[CrudeAwakening]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('wisconsincur', 'I') have to carry on in a world that is falling apart as if it were not falling apart. I have to smile and complete tasks that are neither that interesting nor necessary, sacrificing time that could be spent on positive things that could be done in order to make the time for that which must be done but are not really important.

[BigTex]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('CrudeAwakening', 'I') have a somewhat schizophrenic attitude to my job, recognising its importance in allowing me to prepare financially, but irrationally resenting the imposition it places on my time, which seems to be more and more valuable as time marches on.

[CrudeAwakening]

Yeah, it's an odd frame of mind to be in, BigTex. I think your points about the contingency of the future are valid; for me, there's enough of a whiff of doom that it would be foolish not to prepare for the worst, and yet it always pays to be mindful that I could be wrong in my prognostications. That can't help but produce a degree of inner psychological tension.

If we knew for sure what was coming, we could wholeheartedly align our psyches with that future; it's partly the element of uncertainty that aggravates underlying anxiety, IMO. Kind of a derangement of the "fight-or-flight" response.

[BigTex]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('CrudeAwakening', 'Y')eah, it's an odd frame of mind to be in, BigTex. I think your points about the contingency of the future are valid; for me, there's enough of a whiff of doom that it would be foolish not to prepare for the worst, and yet it always pays to be mindful that I could be wrong in my prognostications. That can't help but produce a degree of inner psychological tension.

If we knew for sure what was coming, we could wholeheartedly align our psyches with that future; it's partly the element of uncertainty that aggravates underlying anxiety, IMO. Kind of a derangement of the "fight-or-flight" response.

[wisconsin_cur]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Hagakure_Leofman', 'F')rom what you're saying Wisconsin, I'm getting "better the devil you know than the devil you don't..."? Is that accurate?

[Revi]

I feel like we have one foot in this world, and one in the next. The change is coming. I think a little preparation can't hurt. Who knows what the future holds?

We have no way of knowing what's going to happen. We can make educated guesses, but there is no certain path that things will go in.

That's what makes it exciting. We threw our inner tubes into a river today without knowing what we would encounter. We floated along, hiked around obstacles and had a great time.

I hope peak oil is a little like that.

[mmasters]

It all doesn't bother me too much anymore. I believe when we're done with life here we go somewhere else. We're in a continual process of transformation like that. As such there is no such thing as death and nothing to fear. Nothing here to be overly attached to or take too seriously either.

So do your best with the given circumstances and go with what's right. Your intuition will guide you to where you need to go if you let it.

[threadbear]

I'm tired and cranky.

I want the persistent delusion of consumerism to fade like old wallpaper or I want to rip it off and get a really good look at what's left underneath.
I'm tired of the waiting, tired of the miles of smiles that pass for real happiness, tired of the pinheaded mental dwarfs that haunt the nightly news.
Tired of 110 different kinds of sneakers.

If being tired and on a slow simmer, much of the time is pre traumatic stress disorder--I qualify.

[Cog]

Have you ever considered that the consumerist-driven people might really be happy that way?

[wisconsin_cur]

Washington Post Reports


$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'O')ne in 10 American women takes an antidepressant drug such as Prozac, Paxil or Zoloft, and the use of such drugs by all adults has nearly tripled in the last decade, according to the latest figures on American health released yesterday by the federal government.
Those numbers are among a broad array of changes in health and health care use in the United States identified in the report. It confirmed that prescription drug costs are soaring faster than any other area of medical care as ever-increasing numbers of Americans take drugs for psychiatric conditions, to lower their cholesterol, to control asthma and for a wide range of other reasons.

In 2002, the latest year for which data were available, the total tab for health care soared to $1.6 trillion -- of which prescription drugs accounted for $162 billion, the report found. Drug costs rose by 15 percent over the year before, driven by a combination of more expensive medicines and increased use.

The report comes at a time when questions are growing about the costs and safety of many prescription drugs. The Food and Drug Administration recently concluded that antidepressants can increase the risk of suicidal behavior among children, and the manufacturer of Vioxx abruptly recalled the popular painkiller for safety reasons. A senior FDA official testified in Congress last month that he believes five other approved drugs are dangerous and should be taken off the market.

Antidepressant drugs called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) showed some of the largest increases in use, the report said. By 2000, the proportion of adults using such drugs had nearly tripled, compared with the data set that ended in 1994.

[BigTex]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Cog', 'H')ave you ever considered that the consumerist-driven people might really be happy that way?

[vetusfirma]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('BigTex', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Cog', 'H')ave you ever considered that the consumerist-driven people might really be happy that way?

[BigTex]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('vetusfirma', 'G')OT SOUP!

[vetusfirma]

Your right tex. As far as substance, lets go back to the compassion thin with you giving bums a can of soup (or something) and a spoon. If we say that the only point in life is to be happy and the only motivating stimulus is a want or a need, you feed the bum so you feel good. If I don't feed the bum, because I don't want them around, I feel good about discouraging bumdom, so to speak. Someone wants to discourage consumerism, because they don't want consumers has just as much right to feel good as the person who wants to promote consumerism, for what ever reason.

That is unless you believe that mankind has a destiny and is 'supposed' to continue toward some kind of highly civilized utopia.

If you world view is totally self centered and relativistic, then the consumer does not matter. If on the other hand you are other centered and have devotion to something, say higher that self, then consumerism can become bad in relation to the higher purpose. The question then is 'do you force everyone to be devote and follow the true path?'. I have my answer, but I don 't pretend to have the right answer.

[kpeavey]

I have no idea what you're talking about so here's a rabbit with a pancake on its head.

[greenworm]

Love will cure it, find somebody you love and tell them you love them and give them a big hug and feel each others energy.

[greenworm]

Actually the key to stress relief is in that picture right there.

It is love. Wome loves the child and stands close guard to the child.
And man loves both and stands guard over both.

Love is the cure for stress. Love can make you smile and love can make you cry. Both relieve stress.

It brings great insight.

[Revi]

I go for walks in the woods to relieve my stress. I need time without a lot of other humans every day. It helps a lot.

I bring my dog, and she's usually good at relieving stress.

[BigTex]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('kpeavey', 'I') have no idea what you're talking about so here's a rabbit with a pancake on its head.

[mos6507]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('greenworm', 'L')ove will cure it, find somebody you love and tell them you love them and give them a big hug and feel each others energy.