Socializing Questions

“This was the problem with drinks parties: getting stuck with a person you didn't want to talk to while someone you did was tantalizingly in view.”

-- Robert Harris

I am in a university group of 4 people. I get tired of people so soon. Is it normal?

No, but you might want to change your degree to something in sanitary engineering, like septic system maintenance, and let personal hygiene take a backseat in life.

Why do people settle down with the first person they date?

Maybe, fear and ignorance. Fear they may not find another partner, and ignorance that the sea is full of fish.

Are most fears only due to a lack of experience?

Most fear, probably. You’ll never get me on a tightrope, or see me skydiving, no matter how much experience I try to have. Some fear is good sense and survival instinct.

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

-- Marianne Williamson

Are most fears only due to a lack of experience?

Most fear, probably. You’ll never get me on a tightrope, or see me skydiving, no matter how much experience I try to have. Some fear is good sense and survival instinct.

How do you feel when a hardcore hater who created a bandwagon to hate you suddenly loves you solely due to peer pressure?

I would feel like running as far from that person as I can get. Peer pressure is a gamble. I’d watch out for sharp objects when they’re around.

Why do people keep saying the U.S. is going to invade Myanmar?

I haven’t heard that, nor have I been saying it. There is no good reason to think we would, any more than we would have invaded Venezuela, which made more sense.

“War is not just the shower of bullets and bombs from both sides, it is also the shower of blood and bones on both sides.”

-- Amit Kalantri

How can "matter" be created that is already going faster than light? This makes no sense.

If it’s the matter already going faster than light, how can it be created, since it already exists? Now, I can see the FTL matter colliding with other FTL matter to create a new FTL particle, but if something already is, it can’t become. My head hurts…

Are we bound by our desires?

No, but we are bound by our morals and ethics. I desire stuff I know I can’t have, all the time, but I’m not bound to it. The weak-willed are bound by their desires because they don’t know how to say no.

What can a man do if he wanted to get married to his girlfriend but his mom said no because she didn't have a lot of money and did something bad and went to jail for what she did now his mom said to find another woman?

It’s a new world when mom is worried about the girl having a lot of money. The fact that she went to jail would be more concerning, to me anyway. Is she really worth all this grief? If she is, and you’d better be sure because “I told you so” is a tough anchor to haul around, then you need to make it right with mom. My personal experience with my own parents is, take the advice and find yourself a really nice girl to settle down with, like when you’re 30 or 40.

“Parents can only give good advice or put them on the right paths, but the final forming of a person's character lies in their own hands.”

-- Anne Frank

What are clues that might tell you if a person has put his past behind and lives as if he was born yesterday' or allows the past to influence or govern his daily life?

Look to how constantly truly happy they are, and how their happiness honestly infectious. They see their past as memories and lessons learned. They remember them, but they do not dwell there. The moment is where they live, and their lessons have taught them to strive for happiness always.

After what (or who) do you secretly crave?

Ah! And that would be telling too much, for to tell what is a secret makes it a secret no more.

Why does my dad always threaten to stab me when I don't do exactly what he wants?

I used to threaten to staple my daughter’s lips to the floor when she acted up in the supermarket. But, we were always playing at that and she knew I would never do it. Is he serious? This would be the question you need to have answered.

“As a parent who raised his children in dysfunction, I know the parental wounds my children received were not intentional; often they were my best expression of love, sometimes coming out sideways, not as I intended.”

-- David W. Earle LPC

The time to relax is when you don't have time for it. — Sydney J. Harris. What do you make of this statement?

How very true! If you don’t have the time, you are probably stressing. Make the time, even for a moment, and you will be better off for it..

What do you think, what happened after a person died? Do you believe in an afterlife?

We are here to learn all we can so we are better prepared to move on into our next life. Each life is full of lessons, and the more lessons we learn the more prepared we are for what comes next. If you don’t learn the lessons, you repeat your existence here until you do. It becomes your “hell on earth.” If you deny that you’ll move forward, that there is no afterlife, you will probably have your belief granted. Life is about learning to make good choices and decisions and, then, moving on.  If there is a "denial" glitch in your software, you might not.

Author's comment: Thank you so much for your answer! I absolutely agree with you

What is the best way to respond to someone who says, “At least you don't have to work"?

Yeah, I did enough of that for two lifetimes, and I’d do it all again if I weren’t 67.

“But I'm really enjoying my retirement. I get to sleep in every day. I do crossword puzzles and eat cake.”

-- Derek Landy

 

Editor's Note

(Re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card)

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so. This is also why, occasionally, I will present an "opinion" just to stir an emotional pot. Where it may sound like I agree with the statements made, I'm more interested in getting others to consider an alternate viewpoint. 

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and while engaging in peaceful and constructive discussion, in an arena of mutual respect, concerning those opinions put forth. After over twenty years with military intelligence, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we learn from the experience, and what we do afterward.

Pastor Tony spent 22 years with the United States Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, instructor, and senior manager. He spent 17 years, following his service career, working with the premier, world-renowned, Institutional Review Board helping to protect the rights of human subjects involved in pharmaceutical research. Ordained 1n 2013 as an "interfaith" minister, he founded the Congregation for Religious Tolerance in response to intolerance shown by Christians toward peaceful Islam. As the weapon for his war on intolerance he chose the pen, and wages his "battle" in the guise of the Congregation's official online blog, The Path, of which he is both author and editor. "The Path" offers a vehicle for commentary and guidance concerning one's own personal, spiritual, path toward peace and the final destination for us all. He currently resides in Pass Christian, Mississippi, where he volunteered as a chaplain at the regional medical center.