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Mike_2003
Joined: 27 Mar 2003
Posts: 344
Location: Bucharest, Romania
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 Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2004 1:42 pm Post subject: |
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Hi Mark-O,
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| However, the very nature of the human being is to further its understanding. Naturally, that would include questioning the circumstances in which it exists. |
That's what I've done, but I've always questioned what needs to be questioned. Perhaps part of that is accepting that our existence is a given and rather than questioning "why" we should first concentrate on "how". If we don't fully understand how to exist then how can we even expect to reach any kind of conclusion as to why we exist?
sidjameson: Can you iron? 
Mike |
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Mark-O
Joined: 25 Jun 2003
Posts: 464
Location: 6000 miles from where I should be
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| Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2004 1:55 pm Post subject: |
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Hi again Mike,
Very good point and once again, I agree fully with you. Sadly though, I'm not sure that humans are going to give themselves the chance to find out 'how'. It appears that the human intelligence is the very downfall of its own existence, otherwise why would we have thought of the atomic bomb?! Needless to say, there are other civilisations out there who might be less destructive and more capable of pondering the 'whys' and hows'! But that's a whole different topic!
Last edited by Mark-O on Tue Mar 30, 2004 3:36 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Mike_2003
Joined: 27 Mar 2003
Posts: 344
Location: Bucharest, Romania
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| Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2004 2:02 pm Post subject: |
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If there is life on another planet, life more advanced than ours, they are most probably putting all their energy into getting the hell away from Earth before we start to get too clever with space travel. If they are even smarter, they might be thinking of ways of ensuring humanity destroys itself before spreading too far. Anyone know where the concepts of religion and politics really came from?
Mike |
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dmb
Joined: 12 Feb 2003
Posts: 8397
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| Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2004 3:48 pm Post subject: |
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| Leeroy, do you now see the evils of drinking and posting? See what you've started. |
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Sara Avalon
Joined: 25 Feb 2004
Posts: 254
Location: On the Prowl
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| Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2004 8:30 pm Post subject: |
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| Lanza-Armonia wrote: |
| Sorry Sara......he's going out tomorrow with me. Fancy a threesome? |
2 guys, 1 girl? No way! Now if it was with Denise and Shaman..  |
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James_T_Kirk
Joined: 20 Sep 2003
Posts: 357
Location: Ten Forward
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| Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2004 12:19 am Post subject: |
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| The only people I've seen who really seem genuinely happy, regardless of location and financial status, are those with a great relationship. It might not be the meaning of life, who's to say there is a meaning, but the key to getting through it all is having a good partner. That's my opinion anyway. |
Gee Mike, if I didn't know any better, I would think you were a movie producer in Hollywood! The belief that the only way to truly be happy is to be in a great relationship sometimes gets people in trouble. Frankly, the meaning of life, and the key to happiness, is different for everybody. I know several people that are genuinely happy for the first time in their lives because they got out of unhealthy relationships. These are people that should have never been with anyone in the first place based on their personalities, but they succumbed to the pressures of society. Not that you are wrong however, I just think it can go both ways. In general, you definitely have to have relationships in your life to be happy; some people have a great one with one individual partner, and others have great relationships with several individuals (family, friends, etc). |
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johnslat
Joined: 21 Jan 2003
Posts: 13859
Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
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| Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2004 1:16 am Post subject: Huh? |
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Dear James_T_Kirk,
I'm a bit puzzled - you seem to have pretty much ignored the qualifiers in Mike's message:
"a great relationship"
"a good partner"
You wrote about " . . . people that are genuinely happy for the first time in their lives because they got out of unhealthy relationships."
Sure, that can and does happen. But it doesn't seem to me that Mike was talking about "unhealthy relationships".
Regards,
John |
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James_T_Kirk
Joined: 20 Sep 2003
Posts: 357
Location: Ten Forward
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| Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2004 4:35 am Post subject: |
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Dear James_T_Kirk,
I'm a bit puzzled - you seem to have pretty much ignored the qualifiers in Mike's message:
"a great relationship"
"a good partner"
You wrote about " . . . people that are genuinely happy for the first time in their lives because they got out of unhealthy relationships."
Sure, that can and does happen. But it doesn't seem to me that Mike was talking about "unhealthy relationships".
Regards,
John |
Hi John,
I realize that Mike and I are talking about two different things; the intent of my post was to present the other side of the story. Perhaps I did a poor job of expressing myself. Let me put it another way: for some individuals, I believe it is impossible for them to have a "great relationship" with a "good partner". However, much of the mass media and society send the message that people need to be in a relationship to be happy (and by relationship, I mean in the context of having a partner or significant other). Thus, these individuals, feeling pressure from external forces, end up settling for something less than a great relationship. Too many people grab onto somebody because they feel they have to do so to be happy, which, in my view, is silly. That's all I am saying. Just my opinion. I am probably in the minority here, but what else is new? 
Cheers,
Kirk |
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Mike_2003
Joined: 27 Mar 2003
Posts: 344
Location: Bucharest, Romania
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| Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2004 6:26 am Post subject: |
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What James_T is saying is absolutely correct. Society does frequently push us into having some sort of relationship and this can lead to us picking unsuitable partners. There are times in everyone's life when they are not prepared for a relationship, need a little "time out" to gather their thoughts without external pressure or simple to reassess what's gone wrong in the past and what better choices they can make in the future.
However, there is nothing sadder than someone coming to the conclusion that a relationship is impossible or undesirable due to negative experiences in the past, or perhaps because their own aims or demands are unreasonable. (Granted, there are some - psychos, kiddy-fiddlers, rapists, etc - who should NEVER be allowed close to other humans).
Mike |
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