(no subject)
I am firmly convinced, through observation and experience, that most people on this planet have no will of their own. Neither do they overcome their impulses or recognize that that they are slave to those impulses as such. I believe that to make my life my own I must accept this and recognize that most people will never rise above their own programming and become aware of the fabric of fate that contains them. They are the blind: little more than animals that have the benefit of civilization to support them.
A camper leaves a fire burning and an errant spark lights the woods around him. While that spark was technically out of his control, he might have done something to stop it before it happened. For all intents and purposes, the fire that resulted was the fault of the camper. That spark, the fire, the leaves, and the trees are all analogous to the people of whom I speak, above. They are no more willful or at fault for the fire as the things in the scene. You may use the water to put the fire out, but it doesn't have awareness of your use.
These "people" are mere scenery in the life of the willful sentient. It is an act of will to light a fire or to put it out. These actions involve choice and the will to put those choices into a definable action.
Now, I am left with all of this knowledge. It hasn't come to me all at once. It has come to me slowly. At first, I believed I had a greater purpose in life. This was my belief for the longest time because I attempted to give people the benefit of the doubt as far as their place in the world is concerned. It is through no lack of effort on my part that I failed to ascribe certain attributes to the "inanimate" things that lie around me. I was the primitive in the woods, blaming the wood for its ability to burn and the wind for its ability to blow, and placing gods and spirits in them all where there were none.
Now I am a relatively rational observer. I see that if there is a cause, that there has been an effect. This effect, if it has influenced my life and the things I love, is most likely of my own doing, as the things around me only react to my own actions. Sure, they have life of their own. The squirrel gnaws its store of food and watches me, for instance. But for the most part, I am the one who sets into motion the things that affect my own destiny. There is mostly only reaction on the part of the world around me, with a few exceptions. There are a few here in the world, with me, who are of their own will and volition. Some are good, some are not. But they are aware. They can be held accountable. I can be fooled. But in the end, I set my own fires and put them out. Or batten down the hatches for a good rain.
I might be taking the analogy too far. I am sure whoever reads this is intelligent enough to see what I am saying.
In the course of my life I have ascribed too much will to certain people. These people I have held as destiny's favored children. But it turns out that there are far fewer of these willful souls than I was previously led to believe.
But if I was harmed in the aftermath of my interaction with these types, may I lay blame on them for their lack of sympathy or inability to see beyond their own lives?
I say that I cannot. I can no more lay blame on these "people" than I can lay blame on the hot soup for burning my lips or on the rabid dog for biting me. These are merely the mechanizations of a thoughtless world. The units involved merely follow their natures; their programming determines how they are going to act and react to certain situations. They are, at best, predictable. At worst their behavior might be avoided with a little planning and knowledge. When faced with the unpredictable, make the best preparations available to you.
I have managed to free my real life from any reliance on these folks. I take from them what I must and deal with them only as I absolutely have to. It is necessary to interact with the world around you, but you don't have to place emotional reliance on that tree over there. Just pick the fruit and eat it, making sure to plan for more fruit in the times to come.
Occasionally a spark from my previous superstitious behavior comes back to bite me in the ass, but those are becoming less frequent and less biting, as the flames of my former folly are dying out. Now I am fairly content in my dealings with people. It's not that I expect less. It's that I attribute less. I have realized that I cannot rightfully blame the fire for burning, for that is in its nature. It cannot change, except to die. I will use it for warmth and keep my distance from its core. When I am done with it, I will make sure it cannot hurt me by limiting its influence upon my environment. Any tool can harm, if you use it incorrectly.
Unfortunately, the machine of the thoughtless takes on a collective will of its own, much like an ant colony. This is how I account for the storms of mobs here and there, and for generically evil behavior. Unless there is someone willful behind them, they will go about their lives simply reacting. If enough of these reactors come together, you have the workings of a colonial reactor. This sort of clumping happens too often for my tastes.
It seems I am coming into my own jargon for this observation: "Thinkers", "reactors", "colonial reactors", etc. I'm glad I can find humor in it, because at heart it's a little tragic.
For all you thinking sorts out there: Thank you for being in my life. I hope I have made yours better, as well. I hope this has been in the slightest way enlightening for someone. It's more fun to play the game when you know the rules. Knowing that you are in the game helps, as well.
A camper leaves a fire burning and an errant spark lights the woods around him. While that spark was technically out of his control, he might have done something to stop it before it happened. For all intents and purposes, the fire that resulted was the fault of the camper. That spark, the fire, the leaves, and the trees are all analogous to the people of whom I speak, above. They are no more willful or at fault for the fire as the things in the scene. You may use the water to put the fire out, but it doesn't have awareness of your use.
These "people" are mere scenery in the life of the willful sentient. It is an act of will to light a fire or to put it out. These actions involve choice and the will to put those choices into a definable action.
Now, I am left with all of this knowledge. It hasn't come to me all at once. It has come to me slowly. At first, I believed I had a greater purpose in life. This was my belief for the longest time because I attempted to give people the benefit of the doubt as far as their place in the world is concerned. It is through no lack of effort on my part that I failed to ascribe certain attributes to the "inanimate" things that lie around me. I was the primitive in the woods, blaming the wood for its ability to burn and the wind for its ability to blow, and placing gods and spirits in them all where there were none.
Now I am a relatively rational observer. I see that if there is a cause, that there has been an effect. This effect, if it has influenced my life and the things I love, is most likely of my own doing, as the things around me only react to my own actions. Sure, they have life of their own. The squirrel gnaws its store of food and watches me, for instance. But for the most part, I am the one who sets into motion the things that affect my own destiny. There is mostly only reaction on the part of the world around me, with a few exceptions. There are a few here in the world, with me, who are of their own will and volition. Some are good, some are not. But they are aware. They can be held accountable. I can be fooled. But in the end, I set my own fires and put them out. Or batten down the hatches for a good rain.
I might be taking the analogy too far. I am sure whoever reads this is intelligent enough to see what I am saying.
In the course of my life I have ascribed too much will to certain people. These people I have held as destiny's favored children. But it turns out that there are far fewer of these willful souls than I was previously led to believe.
But if I was harmed in the aftermath of my interaction with these types, may I lay blame on them for their lack of sympathy or inability to see beyond their own lives?
I say that I cannot. I can no more lay blame on these "people" than I can lay blame on the hot soup for burning my lips or on the rabid dog for biting me. These are merely the mechanizations of a thoughtless world. The units involved merely follow their natures; their programming determines how they are going to act and react to certain situations. They are, at best, predictable. At worst their behavior might be avoided with a little planning and knowledge. When faced with the unpredictable, make the best preparations available to you.
I have managed to free my real life from any reliance on these folks. I take from them what I must and deal with them only as I absolutely have to. It is necessary to interact with the world around you, but you don't have to place emotional reliance on that tree over there. Just pick the fruit and eat it, making sure to plan for more fruit in the times to come.
Occasionally a spark from my previous superstitious behavior comes back to bite me in the ass, but those are becoming less frequent and less biting, as the flames of my former folly are dying out. Now I am fairly content in my dealings with people. It's not that I expect less. It's that I attribute less. I have realized that I cannot rightfully blame the fire for burning, for that is in its nature. It cannot change, except to die. I will use it for warmth and keep my distance from its core. When I am done with it, I will make sure it cannot hurt me by limiting its influence upon my environment. Any tool can harm, if you use it incorrectly.
Unfortunately, the machine of the thoughtless takes on a collective will of its own, much like an ant colony. This is how I account for the storms of mobs here and there, and for generically evil behavior. Unless there is someone willful behind them, they will go about their lives simply reacting. If enough of these reactors come together, you have the workings of a colonial reactor. This sort of clumping happens too often for my tastes.
It seems I am coming into my own jargon for this observation: "Thinkers", "reactors", "colonial reactors", etc. I'm glad I can find humor in it, because at heart it's a little tragic.
For all you thinking sorts out there: Thank you for being in my life. I hope I have made yours better, as well. I hope this has been in the slightest way enlightening for someone. It's more fun to play the game when you know the rules. Knowing that you are in the game helps, as well.