Questioning Opposites, Misery, Evil, and the "Big Bang"

 

“New Rule: Instead of using their $10 billion atom-smashing Large Hadron Collider to re-create the Big Bang by melting atom parts in temperatures a million times hotter than the sun, scientists should not do that. I'm just sayin' it sounds dangerous. I'm as interested as the next guy in determining the origin of matter, but first couldn't we solve some simple mystery, like why some detector batteries always die at four a.m.?”

-- Bill Maher 

I like two things that are opposite to each other. What should I do?

Dance like there’s no tomorrow!

How can I get better at making every type of life decision?

Be knowledgeable about what decision you have to make. How important is this decision if you get it wrong?

Remember that any decision that needs to be made “right now” is a decision you need to walk away from. Take time to consider the facts, the contract, and your decision. Car dealers press people. “The deal is only good for today.” If they want to make a deal, it will be good tomorrow as well, or don’t take the deal. They tend to bow to a strength of character.

Contracts are always preferable to a handshake and a kiss, especially if you’re the one loaning money to family or friends. And, most importantly, if you aren’t comfortable, for any reason, about making a decision or a choice, don’t do it. Just walk away.

Why, whenever I get on a topic that puts him out there or totally brings out the truth against his lie or lies, he threatens to not buy my green or even as low as to say, who's gonna buy you smokes when you run out…etc…?

Control… and you’re still there, buying into it? Is being controlled really worth the “green” or the smokes?

Is it true that if you haven't made a success of yourself by the age of 32 you're never going to? I'm 46 and just don't see a way out of sub mediocrity which is why I ask so what advice would you give me?

There are plenty of people who don’t even hit their stride until their over 50. What you really need to do is choose to be truly happy always and in all things regardless of whether you attain a goal or not, or whether you’re wealthy or not.

Wrap your mind around the fact that true happiness is the only true success. Once you’ve accomplished this, then you can go out and work on everything else, but you’ll do it as a happy person, whether you succeed or not.

Is telling someone what to dream about considered bossy?

Ya think?

“As far as I can tell, kids are called bossy when they behave in a dictatorial and domineering fashion. They’re called bossy when they try to order people around and refuse to listen to authority figures. Here’s a suggestion: instead of telling us not to refer to them as bossy, why don’t we teach them not to be bossy? We concentrate so much on eradicating negative words while forgetting to address the behavior that the words describe.”

-- Matt Walsh

Does it bother you when mean people feel miserable?

Yes, but unless they seriously want help, bringing them up out of misery becomes an exercise in futility. They’re the drowning person fighting you while you’re trying to save them, and you ultimately find that you’re both drowning.

Does it bother you when miserable people say "Shut up", "Shut the hell up" or "Shut the f#%k up" for different reasons?

I try not to listen to “miserable people” as it seems their only goal is to bring you down into their personal pit of misery. Answering questions from them is just an exercise in futility. They ask, but they really don’t want to hear. The question is simply bait for an argument concerning how miserable they are.

They are part of a “perpetually” negative sub-culture of society, the perpetually miserable, perpetually offended, and perpetually angry. It doesn’t matter what you do, or what you say, because they are perpetually what they are. I would feel sorry for them, but that would feed their misery, offend them, or make them angrier. It just gets tiring.

Is feeling lost or directionless actually a sign that you’re gaining self-awareness of your life?

No, it’s a sign that you’re lost and directionless. Self-awareness, on the other hand, means you’re on track to finding your path.

Take a moment to alleviate the stress, think about your situation, and ask the very important questions of “why” and “who” you are. I think that being lost and directionless is a result of why and who you really are, running up against what you think you are. If you can’t separate all three, confusion sets in.

My wife would joke about her battery-operated boyfriend. Then I discovered she has a drawer full of them. Should I be worried? Why wouldn't she want the real thing?

She's joking? Be worried. Ask her what you can do to make things a bit more satisfying. For her, it might be a short distance, a simple choice, between latex and flesh. You might want to make sure your name is on the dance card, husband.

What does the question ''What is a person for?'' mean?

What do you believe in? What do you stand for? Are you for patriotism, socialism, capitalism, atheism, theism, racism, equality, peace, war, ethics, freedom, yadda, yadda, yadda?

“Until he extends the circle of his compassion to all living things, man will not himself find peace.”

-- Albert Schweitzer

If gender expression can be anything you feel yourself to be, can it also apply to age expression such that you can be any age you want to be?

Absolutely! I’m a man approaching 70 years of age, but I tell the ladies I’m 55 because that’s what I feel I am. Who cares if it’s the truth or not?

When in life have you noticed that doing something you thought would be beneficial and the best for you turned out to be the exact opposite? Or vice versa?

Oh, we’re back to my 25-year failed marriage, again. I was the only person who didn’t realize it was dead on arrival, so I kept giving it mouth to mouth for the next 25 years. I kept trying to revive it and she just wanted it to die.

What does a woman think about when she is having sex with a man?

The ceiling paint is the wrong color. 

Do you still love your ex after many years?

Indeed. She is the mother of my children. After 20 years, I never stopped loving her.  Even though she left me, we just can’t be together.

Why is gratitude a crucial part of happiness?

Happiness is being grateful for everything. It is a choice to be grateful for life, each and every morning, giving thanks for the gift of another day in paradise and another chance to excel in this life. It is being grateful to be able to see, hear, feel, think, and love. I can’t imagine how I can be happy without being grateful for it.

“True happiness is to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future, not to amuse ourselves with either hopes or fears but to rest satisfied with what we have, which is sufficient, for he that is so wants nothing. The greatest blessings of mankind are within us and within our reach. A wise man is content with his lot, whatever it may be, without wishing for what he has not.”

-- Seneca

Would you be a nice guy to please a woman?

I’m always a “nice guy” so I really don’t have to worry about it. Along with being very humble, I’m also Mr. Wonderful, so, if she doesn’t like me that would be a problem she has to work out.

Can a universe start from nothing?

No. There has to be something, no matter how infinitesimal. To assume otherwise is to deny reality. Perhaps some deists might say yes, without taking into consideration the presence of their “Creator” who brought into nothing, something.

Reader #1 comment:  Sorry Tony, but there is absolutely NO evidence of anything until a fraction of a second before the Big Bang.

My reply:  Spoken like a man who was actually there, but, then, neither was I.

Reader #1 reply:  I’ve never claimed that there was nothing, only that there  is no evidence. 

My response:  There’s the clarification. Thank you. And, by the way, thank you for stating there was something there "a fraction of a second before the Big Bang" for us.  Again, there has to be something, if only a fraction of a second before.  

Reader #2 comment:  There is also precisely zero evidence that “nothing” has ever been a state of affairs in objective reality. 

What determines day vs. night for you?

The sun. 

Why is it that when everything is going well, I immediately want to leave?

It is a human survival instinct to leave while you’re on top. Retire while you’re a winner… before someone takes you down a couple of notches.

If money is said to be the root of all evil, then what does it say about a capitalist society?

It means that if something is "evil" you can probably trace it back to greed. Not everyone in society is greedy or evil. We have the rule of law to keep us on the straight and narrow path. Most of us are just trying to get along, and we do so with good ethics and morals. Don’t read too much into the quote.

“Neither money or the state are the 'root of all evil', as both are human constructs. The 'root' of all human constructs are, well, humans, the only real source of evil.”

-- A.E. Samaan

Are there people out there that are incapable or have little desire to have sex because they are extremely logic-minded?

Everyone finds an excuse. That one works as well as any. How about just admitting you don’t feel like dipping the banana? Does there have to be some excuse?

Why do some people just treat retail workers like shit?

Lack of respect. Everybody deserves respect. Retail workers, wait staff, bartenders, cleaning staff at hotels, bartenders (they deserve to be mentioned twice), and other “services” personnel. I’m not, but it just pisses me off when people show a lack of respect.

I always preface my comments with, “I know this probably isn’t your fault, but could you point me to someone that can make it right?” I’m almost never disappointed when they actually try to make it right for me, on the spot. Respect isn’t a bad thing, it tends to open doors. 

How do you decide what to keep private at work?

Everything that’s private. My private life is nobody’s business, that’s why it’s called “private.”

Why the more I try to purify myself, to become a good, positive, strong, happy, honest, and lovely person, the more I get hurt by negative, toxic-minded, people and become bad again?  Why?

It is a test to see if you have really become a good, positive, strong, happy, honest, lovely, person. You keep failing. Next time, really become one and ignore the toxic-minded folks who think they know who you really are. They don’t need to be right.

“Remember: life is a test, so there will always be problems to work through. Lots and lots of challenging story problems.”

-- Richelle E. Goodrich

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