Sean

Ugh, student loans. They’re holding me back from my homesteading dream. If I remain in healthcare, same employer for the next 10 years (9, now) and make consecutive monthly payments…mine are forgiven.

I enjoy Sara Teasdale. This is one of my favorites.

I am not yours, not lost in you,
Not lost, although I long to be
Lost as a candle lit at noon,
Lost as a snowflake in the sea.

You love me, and I find you still
A spirit beautiful and bright,
Yet I am I, who long to be
Lost as a light is lost in light.

Oh plunge me deep in love—put out
My s…[Read more]

Woah, @unseen. Although it is a common procedure,  stents are relatively serious business. Glad you are recovering and hope this is the last of your cardiac issues.

Ah, caused my heart to ache.

I feel guilty for the life I live sometimes. It’s not rich in wealth, but safety and comfort.

I haven’t given up on on this conversation.  I am thinking about what each of you are saying. Also doing some research on free will and determinism.

@Unseen, Show me facts that all of the choices we make are random.

I BELIEVE based on what I do know. I know that I chose to get up this morning, start laundry, make a cup of coffee, turn on adult swim and read the updates on AZ. Was that random? Because I laid here and debated what needed done and how I wanted to start my day.

I know that there…[Read more]

I understand that we are basically a neural alchemy of past and present, but we can manipulate some outcomes. Or, in some cases, attempt to. I believe this.

So, while you can choose, how you choose is beyond your conscious control.

I don’t know about this statement. I feel that I DO consciously control most of the choices I make. Especially if I take time to reason.

If an evil person does evil or a good person does good, there have to be reasons controlling those choices and making them…[Read more]

I had nothing to do with the opportunities and challenges presented to me. I had nothing to do with my basic nature, intelligence or instinctual reactions. 

Right, but did you have the control change the way those opportunities and challenges affected you?

*For the record, I feel as though I personally am a mixture of victim and master, BUT I wonder if my awareness has come from wisdom, age experience,  education?  All of the above, perhaps?

I don’t think I’ve ever calculated the probability of healthy offspring in any situation that gave me a boner.

😂😂

Beauty is real, but it’s subjective. I don’t think there is a certain calculation that determines if something is beautiful. I mean, perhaps, but on an individual level I’d guess.

@Davis, I agree we have made it more complex. But it CAN and SHOULD be simple. Yet I can only speak for myself.

@Unseen, I’m sorry but that is funny shit. And for future reference,  girls who go down that fast, are likely going to require ghosting.