The Storyteller, the Observers and the Protagonist as the Source of All Conflict

Without evil to battle, good cannot righteously overcome it. In a vacuum, what is the virtue of goodness? It is only the contrast between darkness and light that gives light its loveliness. Every game that we use to challenge us, every story we read to pass the time is littered with conflict, and these are the things we supposedly create to escape the brutality of the real world. If our enjoyable escapes are inherently violent, what does that say about us? The human mind is constitutionally incapable of enduring a world of peace. We can face violent and unimaginably painful hells head on and "tis but a scratch," but leave us isolated in a state of inaction and it drives us to madness. What if the Greek concept of Nemesis is no accident? What if heroes induce their demons into existence so they have something to overcome?

Well, this is another apparently contradictory dichotomy most likely leading to a false dilemma. Where is the middle road? It would be nice to have a simple logic analyzer that printed back true or false to any given statement and was without error. I'd figure out real quick the nature of reality if I possessed such a mechanism.

a reply to: Nechash

What makes you think that you do not?

You can do anything.


Funny when you think about it.

a reply to: Nechash

Ever see the movie "Time Bandits"?

At the end the 'thieves' ask God why evil has to exist, and this being a comically written 'God', he just mumbles along the lines of - 'oh, something to do with free will or such, I suppose"

So I'm watching this movie with my daughter who was about 8 yrs. old at the time, and as the credits role, I ask her why does she think evil has to exist?

She thought for a moment and then replied, "How else could there ever be any heroes, if there weren't any bad guys?"

Out of "the mouths of babes" can come some of life's greatest truths...

But here's the thing - (at least as far as I can see it) Our 'experience' of living, of having free will, choosing to be villains or heroes or everyday average folk 'needs' a balance of good and evil...

....and somehow, a long long time ago, the balance was thrown off and evil has multiplied exponentially, beyond the scope of 'vanquishing' by any hero (or any 'earthly' one at any rate).

Actually, I'm not even so sure that I would categorize the situation as a 'multiplication' of evil - it seems more like...something 'other' than evil was added to the 'mix'...

...I think when 'it' all started, there was good and there was evil, but now, there's also 'insanity', because when you really look (really look) through history, you can see not only an increase in evil, but a sort of 'change' in it as well...

...it's like mankind has been gradually 'taken over' by a whole different 'kind' of evil...there's no rhyme nor reason to it...it's not merely the 'opposite' of good anymore...it's...insane.

And now our 'stories' (our 'experiences of living') are skewed, the balance is off because the 'insanity' (and I don't mean schizophrenia, etc) weighs on the evil side of the scales.

So...our 'stories' are skewed and our world is _______(bad word, rhymes with skewed)

And people like 'us', who post on places like ATS, who really see how ___________ed the world is put all the blame on mankind..."Humans are so evil, look what humans have done to the world", etc, etc - you know what I mean...

But the truth is: We didn't do this to ourselves. Mankind did not choose to become insane (or brainwashed, which amounts to the same thing).

Yes, ultimately decisions made by humans have caused the world's problems, but humans who make insane (life compromising/world dooming) decisions are not sane.

I think 'something' happened, or was done to us, or something, because if you look closely enough, far back enough, you really can see that when it comes to the 'cause' of the world's ultimate devastation...well, here's this funny little phrase that popped into my head the other day -

- It's the insanity, not the humanity that's the problem.

Oh gosh, I'm sorry - I've usurped your thread...uhhmm, I hope you don't mind if I don't delete all that?

a reply to: lostgirl

You are the reason for my thread. You could never possibly usurp it. Thank you. I don't really know in this moment what to think about this, although it definitely speaks to a part of me. This lifetime has been a rollercoaster ride. Just as an individual in this one lifetime, I've had my archetype flipped so many times my head is still almost spinning from that alone, and now I just don't know what to do. I collapsed last night into a slumber that was just draining and I want to sleep forever. I fear the changes my awareness is inducing onto this reality and I cannot stand the thought of more death and suffering, that my need for significance might increase the net ugliness of the world.

originally posted by: Nechash
a reply to: lostgirl
I cannot stand the thought of more death and suffering, that my need for significance might increase the net ugliness of the world.

I totally understand how you feel - I have suffered "Major Depressive Disorder" since my teens as well as having a very realistic view/understanding of the 'state' of the world...

One thing I feel absolutely certain of: Your "need for significance" can in no way "increase the net ugliness"...Quite the contrary, this "need" (as well as your "awareness") indicate caring - something which I believe adds to the net beauty in the world...

Having read a few of your threads, I have an idea of your views on 'Religion' and, for the most part, I agree....

...However, I do believe it is important for a person to develop some sort of 'relationship' to the 'spiritual' side of reality, because it is through our spirits (I truly believe) that we have the best chance of combatting the "ugliness" which is over-taking the world...

...I won't go into my particular 'spirituality', because it is a huge, complicated story, consisting of a long, complicated journey/process, which is quite difficult to fully convey in words - but if you would be interested, I would be willing to attempt giving a general understanding, which would primarily involve explaining what my 'faith' is not...

Please feel free to PM me, if you would like to 'talk' outside of the 'ears' of forum threads...