Questioning Happiness, Atheists, Suffering, Victims, Good, and Goals

 

"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall."

-- Confucius

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What’s one habit or mindset shift that has had the biggest impact on your happiness?

I always strive to be truly happy in all things, regardless of my circumstances. It is a choice I have made for my life. I work to leave the drama behind me.

Will being happy make me look stupid?

Probably, but you’ll be happy, so… who cares?

Do you live in a fantasy to escape reality?

Nope. I live in reality. The only way to escape this reality is to die, but that brings up a whole different reality and a whole different life. It is better to live this life out before you tip-toe into another reality.

Do you think by playing it safe in life, we are acting in a logical and rational manner?

Yes. But, taking a risk is not logical or rational. It can be exciting, though, if you risk your safety.

Why does it feel like the universe is messing with my life?

It probably is. Life is funny that way. One way to stay one step ahead of the universe is to, well, stay one step ahead. Look to the future and sidestep the universe messing with your life. Plan your life a bit better than you have been. 

Do things hoped for have substance?

If you hope for the love you feel toward another person, that love has “emotional” substance. You can feel it. If you don’t feel it, then it isn’t real.

"We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope"

-- Martin Luther King Jr.

In the game of life, are atheists spiritual losers?

They don’t think “spiritual” has anything to do with a God that they don’t believe in. “Spiritual” has much to do with the realm, not with any God.

What helps you get through hardship?

Recognizing it is just drama.

How do I learn to be happy in life?

Understanding that life is all about learning. I strive to be truly happy in life, because I understand its purpose, regardless of my circumstances. I learn... and everything else in life supports this "prime directive" to learn.

What’s the biggest misconception people have about life?

To live it. They miss the point that living is all about learning. They go on about living, without focusing on learning the lessons that life sets before them.

Why am I here? Who am I actually? Where will I go once my time is up? What is life?

You are here because you are the product of two people having sex. You are what you want to be. When your time is up you will die and travel to another realm. Life is all about learning, and what you learn you take with you, through the many lives you will live. In the end, you will be all you have learned to be.

If a person were to live inside your brain in your limbic system (the emotional seat of your brain), what would they learn and discover about you?

All of my emotional secrets.

“The limbic system is essentially devoted to moving us rapidly toward or away from things in life that are relevant to our survival.”

-- Daniel A. Hughes

Why is there suffering in the world if God wants us to be happy and content?

Have you learned anything from suffering? It will teach you how to be, really and truly, happy and content.

What are the potential negative consequences of living forever, even if someone desires it?

Paraplegia is paralysis of the legs. Quadriplegia is paralysis of the legs and arms. If you are inflicted with these, living forever would become a real hell on earth. Living forever is great if you can heal yourself. If you can’t… 

Who or what caused you to discover creative ideas that improve your life?

My parents, my friends and associates, and my schooling. 

Are sharing emotions and being friendly signs of immaturity? Why am I unappreciated for having such traits?

You are hanging around with the wrong people. Perhaps, you should find those people who can appreciate your traits. I see no reason why you should continue to grow alone. 

Do you think human beings exist to destroy one another?

No. They haven’t learned enough to stop.

How do women feel about being hated by men in real life?

Where does this come from? I don’t hate women. I love the heck out of women. And let’s not go to sex. Oh… my… God! As a teacher or a student, sex, and love, are the two most important things in a loving relationship. Hate women? Be real.

"This is what sexual liberation chiefly accomplishes—it liberates young women to pursue married men."

-- George Gilder

What does “At least we’re not going around thinking everything involves us and try to make ourselves the victims” mean?

They don’t think they are victims, and they don’t think everything involves them. This seems like something a person who dislikes “drama” in life, would say. Hell, I would say it.

Why do people often sabotage their own happiness?

They are ignorant. Who sabotages their happiness?

Some truths are easily changeable, and others are very difficult to change or are not changeable. The only ones we can rely on are the ones that are difficult to change. How much emphasis should be placed on cultural beliefs?

The “truth” and “cultural beliefs” can be worlds apart. The “truth” is not changeable, unless it is proved not to be true. The only truths you can rely on are the ones that have been proven to be true. If “cultural beliefs” have been proven to be true, much emphasis should be placed on them. If they are "stories" passed down from generation to generation, well… “facts” get blown out of proportion the more color the storyteller adds.

Reader comment:  Would it be true to say that any truth is a belief? You have to believe in something to establish the truth. For example, the “Flat Earth Believers”. For them, the truth is the world is flat. For the rest of us, we know that it is not true. So, in these cases truth is subjective. Is truth ever objective?

My reply:  Or, it isn’t really true. What a scientist tells us is "true" may not be, next year.

Reader reply: With that argument, it would be difficult to say anything is absolutely true. Our perceptions of reality are what establish truth for us.

My reply: Indeed. 

How do I love to be?

I would think, you would like to be lovable. Try that.

What does “How you gonna call us out for being hardheaded when you’re hardheaded yourself” mean?

Whoever said this is not thinking. A “hardheaded” person knows a hardheaded person when they hear one. If I hear a hardheaded person call someone else hardheaded, I’d be looking to the person they called "hardheaded" for a reasonable retort.

What are the bad things you will leave behind going into 2025?

Negative attitudes. There is too much drama involved in them.

“Whoever is able to anger you is able to control you.”

-- Lamine Pearlheart

How do I stop being good?

Start being bad. Whatever you do to be good, stop doing it. However, the quality of your life might suffer. Police might get involved, depending on how bad you are. Being good is the best we can be, so be the best.

What could real greatness look like?

If you are truly happy with life, regardless of your circumstances. There is nothing greater.

What are some tips to be a lame worker who does the bare minimum at my dead-end retail job? I’m naturally a very hard worker and enjoy working, but it’s just stressing me out and it's thankless.

Becoming a “lame worker” will follow you. You won’t want to do this. Find a better job, you will like, and then leave the old job.

Is truth infinite?

Truth is what it is until it isn’t, and then it becomes the truth again.

This world is temptation and the universe. Are we in the afterlife already?

We are always in flux with our afterlife. We lived before, and now we live again. We will die and be reborn into a new life, and this continues until we determine we have had enough, or we reach nirvana.

Is my mind going crazy and entering a whole new dimension?

No, you aren’t going crazy, you have finally recognized the dimension you are in. It seems new to you, but you’ve been in it for a while.

“Don’t try to make them happy, you’ll only get in trouble. Don’t try to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and it irritates the pig.”

-- Anthony de Mello

Why might your goals not be achieved because you told people about them?

Achieving your goals is up to you. Telling people about them might make achieving them harder, but not unachievable. Achieving your goals is up to you.

At what age is the mind the most creative?

I started to be creative at 12 years of age. I continued to be creative throughout my Intelligence career. If I had nothing to work on I painted canvas or carved wood. I slowed down when I reached 65. It is hard to put an age to the most creative part of my life. Here I am, at 71 years of age, creating answers for people who want to know things. When do we take a break? Probably when we die, but many of us will be reborn. The cycle will continue.

I’m very tired of being around other people and existing, is there any way to speed up life?

No. This is a lesson you must learn to deal with.

Do you believe in happy endings after a long period of suffering?

Suffering is a learning period. You either learn to get better, or you learn to live with the malady, or you learn that you need to die. One would hope, that after a long period of suffering, you would enjoy a period of happiness. The need for death should be followed by rebirth… since the lesson has been learned.

Life is easy if you make it simple, but why do so many people make it complicated?

They are learning. If they are making your life difficult, it is your choice to deal with it or move on.

Where would you be if you hadn’t followed your dream?

I would be someone else. My dreams changed, as I lived my life. An opportunity arose and I chose to take it. My life as a psychologist was interrupted by the draft for Vietnam. I decided to join the Air Force. 23 years later, I retired from a fulfilled life… I thought. I had another fulfilled life with a civilian corporation. Psychology was a dream not fulfilled, and I have no regrets. My life changed by my choice. Nobody made decisions for me. I look back at my life and I am fulfilled. I have learned so much and, at 71 years of age, I have much left to learn.

“I have not always chosen the safest path. I've made my mistakes, plenty of them. I sometimes jump too soon and fail to appreciate the consequences. But I've learned something important along the way: I've learned to heed the call of my heart. I've learned that the safest path is not always the best path, and I've learned that the voice of fear is not always to be trusted.”

-- Steve Goodier

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 view any more right or wrong than the other. Opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form their own opinions, 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.

I fervently hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions while engaging in peaceful and constructive discussion in an arena of mutual respect concerning those opinions offered. After twenty-three years of military intelligence, I believe that engaging each other in this manner, and in this arena, is a 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 United States Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, instructor, and senior manager. Following his service career, he spent 17 years working with the premier and world-renowned Western Institutional Review Board, helping to protect the rights of human subjects involved in pharmaceutical research. He also served 8 years on the Board of Directors for the Angela J. Bowen Foundation.

Ordained in 2013 as an "interfaith" minister, he founded the Congregation for Religious Tolerance in response to intolerance shown by Christians toward peaceful Islam. As a weapon for his war on intolerance, he chose the pen. He 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 personal, spiritual path toward peace and the final destination for us all. He resides in Pass Christian, Mississippi, where he volunteered as the lead chaplain at a regional medical center.

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