Reflections on time spent

As I sit here and pander what the future may hold, the thought of an upcoming autumn just creeping around the corner, the emotions overwhelm me. For not only does provocative thought about the future hold romanticized views of a hopeful life of happiness but also an inspiring reflection upon your own personal past. This same reflection cannot escape the best of us. All of man must think about his time so far spent and what impact he may have had upon the participants in his past.

Hours upon hours of mine have been dedicated to this site, befriending many, angering a few, and hopefully encouraging others to question their own thoughts, with this I have also learned a lot. Of course this site and its members taught me to question my own thoughts as well, question everything for anything can be a lie. For that, this member is grateful. Along the way I have befriended a few people who I like to think are good people, who have a real sense of person, with all race, religion, ethnicity, nationality, and background aside.

No doubt this site has encouraged me to follow its motto: Deny Ignorance. For that should be the goal of any well informed person. Do not follow blindly, do not be a “sheeple”, do not just accept the official line. I like to think that my time was well spent here, as it opened my eyes to an all new perspective, teaching me that the world is not as it is told. There are secrets kept, stories unknown, and information covered up. Perhaps it is taken a bit too far on occasion by even the brightest of people, but it is usually well intended.

Well, enough time spent with that. It is time for me to actually say what I came here to say. Upon concluding my reflection on the past and thoughts of the future it has led me to only one conclusion: my way spent contributing to ATS basically has to end. It is not that I believe the people here are have become worse or anything like that, I accept it as-is. The fact is I have changed. I find that my ideas really are not at home here anymore and too much time is spent arguing trivial issues. My ideas have changed along with my entire philosophy; it was a well needed change and not one that occurred overnight.

The fact is, there just seems to be a rift between me and the almost everyone else here on ATS. This is the reason as to why I am not fully leaving ATS my focus just is going to change. I will still sign in and read stuff here, visit the chat room occasionally but my time spent actually contributing to ATS in ways other than helping out new members or helping to answer questions will end. It has been a fun ride but every ride has to end.

Please do not interpret this as one of those “I am leaving forever, goodbye” threads because it is not. I really do not believe that once you join ATS there is any real way of leaving it, at least for me. But I would like this to be a thread from which you can also reflect on your time spent here and what you want to do with your future both here on ATS and elsewhere in life.

Edit: Forgot to add a very important part. This 'end of participation' is indefinite and I refuse to burn any bridge. If I believe ATS is somewhere that I once again can participate then yes, I will begin posting again. That time, unfortunately, just does not seem to be in the near future.

And I leave you with this, a beautiful poem from the late T.S. Eliot:

O perpetual revolution of configured stars,
O perpetual recurrence of determined seasons,
O world of spring and autumn, birth and dying!
The endless cycle of idea and action,
Endless invention, endless experiment,
Brings knowledge of motion, but not of stillness;
Knowledge of speech, but not of silence;
Knowledge of words, and ignorance of The Word.
All our knowledge brings us nearer to our ignorance,
All our ignorance brings us nearer to death,
But nearness to death no nearer to God.
Where is the Life we have lost in living?
Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?
Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?
The cycles of Heaven in twenty centuries
Brings us farther from God and nearer to the Dust.

reply to post by Misoir


It's not you, its me. Oh this is the easiest way to break it off isn't it. Good luck with your future endeavours.

reply to post by Misoir


Take flight Misoir.
You were starting to pander.

As I sit here and pander

Farewell.

reply to post by Misoir


That's a shame Mis and I'm sorry you feel this way, good to hear you'll still be knocking around in the shadows, take it easy man

Wise decision.

Ainsi passe la vie, de l’un à l’autre va
Se fait et se défait, s’invente, se prolonge
S’endort dans des maisons que bâtissent les songes
Se rêve et s’éveillant ne se reconnaît pas

Ainsi passe la vie. Quand le soleil va naître
Il partage déjà ses hautes graminées
Ses nuages, ses fleurs, ses défuntes années
Son devenir de feux passant dans nos fenêtres

Ainsi passe la vie. On entend des bourdons
Tracer dans la lumière un sillage illusoire
Pour lui seul le poète écoute ses histoires
Et plonge au cœur des fleurs pour apprendre leur nom

Ainsi passe la vie à surprendre un langage
Inaudible et pourtant comme l’herbe vivant
De l’éternel azur qui n’est fait que de vents
De silence, d’attente, et d’autres paysages

Pierre Seghers

You are an interesting mind and an original thinker.

Your contributions will be missed.