I'd just like to point out that all these views are merely how we see our world.
We have choices. We can be negative, or even cynical, and our world reflects that. Or, we can have empathy, care about each other, maybe even try to be more positive about things, and the world reflects that. Choices.
I once read a very great Japanese saying but unfortunately I can't remember it...
Something like forgive your enemies let go of your hatred and discover that you were the prisoner of your own hatred...
Great saying! I know it's an overplayed song from an over-hyped movie (Frozen), but there is a lot to "Let it Go". If we actually let more go - our hatred, our narrow view of the world, our problems… we'd actually be in a better place.
Hugh,use it for good then.Our world has changed.It is not like the pre computer,pre plugged in age.I too wax poetic for those summer nights playing kick the can ,hide and seek or ball at the park.Just hangin with friends.Everything was an adventure.We never wanted to be inside. You can use today's ameneties to your advantage.I have my IPad w me all day for buisness so I do read my stories,check in here,look at the markets,read some sports and news.Its all good.
When it gets too much.Shut it down for a few,I hit the gym,play with the dogs,annoy my wife,listen to tunes.I talk to a lot people face to face all day so I do not feel the need to increase my one on one contact.Ive never let that slip.
But we can do so much good with the info we have at our finger tips.Look at all the cool issues and events this site alone discusses and teaches us.
Paulonious, I have found that doing a massive "unsubscribe" to senders of my email, to be helpful. I, too, come back to too many emails, most of which are unnecessary, so I just started unsubscribing nearly everything. We don't need to be chained to to our gadgets. If we can't just let it go and walk away, start with unsubscribing. It's helped me a ton.
Hugh,use it for good then.Our world has changed.It is not like the pre computer,pre plugged in age.I too wax poetic for those summer nights playing kick the can ,hide and seek or ball at the park.Just hangin with friends.Everything was an adventure.We never wanted to be inside. You can use today's ameneties to your advantage.I have my IPad w me all day for buisness so I do read my stories,check in here,look at the markets,read some sports and news.Its all good.
When it gets too much.Shut it down for a few,I hit the gym,play with the dogs,annoy my wife,listen to tunes.I talk to a lot people face to face all day so I do not feel the need to increase my one on one contact.Ive never let that slip.
But we can do so much good with the info we have at our finger tips.Look at all the cool issues and events this site alone discusses and teaches us.
there is a pro and con. awareness of social issues, on this site for instance, breeds social activity on the cause(s). But I just sometimes feel that the more information I have, the more I crave.
I do see your point about wishlist functions, and the yellow ribbon campaign that were not previously possible or as easily organized.
these devices, in my opinion, breed isolation through constant digital communication, which further leads to negative behaviour is human interactions as people are losing their ability to be empathetic. I mean, I'm talking to people on the internet, but I rarely talk to friends or family. and when I do it's through email or text.
some of that is age; I have purged most of my friends from my younger days as they were not people that belonged in my life anymore, but I've replaced those relationships with screen names and avatars. I speak to parents of my kids' friends when I drop them off at school and such, but, I don't know. Maybe it is just age.
yeah, I interact a lot with people during the day at work, why do I feel the need to shut down at home?
All I know is how awareness of the negative world around me affects me emotionally and mentally. not all people are like that, but I am, and I need to keep away from it as much as I can. I never watch the news just for that reason. 95% shit and 5% puff pieces. that's an incredible lopside to overcome.
It's the stubborn idealist in me, bsL. I grew up in a time and place where people my age were saying things like "give peace a chance" and "we're going to change the world". That generation grew into middle age and (I know its not quite fare to generalize, but this is mostly true) we got too caught up in our own pleasure and desires and really dropped the ball on that one. The punk generation came along and said "you phonies!" and used anger to try to forge a different world. And then the next generation came along and it seems to be plagued with despair a lot of sarcasm and hopelessness but also a kind of world savvy that's waiting to move into action. If we took the best of what all of us have to offer be it thoughts of peace and love, screaming at what doesn't work or an connected-through-social-media sense of worldliness and work it all together to create true changes for the better, maybe then we can move idealism away from being seen as airy fairly and actually get some shit done. We can break the cycle of despair as well as the cycle of hate.
Look in the right places and you'll find the groups making a positive difference and proving that having an idealistic mind isn't the fluff that others make it out to be. We're just looking in the wrong directions. Sure, there are no massive public movements for peace like in the 60s, but it doesn't mean these ideals don't reside in many of us and we're just not sure how to go about it. Maybe looking to the internet is the wrong way to to go about it, if all we tend to see is negativity. Maybe down at the local co-op or farmer's market are the right group of people. But they're out there, I know it. One of them has got to be the guys in the band, what other bands do you know of where every band member put a lot of time into making a difference for the better? We certainly have them to look up to.
It's the stubborn idealist in me, bsL. I grew up in a time and place where people my age were saying things like "give peace a chance" and "we're going to change the world". That generation grew into middle age and (I know its not quite fare to generalize, but this is mostly true) we got too caught up in our own pleasure and desires and really dropped the ball on that one. The punk generation came along and said "you phonies!" and used anger to try to forge a different world. And then the next generation came along and it seems to be plagued with despair a lot of sarcasm and hopelessness but also a kind of world savvy that's waiting to move into action. If we took the best of what all of us have to offer be it thoughts of peace and love, screaming at what doesn't work or an connected-through-social-media sense of worldliness and work it all together to create true changes for the better, maybe then we can move idealism away from being seen as airy fairly and actually get some shit done. We can break the cycle of despair as well as the cycle of hate.
Look in the right places and you'll find the groups making a positive difference and proving that having an idealistic mind isn't the fluff that others make it out to be. We're just looking in the wrong directions. Sure, there are no massive public movements for peace like in the 60s, but it doesn't mean these ideals don't reside in many of us and we're just not sure how to go about it. Maybe looking to the internet is the wrong way to to go about it, if all we tend to see is negativity. Maybe down at the local co-op or farmer's market are the right group of people. But they're out there, I know it. One of them has got to be the guys in the band, what other bands do you know of where every band member put a lot of time into making a difference for the better? We certainly have them to look up to.
I think your right, bsL, I think there a many people out there who want to see change happen, who want peace, who want a better world. Most of us (me included, for sure) are not really sure how to effect change (it is "effect"- I had to look it up, haha!). Things like the video you posted really help because those kind of things "go viral" on the internet. Yet in the electronic age these inspirations seem to come and goo quickly. The internet provides us with far more information then we had in the 60's and yet it doesn't seem to stick around very long. I think this is partly what you and rr and Paulonius are getting at in the discussion above- that all of this information is almost too much. But maybe not, maybe what we need are strong leaders and activist who know how to focus all of that information and inspire all the people with all that energy they have waiting to go to work.
“The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man [or woman] who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”
Be more like all of us on AMT! We have our differences here but (with few exceptions) we're here to learn and communicate. In our own little way, we all make good things happen here. Maybe what the world needs is more Moving Trains!
“The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man [or woman] who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”
Comments
We have choices. We can be negative, or even cynical, and our world reflects that. Or, we can have empathy, care about each other, maybe even try to be more positive about things, and the world reflects that. Choices.
You can use today's ameneties to your advantage.I have my IPad w me all day for buisness so I do read my stories,check in here,look at the markets,read some sports and news.Its all good.
When it gets too much.Shut it down for a few,I hit the gym,play with the dogs,annoy my wife,listen to tunes.I talk to a lot people face to face all day so I do not feel the need to increase my one on one contact.Ive never let that slip.
But we can do so much good with the info we have at our finger tips.Look at all the cool issues and events this site alone discusses and teaches us.
I do see your point about wishlist functions, and the yellow ribbon campaign that were not previously possible or as easily organized.
these devices, in my opinion, breed isolation through constant digital communication, which further leads to negative behaviour is human interactions as people are losing their ability to be empathetic. I mean, I'm talking to people on the internet, but I rarely talk to friends or family. and when I do it's through email or text.
some of that is age; I have purged most of my friends from my younger days as they were not people that belonged in my life anymore, but I've replaced those relationships with screen names and avatars. I speak to parents of my kids' friends when I drop them off at school and such, but, I don't know. Maybe it is just age.
yeah, I interact a lot with people during the day at work, why do I feel the need to shut down at home?
All I know is how awareness of the negative world around me affects me emotionally and mentally. not all people are like that, but I am, and I need to keep away from it as much as I can. I never watch the news just for that reason. 95% shit and 5% puff pieces. that's an incredible lopside to overcome.
www.headstonesband.com
Look in the right places and you'll find the groups making a positive difference and proving that having an idealistic mind isn't the fluff that others make it out to be. We're just looking in the wrong directions. Sure, there are no massive public movements for peace like in the 60s, but it doesn't mean these ideals don't reside in many of us and we're just not sure how to go about it. Maybe looking to the internet is the wrong way to to go about it, if all we tend to see is negativity. Maybe down at the local co-op or farmer's market are the right group of people.