For What It's Worth

[pieceofmyheart]

There's something happening here
What it is ain't exactly clear
There's a man with a gun over there
Telling me I got to beware

I think it's time we stop, children, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down

There's battle lines being drawn
Nobody's right if everybody's wrong
Young people speaking their minds
Getting so much resistance from behind

I think it's time we stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down

What a field-day for the heat
A thousand people in the street
Singing songs and carrying signs
Mostly say, hooray for our side

It's time we stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down

Paranoia strikes deep
Into your life it will creep
It starts when you're always afraid
You step out of line, the man come and take you away

We better stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down

Steven Stills 1966



YEAH SO WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING DOWN?


Right at the moment I am very sad and disillusioned about people. I am a very outgoing and social person but I am thinking more and more that the hermit way of life is the way to go.

 

[Guest]

I couldn't agree with you more pomh!!!!!!

 

[Mr. Nevermind]

Hermit life while lonely is a life many of us choose. i can count my friends on a peace sign








nevermind

 

[pieceofmyheart]

But I don't want that! I love people, love helping them, working with them and being around them. My job involves working very closely with co-workers and patients. I love making my patients feel good about seeing me and try to make their day a little happier when they leave. I am known for my random acts of kindness, I enjoy that sort of thing.

I am very sad, my heart is breaking.

 

[Mr. Nevermind]

But I don't want that! I love people, love helping them, working with them and being around them. My job involves working very closely with co-workers and patients. I love making my patients feel good about seeing me and try to make their day a little happier when they leave. I am known for my random acts of kindness, I enjoy that sort of thing.

I am very sad, my heart is breaking.

Well now you are getting into the nature of people. I'll expalin. People at their best, health and wealth wise, are assholes. Do healthy people feel bad for the sick, do healthy people thank their doctors? do rich people think about the poor when they are eating a 5 lb lobster? do they see a homelss person walking while they are in their Escalade and give them a ride?No, they think all is fine and go about their days thinking of themselves.

It is only when a person is at their weak point in which they look to their fellow man. Once sick they love the doctor or the person who cares for their health. Once poor they look at people driving by them in an ecsalade and think of how much they would love a ride.

There are exceptions to the rule , but all in all us humans are predticable. we are greedy, self centered people only concerend with ourselves and how we can get ahead. Only when helpless do we turn to our fellow man.

I am a misanthropic introvert. I used to have a bumper sticker that said " honk if you hate people too"












Nevermind

 

[pieceofmyheart]

But honestly I have never really seen people this way before. I always thought we are by nature loving and giving.
I was either living the most sheltered and naive life for over 40 years or I have been very blessed that I have lived this long before I am realizing how mean people really are.

 

[Mr. Nevermind]

But honestly I have never really seen people this way before. I always thought we are by nature loving and giving.
I was either living the most sheltered and naive life for over 40 years or I have been very blessed that I have lived this long before I am realizing how mean people really are.

I have always seen people this way. Growing up I didnt have alot so i say how "helpful" people really were. Not at all. Now that i am older and am comfortable financially i see the other side of the coin. Many of my friends are the same as i am as well. But if you are ever in a room with people whom have alot of $$ you'll see how self absorbed they reallly are. All they care about it more $$. How many people with money are single and live in 4 bedroom home? Do they offer those empty rooms to those who have nothing? When they look at their bank accounts do they think " wow , i have alot of money , i should go feed the homeless??" No they get told by their accountants to give a certain % for a write off on their taxes and thats it.


mainly its in the states. People from other countries arent this bad. But in general us people form the states are so caught up in " the american dream" then doing right by fellow man








Nevermind

 

[Storm Crow]

Shine on, my sister!

Shine on, my sister!

It is rare for people to do what they feel is wrong, however, we are great at justifying the bad things we do. I believe that folks who are really good at justifying can commit the most horendous crimes and sins and often do. Only those who are truely insane do evil things for the sake of doing evil. In our hearts, most of us are good people, but there those whom greed, fear, misguided intentions and/or ignorance cause to do evil. We all get hurt by others, dear. Don't let the bastards win- Keep shining! The joy and beauty that you send forth to others DOES make a difference in the world. Have you seen that commercial where a guy picks up and returns a baby's toy, then the mother does something nice for another stranger, and so on? That is the scenario that we should be aiming for. Each of us doing just a little thing to make things better. Those random acts of kindness are important to the functioning of the world. Right now you are at a weak point and hurt, but like your patients, you will heal and grow strong again. The folks like Nevermind never had someone like you come into their lives when they needed it. I'm sorry that Nevermind was hurt so badly that withdrawal was the safest option. Things like that happen because there wasn't someone like you there to help him when things went bad. Don't let your light fail! You are important! SHINE ON!

 

[pieceofmyheart]

That was one of the kindest posts I have ever read. Thank you Storm Crow, thank you very much.


I was at the beach about a month ago and a lady and her daughter were getting on the same bus as I was. It was exact change only and she didn't have it. I paid for her and her daughter to ride, it was only $3, so no biggie.
She was very concerned about getting change to pay me back and I told her to "pay it forward". She said she loved that movie and we ended up talking for like 20 minutes before I got off. That is what I love, it was nice. I mean not only was it nice that I was able to help somebody but meeting her was very nice and the conversation was enjoyable.

*sigh*

guess the hermit life may not be for me, I just talk way too much

 

[vonforne]

Well POMH you have a place here, where people like you will listen. Just keep talking to us and we will listen.

 

[Guest]

People are like rocks, POMH. We come in all sizes, shapes, colors, degrees of usefulness, fracture points or cleavages, and locations.

I'm not sure what exactly is causing the current malaise that you're describing. You didn't get too specific about that.

Hermitage offers a lot of potential benefits, and you can have selective and limited (sometimes even intense) interactions with people, and still be a hermit.

Persons can be very self-serving and opportunistic when they allow themselves to be. They can alternately be equally beautiful too. Jung wrote about the various capacities of human beings.

It's the Yin Yang nature of human kind that can cause so much distress and heart ache; being able to see what 'could be' if only persons would have chosen (path 'x'), vs. what sometimes comes to pass instead. Like watching your favorite child fail, or do something self-defeating.

I -choose- to pick my friends very selectively, few persons come to my house or enter my life that I don't wish to have near me/us, (though there are some spontaneous moments as well), and I still interact with strangers on a polite basis in the few public places where I have to deal with society.

There's also a sign at the end of my rather long-ish driveway, tacked to a spruce tree, that advises those entering into my domain that fascists, religious fanatics, totalitarians, zealots, red-necks, and others who insist on taking control over others' lives should probably not venture further into my land or life.

moose eater

 

[Guest]

If it weren't from experiencing our heartwrenching pains and betrayals, how could we not understand the very essence of compassion. Sadly, having our trust compromised, leads us to cherish it even moreso.

Sometimes you need to step back a bit and take a look at the bigger picture. Am I really living my life? Am I getting any enjoyment out of my life? What's life without living it, so am I living out my life in the most enjoyable way I possibly can? It obviously doesn't shine outside everyday. Sometimes it downright storms. But even then, we ride out the storm and make the best of the ride as we can.

Admittedly, I've made life and career changes due to my personal beliefs of what was right and wrong and how to live my life in a more comfortable and enjoyable way. Many changes were made because what I did for a living seemed to suck the joy out of my entire life. It's when I rationalized, "Do I really need to do this for a living?" "Are there other ways I can make a living AND enjoy my life?" I've even moved halfway across the country, to not be easily accessible to those whom seemed to suck the joy out of life around me. But, now life seems a bit more pleasurable. We shouldn't need a pair 'Pollyanna's Glasses' to enjoy the world around us and make of it as we want.

 

[1TWISTEDTRUCKER]

WOW, MR.Nevermind.Man if i seen life through your eyes,i don't know if i could go on.
I guess i've experienced lots of hardship in my life,and had help from out of the blue.As a result i also practice random acts of kindness,and like someone else said earlier,i allways say pay it forward.

 

[Haps]

Young Lady, imagine walking up to your door and being told that you have to leave - and at that moment, the life you know was ended. You could get a few pieces of your heart back eventually. That path led to this hermitage. Being a hermit sucks. Grab all the hugs you can girl.
H

 

[bongasaurus]

great tune there pohm. kinda makes me think of this one...

gotta love neil, one of his first and one of his latest, still rockin

The painter stood
Before her work
She looked around every where
She saw the pictures and she painted them
She picked the colors from the air

Green to green
Red to red
Yellow to yellow
In the light
Black to black
When the evening comes
Blue to blue
In the night

It's a long road
Behind me
It's a long road
Ahead

If you follow every dream
You might get lost
If you follow every dream
You might
Get
Lost.

She towed the line
She held her end up
She did the work of too many
But in the end
She fell down
Before she got up again

I keep my friends eternally
We leave our tracks in the sound
Some of them are with me now
Some of them can't be found

It's a long road behind me
And I miss you now

If you follow every dream
You might get lost
If you follow every dream
You might
Get
Lost.

 

[pieceofmyheart]

Bong, I love Neil Young, great song too.

I don't want to be cold, or cynical about people. It would help me though to learn to be a bit more cautious and not so gullible. I remember my mom telling me when I was young, "Don't believe everything everybody tells you"
Well I still have a problem with that. I assume that there is no reason for someone to lie to me. I just assume when a person tells me something, it's truth, why would they lie?

I like people, I do believe by nature we are caring and loving but I guess some people have been so hurt it makes them mean and hateful.

Well, I only answer for me and my behavior, not other people. I choose to stay the same, if I get hurt, I'll pick up the pieces and move on.


Moose, I think the world of you but I just couldn't live like that, I have an open door at my home pretty much. It would be quite hard to go so far against my nature to be that way, almost impossible I think.

Thanks my friends

 

[Guest]

78 percent of us are born caring 22 percent are born evil...that is the equation...the 22 percent are not in prison like one would think.

 

[pieceofmyheart]

Where did you get those statistics? Are we born that way or born into families that are either caring or cold?
nature vs nuture

 

[Guest]

hopefully you got the link

 

[Guest]

>>>Moose, I think the world of you but I just couldn't live like that, I have an open door at my home pretty much.<<<

Thanks POMH. I feel similarly about yourself as well.

It's a balance; I approach the world both analytically as well as heartfully/soulfully.

One look at how Amerika allegedly votes, and I know that at least half to three-quarters of them aren't welcome at my table... or in my family's life.

I worked as a clnician for many years, and have seen up close way too much of the darker secrets of human kind as well.

I came to a point of my many releases over power and control where I accepted that as insane and cruel as the world may get, I likely can't address it or stop it in any definitive manner.... not alone anyway.

But I -can- draw a line at the bottom of my front door steps and tell tham that while they may wish to destroy freedom, the planet, and whatever else they defile, whether it be out of fear, or insecurity, or simply plain old ignorance, that their crazy control-mongering and boundarilessness -ain't- coming here to my sanctuary..... not without words or better happening..

I still pick up hitch-hikers. It's a debt that I owe the cosmos from times over many years that I was on the road and had my arse saved and taken care of by kind persons, sometimes in extreme conditions of one sort or another. But I keep a gun behind my seat, unholstered, out of their view, in case things get too wierd. Especially when I have any of my family with me.. "Trust enough to interact and be kind or friendly, but be wary enough to pull your bacon out of the fire if you need to."

I just got back from processing this year's moose meat, and picked up 2 hitch-hikers; one each way on that long drive. Both of them were good folks, though the first was a bit 'off', evasive on where he was from, and where he was starting out at on his journey. His jail house tats told me some things, and he minimally filled in some blanks as well while we passed the day away driving and listening to tunes, though he didn't fill in enough 'blanks' to chase away my mild to moderate sense of distrust of him.. I fed him lunch, listened to tunes, helped him find a safe place to camp where the fascisti wouldn't shake him down, and left him with a bag of my ultra-sweet home-grown carrots and a cheese sandwich to get him through the night.

But I never left behind the reality that I didn't know this person from Adam, and that he seemed a tad bit off. Trust what you can afford to, but protect what you need to. That's my balance. It works for me. But it may not be for everyone.

There's not too much that society has to offer me right now, other than distance... and they seem to be squeezing in on that one..

moose eater