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Philosophical: Life just consists of episodes.

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12,978
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Germany
Our self-influence isn't that determining. Episodes just come and go.

This was my conclusion on age 25/26. I realized, how patterns of life are repeating again and again. Since them, I'm relaxed.
 

Juanito

One of the Regulars
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247
Location
Oregon
That sound like insanity to me.

You make a choice to take a chance or your life will never change.
 
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12,018
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East of Los Angeles
Why insanity? What do you mean?
I believe he is referring to the saying, "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result," in response to your statement about patterns of life repeating again and again. I suppose life can appear to be that way when a person makes the same choices and/or mistakes repeatedly. I can't say I've experienced that myself (not that I can recall at the moment, anyway), but I do agree with Juanito that people have to make a conscious decision to effect change in their lives if they want change to occur.
 

Benproof

A-List Customer
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350
Location
England
In that case, it is not that his life consists of mere episodes.

He remembers the episode he lost, and is stuck in repetition compulsion, trying for a different outcome.

The continuous stream of life in between these episodes; of trying again at each episode of the bookies, is lost on him:

he has choosen to live his life as episodes, foregoing its continuous stream. In that respect, he has failed to choose and

therefore failed to live.

Damn bookies.
 
Messages
12,978
Location
Germany
To be more exactly:

I meant looking around, getting older and at one moment, you realize, that the patterns of life, around you (not yourselves!), are only repeating.

Would you like, to "change the world", further?
 

LizzieMaine

Bartender
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33,766
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Where The Tourists Meet The Sea
Among comedy writers there's a saying -- "There are only seven different jokes." The only reason it seems like there's more is that there are endless ways to vary those basic themes, but they're still the same jokes at heart. I think you can apply that principle to life as well -- all of life, from birth to grave, is a conflict of situation against circumstance, and there are only x number of basic ways in which this confict can develop, but there are endless variations on those basic themes.

That's why, the longer you live, the more it feels like you've seen it all before. Because, in essence, you have.

As far as changing the world goes, no one person, alone, can change it. Real social change depends on class action, the united efforts of masses of people. Alone, in all practicality, one person can't even change their underwear -- because that underwear first has to be sewn from cloth, which must be woven from fiber, which must be harvested and processed from plants or chemicals, which must be grown in the ground or extracted in the lab, which depends on an accumulated body of knowledge assembled over centuries of agriculture or science.

One person can, however, change minds. And those minds, changed, can change other minds, until you have mass action. And that's how you change the world.
 
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17,220
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New York City
^^^ Nothing more powerful than an idea and the pen is mightier than the sword. While I'm pretty comfortable our opinion of "good" change is different, I agree with your assessment of how it happens. And on a lighter note, I read once that some crazy number - north of 50, if memory serves - steps are involved in making a pencil - like your underwear analogy, nothing is simple.
 
Last edited:
Messages
12,978
Location
Germany
And the next thing:

Every day of life, low-empathic, normal-empathic and high-empathic people are colliding.

So, who got the golden, final solution?

PS:
Don't be sorrowed, I'm not depressed. I just like to philosophize about. :)
 
Messages
10,587
Location
Boston area
Among comedy writers there's a saying -- "There are only seven different jokes." The only reason it seems like there's more is that there are endless ways to vary those basic themes, but they're still the same jokes at heart. I think you can apply that principle to life as well -- all of life, from birth to grave, is a conflict of situation against circumstance, and there are only x number of basic ways in which this confict can develop, but there are endless variations on those basic themes.

That's why, the longer you live, the more it feels like you've seen it all before. Because, in essence, you have.

As far as changing the world goes, no one person, alone, can change it. Real social change depends on class action, the united efforts of masses of people. Alone, in all practicality, one person can't even change their underwear -- because that underwear first has to be sewn from cloth, which must be woven from fiber, which must be harvested and processed from plants or chemicals, which must be grown in the ground or extracted in the lab, which depends on an accumulated body of knowledge assembled over centuries of agriculture or science.

One person can, however, change minds. And those minds, changed, can change other minds, until you have mass action. And that's how you change the world.


Right you are, (as usual) Lizzie! That idea is a bit unnerving to me, though because, as the saying goes, we must "never underestimate the power of large groups of stupid people."
 

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