what other people think or how they feel, It gives you a chance to do so at your leisure which makes it easier to put things together, connect the dots, and actually get a clue as to how people's minds work.

In real life people are usually more than willing to let you know what they think, feel, believe, but on the internet it's a lot easier to figure out why someone thinks/feels/believes the way they do.

It's a lot easier to check somebody's math if you can see their equations written down on paper (so to speak).

Once you do you realize that a lot of people's equations look like this:
X + Y + [denial] + A }x [fear] ÷ B +[?] x [habit] +A<YZ ÷ [pride] x [bias] = "my opinion".

And these people drive , and these people vote , and these people teach in our universities , . . .

Idk, @Balthazzar. Could be you're getting more cynical (tends to happen to most of us as we get older) could be that you're just getting a clearer idea of the creatures that you're sharing this planet with. Could be both of those things.

 

[JustGeorge]

Hmmmm, maybe . . .

The internet? The thing about the internet is that it doesn't just afford you the opportunity of finding out what other people think or how they feel, It gives you a chance to do so at your leisure which makes it easier to put things together, connect the dots, and actually get a clue as to how people's minds work.

In real life people are usually more than willing to let you know what they think, feel, believe, but on the internet it's a lot easier to figure out why someone thinks/feels/believes the way they do.

It's a lot easier to check somebody's math if you can see their equations written down on paper (so to speak).

Once you do you realize that a lot of people's equations look like this:
X + Y + [denial] + A }x [fear] ÷ B +[?] x [habit] +A<YZ ÷ [pride] x [bias] = "my opinion".

And these people drive , and these people vote , and these people teach in our universities , . . .

Idk, @Balthazzar. Could be you're getting more cynical (tends to happen to most of us as we get older) could be that you're just getting a clearer idea of the creatures that you're sharing this planet with. Could be both of those things.

You're really good at math.

 

[anna.]

My entire life, I recall being more peace oriented than anything else. I never held grudges, I rarely judged anyone, I've never been racist, or viewed differing sexual orientations as something wrong. I've always tried to be a friend to everyone, and I never made habit of screwing people over, although I have screwed people over before.

Fact is I'm changing.

I'm less peaceful, less tolerant, I'm less a friend (although I now refuse to screw people over), I'm less trusting and I get angry. I do my best to be a good and decent citizen, but I'm hate filled nowadays. I'm like "just leave me alone". I isolate, I'm reserved, but I can be a total goof off. I care less than I once did. I think that's the gist. I care less than I once did. What happened? The world changed and I changed with it.

Happy super moon partial eclipse day.

Life can do that to you. Life is hard, and there are times when it comes at you fast. If you're self-aware enough to evaluate yourself honestly, you're self-aware enough to work on the things you want to work on. I remember this model of change from health psychology:

If you think it might be helpful for you, find your stage - and I hope you'll also find some peace of mind and acceptance that what evolved over years won't be undone in a day, but even the process of working on it will benefit you.

 

[Quagmire]

You're really good at math.

Any equation that isn't just a whole bunch of zeros is probably an exaggeration.

That's my contribution to the Sciences.

 

[Spice]

Life is a spiral if we're fortunate enough to live long enough.

Think of the stages of childhood and how we develop through physical, emotional, and social phases of growth, and all the growing pains that go with. They don't stop at adulthood. There's a plateau that hits and holds around age 25 to 55, give or take. This is college, career and family building. And then it begins again in reverse.

Your family, whether by blood and/or choice, is grown and moving on. Your career is made and retirement plans are becoming a priority. You begin slowing down in an assortment of ways. Then somewhere along here you fall into reverse adolescents/puberty.

It's not just physical with the creaky joints, loss of stamina, and reproduction maladies. It's also emotional and social just like play group, elementary school, junior high, etc., but in reverse. We rediscover who we are.

The first set of rounds were for the initial analysis to which we would face life's future by. Now this set of spirals that comes in reverse is the final analysis and who life has taught us to be. This is when we make peace with the realities of our perspectives and accept what is, including ourselves.

Just like the first spiral, it has growing pains. But it's something to embrace. You're making determination, from experience as an individual, of what is truly important -- to "you."

 

[Heyo]

Hmmmm, maybe . . .

The internet?

That would be a candidate if it didn't happen before. Maybe the internet is accelerating social changes, but society has changed many times before, so, don't blame the internet. It's a simple and intuitive answer that's also false.

 

[Heyo]

My entire life, I recall being more peace oriented than anything else. I never held grudges, I rarely judged anyone, I've never been racist, or viewed differing sexual orientations as something wrong. I've always tried to be a friend to everyone, and I never made habit of screwing people over, although I have screwed people over before.

Fact is I'm changing.

I'm less peaceful, less tolerant, I'm less a friend (although I now refuse to screw people over), I'm less trusting and I get angry. I do my best to be a good and decent citizen, but I'm hate filled nowadays. I'm like "just leave me alone". I isolate, I'm reserved, but I can be a total goof off. I care less than I once did. I think that's the gist. I care less than I once did. What happened? The world changed and I changed with it.

Happy super moon partial eclipse day.

Have you ever looked into Game Theory like the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prisoner's_dilemma or Tit for tat - Wikipedia? You adapt your strategy to the environment. In a friendly environment, it pays to be friendly; in a hostile environment, it pays to be more vigilante, less friendly and less forgiving.

 

[Quagmire]

That would be a candidate if it didn't happen before.

If what didn't happen before?

Maybe the internet is accelerating social changes,

Who was talking about social changes?

but society has changed many times before, so, don't blame the internet.

Again, who was talking about societal changes?

It's a simple and intuitive answer that's also false.

I'm guessing it seems that way to you because you misunderstood the question.

 

[Heyo]

If what didn't happen before?

Societies becoming polarized.

Who was talking about social changes?

@Balthazzar

Again, who was talking about societal changes?

Again, @Balthazzar

I'm guessing it seems that way to you because you misunderstood the question.

That may be - or you misunderstood the question.
Let's hear @Balthazzar's clarification.

 

[RestlessSoul]

I hope you can find a way to let go of anger, and return to some sort of inner peace.

You might consider asking yourself; Who am I angry with, and why? Who is the anger hurting (most likely myself)? Who do I need to forgive, and what would it take to do that?

 

[Quagmire]

Societies becoming polarized.

@Balthazzar

Again, @Balthazzar


That may be - or you misunderstood the question.
Let's hear @Balthazzar's clarification.

If you want clarification I would suggest you read the OP.

The point of his post is in the one-sentence second paragraph:

"Fact is I'm changing".

He's talking about a personal change in attitude towards society, not a change in society itself.

And I was offering as one possible explanation a description of one of the processes involved in a personal change in my own attitude.

Calm down, nobody's attacking the internet.

 

[Heyo]

If you want clarification I would suggest you read the OP.

The point of his post is in the one-sentence second paragraph:

"Fact is I'm changing".

He's talking about a personal change in attitude towards society, not a change in society itself.

And I was offering as one possible explanation a description of one of the processes involved in a personal change in my own attitude.

Calm down, nobody's attacking the internet.

The world changed and I changed with it.

 

[Quagmire]

@Heyo that was just an offhand comment added as kind of a tagline.

Trying to interpret the entire post based on that one line is a bit of a reach.

And even, say, in some strange universe where the rules of communication are completely different, that that actually was the point of the OP, in what way, shape, or form is my response an attack on the internet?

Or did you just see "internet" and stop reading?

Edit: yeah, that's what I figured.

 

[Balthazzar]

Life is a spiral if we're fortunate enough to live long enough.

Think of the stages of childhood and how we develop through physical, emotional, and social phases of growth, and all the growing pains that go with. They don't stop at adulthood. There's a plateau that hits and holds around age 25 to 55, give or take. This is college, career and family building. And then it begins again in reverse.

Your family, whether by blood and/or choice, is grown and moving on. Your career is made and retirement plans are becoming a priority. You begin slowing down in an assortment of ways. Then somewhere along here you fall into reverse adolescents/puberty.

It's not just physical with the creaky joints, loss of stamina, and reproduction maladies. It's also emotional and social just like play group, elementary school, junior high, etc., but in reverse. We rediscover who we are.

The first set of rounds were for the initial analysis to which we would face life's future by. Now this set of spirals that comes in reverse is the final analysis and who life has taught us to be. This is when we make peace with the realities of our perspectives and accept what is, including ourselves.

Just like the first spiral, it has growing pains. But it's something to embrace. You're making determination, from experience as an individual, of what is truly important -- to "you."

Let's see what life created ...

I envisioned some sort of stone being fashioned over a period of time under various environmental factors. Heat, cold, this element, this mineral, some pressure here, some shifting here, more heat, more cold, more minerals, etc. until end phase where it's plucked from where it sits to be examined by its founder. Where does the polishing and refinement come into play or does this take place by our own choosing?

 

[Twilight Hue]

My entire life, I recall being more peace oriented than anything else. I never held grudges, I rarely judged anyone, I've never been racist, or viewed differing sexual orientations as something wrong. I've always tried to be a friend to everyone, and I never made habit of screwing people over, although I have screwed people over before.

Fact is I'm changing.

I'm less peaceful, less tolerant, I'm less a friend (although I now refuse to screw people over), I'm less trusting and I get angry. I do my best to be a good and decent citizen, but I'm hate filled nowadays. I'm like "just leave me alone". I isolate, I'm reserved, but I can be a total goof off. I care less than I once did. I think that's the gist. I care less than I once did. What happened? The world changed and I changed with it.

Happy super moon partial eclipse day.

It's just becoming aware with the reality around us.

 

[PureX]

Our culture has become more and more exhausting over the course of my lifetime. I blame our unending collective pentient for greed and stupidity. So I try to avoid letting these fester within myself.

I deal with it all by staying focused on what matters that is close at hand, and that I can improve. The rest I have to let go of.

Ani Difranci sings that "If you're not getting happier as you're getting older, you're f---ing up". That makes sense to me. But I also find that getting older is a long slow process of giving things up. Of diminishment. And I have to be able to accept this if I want find any sense of peace and joy in it.