Originally posted by hhcore
Very nice read RT. If more people thought as the OP and the other respondents in this thread, that would be such a big step in the right direction. Unfortunately, there is a large part of society looking to the skies or to 'God' waiting for an intervention. But it truly does start with you and with me. With 'us'. Living life eeking out a living to have the most stuff... can't be what it's all about.

HH thanks for the response.

What I see is many people running around trying to plan for future happiness by saving or making tons of money. Now while there is nothing wrong with abundance, our current MO's here on this planet is clearly not working.

It's the old adage about the man who climbed the corporate ladder, only to find out there was nothing at the top. And all the while he miss living his life and loving those around him.

It does start with you and me, but people are not living in the "now" and enjoy it, it appears we have conditioned ourselves to plan for happiness later on. Kind of like, happiness procrastination.

I sure would love to see people change and put happiness before anything else, but materialism, vanity, pride and our ego's keep getting in the way.

We only need look at Slayer69's current thread about "Earth's Human Infestation" to realize we are slowing killing ourselves and need to change our way of lifestyle completely because the current MO isn't working.

Now how do we resolve our issues of living the way we do?

Originally posted by Realtruth

Originally posted by hhcore
Very nice read RT. If more people thought as the OP and the other respondents in this thread, that would be such a big step in the right direction. Unfortunately, there is a large part of society looking to the skies or to 'God' waiting for an intervention. But it truly does start with you and with me. With 'us'. Living life eeking out a living to have the most stuff... can't be what it's all about.

Now how do we resolve our issues of living the way we do?

Very good question. The answer eludes at best. It can be hard to ignore the status quot for the majority of people. Even ones that want change. I will check Slayers thread.

Thank you so much for the story i enjoyed alot...There needs to be more love and compassion in this world

Originally posted by Realtruth

Now how do we resolve our issues of living the way we do?

Perhaps a re-definition of "self?" Not so mired in the confusion of ones very limited body and perception being the totality of "all that is." These bodies have a limited time with which to do anything, so every moment passed without mindful, conscious "movement" could be seen as time wasted. What to do with each continuous moment, then? What constant, mindful, conscious state will "i" base this ones life, actions, and very breath and heartbeat on?

This one can not think of a better decision than to be in a radiant state of Love, omni-directionally. Then i go from there. As a very (very) small part of even the known universe, it was amazing how big i, personally, made the issues on this speck of sand. Even focusing on them. i feel it will take a revolution, of sorts, a truly different way of life, where ones "sing" along with the rest of the universe, or "this."

In the end, from the general "human" perspective, do we notice when a grain of sand gets washed into the ocean? i saw that my own problems were rather miniscule when even compared to the scale of the grain of sand we are on. So, how then, would this one live, if it were washed into the ocean? No more human history, artifacts, culture. No evidence of human existence at all. Where, at that point, are the problems i have clung to? That was when this one made the decision to live from the heart. Not in a position where i would choose what to love, and what not to love. It was humbling to think that everything i had held so dear, everything we all hold so dear, could be gone in an instant with no evidence to the rest of the universe of our existence here. At that point, i had to make some decisions on how i truly wanted to live this life, and what perception i wanted to build off of.

That is how this one came to where i am at, and it seems so long ago.. But even this ones birth was less than a fraction of the blink of an eye from every other perspective except our own, on this grain of sand, on the shore of an ocean beyond our comprehension.

RT awesome thread. It is hard for me to put into words how this thread makes me feel. Cat's in the Cradle is one of my favorite songs and it is and was always in the back of my mind while raising my son. I wanted to make sure I was there for the good and the bad. I did not want to see him grow-up in a life that I was not a part of. I never wanted to hear the words of this song told to me by my son.

My parents raised 9 children. There were certain rules that were cast in stone so to speak, quite simple rules actually.

1. We could not hit each other, ever.
2. We all had to be at the dinner table when dinner was served, period. It did not matter what you were doing or where you were at, you knew you had to be home for dinner unless you asked for permission to be elsewhere.
3. If one of my siblings or I played a sport, we went to the game to root them on. I remember going to watch my sister, she did not play a sport but was a cheerleader, we went for her. In other words, we were there for each other.

These little rules may not seem like allot, but they are if you think about it. Dinner was one of the best times of the day, you got to hear what everyone was up to or to just laugh. Not many families sit down for dinner these days, sad actually as I think about it. What they are missing.

Everyone is off doing their own thing and there is no family time. You cannot have love in a world where there is no love in the family.

I just know that what we have here and now is precious, yesterday cannot be relived and there is no guarantee of tomorrow. Like the one post in the thread has, "Where is the Love" great song by Black Eye Peas, it sums it up pretty good.

I may have gone off topic here with my ramblings, if I did, I apologize in advance.

Originally posted by IrishLass

You cannot have love in a world where there is no love in the family.

Lass thanks so much for your input, and personal touch in the response. I think this line from you here sums everything up very well. Excellent quote and words to live by.

If your response is rambling, then more of us should be so wise in our rambles.

Excellent thoughts. Thank you.

Originally posted by sinohptik


This one can not think of a better decision than to be in a radiant state of Love, omni-directionally.

Thanks for the well thought out input.

I would have to say that radiating Love is key, I think the issue stands many people have forgotten what that state of being is, hence the disconnect.

Its disheartening to believe that many, many people still think to be happy they must accumulate "things." Big houses, new cars, trucks, clothes, shoes, trinkets made in China, etc. Letting go of that thought process is so freeing and such a big relief. When I quit worrying about money and bills, really truly stopped dwelling on it, my life became better and less stressful. Oddly enough, my money problems stopped as well. It's like a sickness; never feeling like you measure up to those that hold material success so high in value, especially when it's family members and loved ones that judge you on that. I feel sad for people who place their self-worth on how much money they make and the things they have. I have friends that have nothing and are always broke and miserable because they can't stop believing in the illusion. Time to wake up. Thank you for the gentle reminder of of this.

Originally posted by sinohptik

Out of curiosity, what does the term "[WRAP]" mean?

This term was coined by our very own Super ATS Mod "Masqua" and it stands for "What Really Amps People"

Hence, the story that came quickly to mind for my topic.

Originally posted by queenofsheba
When I quit worrying about money and bills, really truly stopped dwelling on it, my life became better and less stressful. Oddly enough, my money problems stopped as well. It's like a sickness; never feeling like you measure up to those that hold material success so high in value, especially when it's family members and loved ones that judge you on that.

Wow! I'm sorry I didn't reply to you sooner. Anyhow, I have to agree with you just letting go of the worry and focus on the positive things, but when many people's lives are conditioned to worry, worry, worry, the transition can be challenging.

How did you go about your process of just stopping the worrying?

I agree. Society is kind of falling apart these days.

Originally posted by TheDark
I agree. Society is kind of falling apart these days.

It may be, but there is good too.

If we start to focus on the good, and actually give ourselves time enjoy life and family, I believe life could be a much better place.

We are so conditioned to work and perform, but for what? at the end of an entire life we have worked and slept most of it away, instead of having the time to be creative and loving.

It appears priorities are not in order for a sustainable and peaceful future currently.

Wow, I love your threads RT. I really got no words to describe how beautiful the thread is. And thanks for that song too.

From our early days, we are told to study hard and get good grades so that we can get a good job. A good job so that we can get good money. Good money so that we can buy everything we have craved for. A child has so many materialistic attractions which forces him to study hard and gives him a goal. Almost all of the people the child meets during his education tell him to study for that job and money and not for learning. There are competitions and contests where we get merits, certificates, medals, trophies and we are told that these will help in making the CV more attractive and will help in getting job. So then how can people expect these kids to show love and sympathy for his fellow beings when he was taught to run behind money for all his life.

I gotta keep my faith alive, until love is found.