Questioning Philosophy, Happiness, Pleasure, and Life

 

“In order to know virtue, we must first acquaint ourselves with vice.”

-- Donatien Alphonse François

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Note to my readers:  My answers have garnered 13,679 views in the past week.  This equates to 711,308 views for the year if it continues.  I suppose I'll set a goal to cross one million views in the next couple of months.  Yeah, right.  This current tear in the fabric of reality will probably end in short order, but, one can only hope.

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Is money important or necessary to be happy?

As a pastor, I witnessed plenty of homeless people out there who say they are very happy living the way they do. These are also the people who showed up at the weekly breakfast to eat a “free” meal, which they also said made them very happy. The meal wasn’t really “free” for them, because there was a cost assigned to it. They “paid” for it by accepting the handout. There is no such thing as a free meal. Everyone sacrifices something, even if they’d rather not admit it.

I’m one to tout being happy always, regardless of your circumstances, poor or wealthy, be truly happy. Let’s face it, a blanket, a tent or doorway, a meal, serviceable clothing, warmth, would make all of us happy if that’s all we had. But, where do we get these essentials? Well, if you had a few bucks life might be a bit easier, and an easier life would make many of us significantly happier, especially if we didn’t have a pot to piss in.

Money, for many of us, is necessary to purchase the necessities for continued life. Would we be able to beg for them, scrounge them, or have them donated? Probably, but personal pride, for many, is a price we would struggle to pay. Pride would prevent “charity” from being an option if a bit of work would provide the basics.

Money is necessary. If goods are scrounged, donated, begged, it is essentially “money” in the guise of goods. So, if some street person says they don’t need “money” I’d be asking what goods (aka, money) they are living on.

How do I become a good person to get advice from?

Have valid advice that’s right, more times than not. Having lived life and gone through what the advice deals with, also helps. If you have all this, you will also be seen as a “wise” person with “sage” advice. This, usually, comes with age.

What is your “guilty pleasure” food, something that you don’t mind sharing, that you rarely ever give in and let yourself have, but when you do, it tastes like what you imagine heaven would be?

Chocolate Icebox Cake. Pudding with layers of graham crackers, and whipped cream on top, chilled in the fridge. I ate an entire one of these my mom made, was sick as a dog. I was such a pig.

“I don't believe in guilty pleasures. If you enjoy something, you just enjoy it. No sense feeling guilty about it.”

-- Cristina Moracho

Is it the right decision to prioritize self-care before anything else?

If you can’t take care of yourself, how can you take care of others? Put your oxygen mask on first, before helping the passenger next to you.

What are some regrets you have? I keep thinking of my past mistakes and thinking that no one else would have been as stupid as me.

Everyone is as stupid as you. Everyone makes mistakes. If they say they don’t, that’s just another mistake. Stupid is what we do until we don’t. Welcome to humanity!

How would I know if I'm high maintenance? What are the signs of this?

Do you expect a man to spend money on you all the time, or are quiet dinners at home, snuggling on the couch, watching the television, sufficient for you? What does it cost to “maintain” you in a manner you’ve grown used to?

“Dude, your girlfriend is so far past high maintenance even the janitor quit.”

-- Samantha Young

What makes life a great balancing act?

More than two lovers.

Why, sometimes, do we want to kill or hurt someone who hurt us or not pick us? Is that because of the anger and pain that we felt?

Yes! I wanted my ex-wife to die a horrible death just so I could go piss on her grave for using me for 25 years before she admitted she never loved me. I was told by a woman I dated later, that hatred was tenacious and would eat at me. It did, and I forgave my ex, then I forgave myself, and I accepted the apology I knew I was never going to get from her. Anger simply lingers on. Better to put it all behind you and do something they can’t - find happiness.

My boyfriend flirts and likes nudes and gets messages from multiple women on Twitter. What should I do?

Look for a new boyfriend.

“Flirting is a promise of sexual intercourse without a guarantee.”

-- Milan Kundera

Can you humorously complete, "You know you're old when..."?

“…you fart and get a cramp in your back.”

Author's comment:  Damn, that was funny! And — ouch! — I just farted… Thanks for the great answer, Tony!

Has someone ever spent a perfect life other than Jesus?

I’m not sure that 40 days in the desert, torture, and crucifixion qualify as a perfect life, but, I could be wrong.

My boyfriend says I’m nothing without him. Do I dump him?

Yes, and then become something without him.

"No, I only think you cruel, as I said the other day. Maybe not intentionally cruel; but you seem to be forcing me into disclosures which can result in nothing; as if you would have me bare a wound for the pleasure of looking at it, without the intention or power of healing it."

-- Kate Chopin

What, in your relational life, causes you the most concern or dissatisfaction?

Right now, she hasn’t turned off the keyboard noise for her phone. Tick, tick, tick… while trying to watch the news, drives me nuts after a while. It’s the little things I need to learn to get over. Not.

They say good things come to those who wait. To what extent is this saying true?

It depends on how long you’re willing to wait.

What's going well, and what has you desperately confused?

Taking back Congress is going well. Socialism ever having a foothold in the free United States has me desperately confused.

“Socialism, like the ancient ideas from which it springs, confuses the distinction between government and society. As a result of this, every time we object to a thing being done by government, the socialists conclude that we object to its being done at all. We disapprove of state education. Then the socialists say that we are opposed to any education. We object to a state religion. Then the socialists say that we want no religion at all. We object to a state-enforced equality. Then they say that we are against equality. And so on, and so on. It is as if the socialists were to accuse us of not wanting persons to eat because we do not want the state to raise grain.”

-- Frederic Bastiat

Do you think happiness should come naturally or should someone try and force themselves to be happy?

Forcing happiness is not true happiness. Happiness isn’t that difficult. Removing the drama, debt, negativity, and the idea that money can buy happiness is what prevents happiness, and this is tough to do. Happiness, for all the drama we put to it, is simply making the conscious choice to be happy always and in all things, regardless of your financial circumstances. Life is what it is, and bemoaning the bad choices we make won’t change it. Better to just be happy and recognize the issues in life as opportunities to learn how to make better choices.

What is a fresh take on setting New Year’s resolutions?

Resolve to continue doing those things that are already working.

Why is getting some money fun, but having infinite money feels boring?

Because the ability to purchase everything doesn’t bring true happiness, true love, true friendships, and the like.

"Wealth is not about having a lot of money. It's about having a lot of options."

-- Chris Rock

How do we know which direction we need to go in life when the future is so uncertain?

You don’t, not really, because the future is not only “so uncertain” but isn’t even written, either. Life is a crapshoot, and the best we can do is make good choices and decisions that will help to steer life where we hope it will go. Best to just enjoy the journey and not dwell too much on the destination. If we continue to work toward it, we will get there in due time if it is our destiny.

What do I do in other to be meaningful in life despite the economy and beliefs of the world?

Give of yourself, but, be always selfless in your choices, decisions, and actions you take.

When have you seen an example of an immoral thing done that was based on good intent?

Sado-masochistic role-playing, with the obligatory “dominant” and “submissive” partners. Fun, okay, but immoral on a few levels. But, the participants really don’t care. Just saying.

“How delightful are the pleasures of the imagination! In those delectable moments, the whole world is ours; not a single creature resists us, we devastate the world, we repopulate it with new objects which, in turn, we immolate. The means to every crime is ours, and we employ them all, we multiply the horror a hundredfold.”

-- Donatien Alphonse François

Have you given up on happiness?

Never! I constantly strive for happiness always and in all things! The alternative is simply unacceptable, which is a pleasant way of saying it simply sucks.

Which philosophies are the most significant to elders?

Happy philosophies. I might not be able to step into the same river twice, but the one I’m standing in sure feels good on my toes, whether I’m the same man or not.

Does it really matter how you begin?

Well, it is usually better to begin at the beginning.  Just saying.

“Begin at the beginning," the King said, very gravely," and go on till you come to the end: then stop.”

-- Lewis Carroll

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.

Feel free to contact Pastor Tony:  tolerantpastor@gmail.com