[venusss]

Just a spin off of several debates here and elsewhere:

(I am bit manicky still, so forgive lack of coherence. Consider it DADA)


How does one come to be at peace, but at the same time not to get too passive and static? Where is the balance between being happy where you are and being just unsatisfied enough to be driven forward? What is the difference between looking for and finding satisfaction and place in life and merely chasing little things?

Maybe one should just do things and forget getting anything from it, and in the end, one will profit. If you pray to deities, you do it out of respect to them, not because you want something from them (and I don't even mean "oh, Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz", but even less obvious but still selfish wishes). Go and out and do things for others, without "if I do this, I will feel better". Treat yourself with love and respect because you deserve it, just like you would treat a person you love.

Maybe focusing more on the world, on what is inside, we will be able to see ourselves better, understand ourselves better. When we focus on ourselves, often with the premise "I need to be well, to help others" or "I need to get 'better' before I can..." we amplify importance of things that don't matter in grander scheme of things. For me total fatalism does help sometimes. Knowing that I don't have much impact can seem terrifying, but it is liberating at the same time. In the end, it probably does not matter what I do, or at least not so much. Maybe even the worst outcome of the situation I am in... will not be fatal. World will not end, sky will not fall. I think we cannot get "well" in isolation. We still have to live in meantime, and the more we live and stay interconnected with the world, the better off we are in the end.

Maybe there are times we are too focused on our well-being and it harms us in the end. It becomes obsession about breathing and eating and sleeping and doctors and therapies and going for walks... something that should not be a main goal in life, but just something one does and doesn't make fuss about it. We get lost in it and don't see the larger picture. But without it... one cannot really live to their fullest. And without living, how can one be and feel well?

Maybe, there is something about, "go out and just do something". Or maybe just go out and observe. People watch for a while. Notice the weird little details in the streets. Notice the spring is coming and how it smells. Take off shoes and feel the ground (and history under your feet). Anything to get out oneself (I will be the first to admit, I do get terribly crawled into myself at times and things tend to get crazy there).

It may not solve all our problems, but it does often help indeed.

[Confusedinomicon]

I think you have a REALLY good point here. It's too easy to internalize everything and make it a chore.

It is good that you do things to manage your symptoms as best as you can...but like you said, you have to look beyond managing those symptoms and try to connect to everything else that is out there. Otherwise life is dull. :\

[roads]

"Maybe one should just do things and forget getting anything from it, and in the end, one will profit. .... Treat yourself with love and respect because you deserve it, just like you would treat a person you love."

Yes! Oh, yes.

[TheDragon]

Memento mori, memento vivere.