| A word about contention.. 10:32 - Mar 4 with 967 views | hubble |
(By contention I mean argument/debate, not whether we're in with a chance of the play-offs).
Last night I was reflecting on the highly charged discussion in the Trump/Zelensky thread, and considering just how polarised opinions are there. And what is surely clear to anyone reading it, is that no matter how 'right' someone thinks they are, there is someone else who thinks they are 'wrong', and that they are 'right'. But in reality, none of us are 'right' and none of us are 'wrong', all we have are our individual perceptions (and our opinions based on those perceptions).
Yet look how heated that discussion is: people fronting up to each other about how 'right' they are, how 'wrong' the other is. Swearing at each other, accusing the 'other' of being a [insert your favourite insult]. We all clearly think our opinion is the right one (and I'm as guilty as anyone else on this), and some of us are apparently so attached to being 'right' that we are willing to fight the other person over it. The anger in that thread is tangible. Yet none of us really have a clue about what's really going on, we just have our particular perceptions.
It reminds me of religion (or for that matter, football), where the advocate of any particular religion - the 'true believer' - knows that they are right, and the other is wrong. But how do we form these perceptions? And why are they so fixed? So fixed in fact, that people will go to war over them. Why are we so determined that we must be 'right'?
Not wanting to go too deep here, but surely it's that little thing called 'ego'? Our egos are functional aspects of our personality that are designed to protect us. They are pretty fundamental to our sense of self, our identity, and they are hard-wired into the primal fight or flight mechanism. Hence, when someone disagrees with us, on a subconscious level at least, we feel under attack. And therefore we must defend ourselves.
But the thing is, we are all capable of rising above this, if we are prepared to let go of having to be right. Speaking personally, if I let go of having to be right, it allows me listen to the other who I think is wrong, and often I will realise that they have just as valid a point as I do.
I suppose a key question here is, is there an actual, objective truth? Is there an incontrovertible right and wrong? I don't think there is. I think we all live in our own stories, we all create narratives about our lives and our identities. And between us, we create the reality, the society, the world we live in. Or at least, we create the narrative that we relate to.
So, if in truth, none of us are right, and none of us are wrong, yet many of us don't like the way the world is, what can we do about it? Well, the standard way, it seems, is to fight about it! Or, of course, to argue, to debate, to attempt to find consensus. But that doesn't really seem to work that well. How many of us have changed our minds about something from reading different opinions?
The point I am trying to get to is this: in the words of the song that Michael Jackson sang (but didn't write): if you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and then make a change.
I don't believe we can ever truly change the world by the actions we take outside of ourselves, ultimately, the only way change happens comes from within. And this can be tangibly proved. There is a saying: what you focus on expands. For example, if you only focus on things that are 'wrong' with the world, things that trigger you, things that make you angry, then you will see that more and more in the world, it will become your reality. But I have noticed that when I focus on things that are good in my world, when I am grateful, when I appreciate the wonder, the miracle of being alive, then that becomes my reality. Events flow differently - or rather - I am attracted to (and attract) those things into my sphere of existence. In fact one of the great revelations of quantum physics is that our thoughts do actually influence our reality, and therefore we can alter our reality by changing how we think. Yet my ego will often pull me back into the world of having to be right. I suppose I like the cut and thrust of it. I like being 'right'. But does it serve me? Not really.
Anyway, I've waffled on far too long about this. You all know the old adage about opinions, and clearly all of us on this forum, at the end of the day, are just a bunch of arseholes.
Only joking!
Peace out, brothers and sisters.
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| A word about contention.. on 10:45 - Mar 4 with 925 views | PlanetHonneywood |
I stopped reading after this: 'Last night I was reflecting on the highly charged discussion in the Trump/Zelensky thread...' and immediately hit 'Add reply'.
Assuming you're not in prison, then FFS man, go outside and stop wasting life pondering the machinations of a message board. And a QPR one at that!
Promise me you'll not stay in tonight to have a deeper, belated, dive into the Jimmy Dunne thread. |  |
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| A word about contention.. on 10:56 - Mar 4 with 894 views | hubble |
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Thanks for setting me straight JH! | |
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| A word about contention.. on 11:16 - Mar 4 with 816 views | PlanetHonneywood |
| A word about contention.. on 10:56 - Mar 4 by hubble |
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Thanks for setting me straight JH! |
My pleasure. Here's hoping tomorrow's reflection is spicy and depraved, so as to leave the local WI shocked! | |
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| A word about contention.. on 11:54 - Mar 4 with 739 views | GaryHaddock |
Some things to considerā¦
1. Opinions donāt always come across accurately in a forum.
2. People are naturally tribal.
3. Not everyone on here is acting in good faith. |  | | |
| A word about contention.. on 12:04 - Mar 4 with 703 views | BrianMcCarthy |
| A word about contention.. on 11:54 - Mar 4 by GaryHaddock |
Some things to considerā¦
1. Opinions donāt always come across accurately in a forum.
2. People are naturally tribal.
3. Not everyone on here is acting in good faith. |
I disagree! |  |
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| A word about contention.. on 12:58 - Mar 4 with 612 views | GaryT |
I deliberately stayed out of that thread for various reasons but mainly because, as you say, you can't change the minds of people who don't want their minds to be changed (as I proved in the last Trump thread). What I will say though is that I can't fully agree that everything is based on opinions and ego as there are some fundamental truths we should all be able to agree on. For example, as I was reading your post I was thinking about the flat Earth conspiracy theory and how it's not my ego or my opinion that leads me to believe the world is round, it's the mountains of evidence proving that it is and the total lack of evidence proving that it isn't.
It's more complicated with Trump (for example) because our views are based on where we get our information from and even though we may have done our due diligence and uncovered ten layers of information that confirms our viewpoint, we are confronted with an obviously false sound-bite but the other person won't budge from it. This is not a 50/50 argument and this is where it can get very frustrating.
As an example, there's decades of public records about Trump's links to Russia but there are many people who don't believe a word of it or know what āRussia's meddling in US electionsā even means. I know you do deep dives into things and have probably come across this site before but I'll just leave this here for others to have a look at https://theassetpodcast.org/
As for your last main paragraph, I couldn't agree more and said something almost identical in this thread here When you realised there was no meaning to life and no God by qprxtc 5 Sep 2024 22:02When I opened an English Breakfast In A Tin from a 7/11 in Shepherds Bush when I was left home alone for a week and all out of dough.
I thought it was a godsend and the greatest idea known to me. After a night in The Mailcoach.
It was that moment looking into that tin that I realised mankind can never achieve transcendence and nihilism is the only true philosophy.
That and Vauxhall Motors.
At the end of the day it's up to us to find our level so I'll leave you with a little mantra I heard 'when-I-were-a-lad'
Do what you can
It won't be enough
But it's better than doing nothing.
Peace out [Post edited 4 Mar 16:38]
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| A word about contention.. on 12:59 - Mar 4 with 609 views | Boston |
| A word about contention.. on 12:04 - Mar 4 by BrianMcCarthy |
I disagree! |
Yes and no. |  |
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| A word about contention.. on 16:32 - Mar 4 with 419 views | Sonic_Hoop |
Hippie. |  | | |
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| A word about contention.. on 20:52 - Mar 4 with 249 views | 100percent |
friendly advice is this:
The art of living is the art of knowing how to believe in lies - Do it or don't do it - believe it or don't believe it - you will regret both. |  | | |
| A word about contention.. on 21:44 - Mar 4 with 183 views | Dorse |
At least we all agree about Marmite. |  |
| 'What do we want? We don't know! When do we want it? Now!' |
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| A word about contention.. on 22:01 - Mar 4 with 144 views | 1BobbyHazell |
Cracking post Brother Hud.
Couldn't agree more with the sentiments. No ism or system or voting in one particular leader will give us the world we would all claim we want. It has to be a revolution of consciousness.
Love a bit Eckhart Tolle me. His humourous but spot on observations of the ego and it's machinations are brilliant.
Also his pointers on what we can experience and achieve individually and thus collectively if we move out of operating and viewing the world solely from the point of the Conditioned Self and it's programmed thoughts are beautiful.
Love is the key. Always will be. |  | | |
| A word about contention.. on 23:33 - Mar 4 with 79 views | numptydumpty |
If you are going on a night out , there are three golden rules, you have to obey to have a decent time.
1. Do not discuss politics.
2. Do not talk about religions.
3. Only talk about football when QPR have won 5 nil and John Terry has been sent off.
If you obey these three rules, it will be a good time for all !!! |  |
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