The only thing one can say with certainty about life is that life is uncertain and that we all will eventually die. To concentrate only on the fearsome aspects of life and ignore its wonders and pleasures is the only thing to be afraid of.
Zen proverb: A Zen monk was walking near a cliff when a tiger started chasing him. The monk jumped over the cliff, but a young sapling broke his fall. At the bottom of the cliff, another tiger paced, waiting for him to fall. The sapling the monk clung to started to tear away from the cliff. At that moment, the monk spotted a wild strawberry growing next to the tree. He picked the berry and exclaimed, "How sweet it tastes."
don't any of you get afraid??
by nowisee 52 Replies latest watchtower bible
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parakeet
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Axelspeed
Perfectly stated Terry!
Get some perspective, we're actually living in one of the best times in human history.
Axel
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heathen
The only thing to fear is fear itself --- Winston churchill ( or somebody famous)
fear is the mind killer--- frank herbert (dune)
The problem may be if you were a dubby that you heard time and again that the organization is the only refuge from everyday anxiety so now you are beginning to recycle all that propaganda . I think people are conditioned within the org. so they lose all sense of self dependency so then when they leave to live apart from the orgs. constant reminders and ecouragement they get confused , like they need to hear it again or something like the world is going to end just so you can be safe . I spose some people will always struggle with that . The world is a scary place and always has been .
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under_believer
Great post, leolaia. Perspective really helps.
Alan Feuerbacher wrote an essay called "Unassailable Proofs" that was very eye-opening to me. As he points out within (and everyone really should read it), many wars could be referred to as "World Wars": The War of Spanish Succession, the Seven Years' War, the American War of Independence, DEFINITELY the Napoleonic Wars and so on. Many wars have cost more in terms of human life than did World War I, especially in China.
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TD
....with all of this stuff happening in the mideast....with al gore's "an inconvenient truth" and scientists backing him up...with nkorea..
There's nothing new under the sun......I bought into the dire predictions of Paul Ehrlich and Rachel Carson hook, line, and sinker when I was younger and found that you can worry yourself to death over dangers that are greatly overblown.
Just do what you personally can do to make the world a better place and don't fear the prognosticators. Fear is their stock in trade.
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SixofNine
Bad answer TD. You're smarter than that. One is not like the other.
pitiful.
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TD
Heya Six,
Neither Drs. Ehrlich nor Carson were ignorant and I didn't mean to imply that. Their predictions could have materialized, but they did not and there are reasons why they did not.
I thought you expressed the situation succintly:
.....That said, humans aren't facing anything now that we haven't faced many times before, except for the specter of global warming. And while that is indeed scary, the good news is that we have the technology to deal with it. All we need is political will, and fear provides that...
I didn't realize this simple fact as an adolescent reading those books.
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Twitch
when all i have around me are wolves, i am afraid
when i hear of children dying of hunger, i am sad
when i hear there is enough food out there, i am angry
when i think only of myself, i am miserable
when i smile at someone i don't know for no reason, i am connected
when i remind myself of all the good things i have, i am content
when i can share something good, i am happy
when i am with friends, i am strong
and fear no wolf from without or within -
Carmel
THIS RADIANT CENTURY
In the estimation of historians this radiant century is equivalent to one hundred centuries of the past. If comparison be made with the sum total of all former human achievements it will be found that the discoveries, scientific advancement and material civilization of this present century have equaled, yea far exceeded the progress and outcome of one hundred former centuries. The production of books and compilations of literature alone bear witness that the output of the human mind in this century has been greater and more enlightening than all the past centuries together. It is evident therefore that this century is of paramount importance. Reflect upon the miracles of accomplishment which have already characterized it, the discoveries in every realm of human research, inventions, scientific knowledge, ethical reforms and regulations established for the welfare of humanity, mysteries of nature explored, invisible forces brought into visibility and subjection, a veritable wonder-world of new phenomena and conditions heretofore unknown to man now open to his uses and further investigation. The east and west can communicate instantly. A human being can soar in the skies or speed in submarine depths. The power of steam has linked the continents. Trains cross the deserts and pierce the barriers of mountains; ships find unerring pathways upon the trackless oceans. Day by day discoveries are increasing. What a wonderful century this is!
(Abdu'l-Baha, Baha'i World Faith - Abdu'l-Baha Section, p. 227)
