I am looking for a job now, and while at it, I really have nothing better to do but to occupy my mind with thoughts to partially while away my rather meaningless boredom. Such thoughts, inclusive of previous ones, would not have been so possibly conceived if I was still busy schooling. Possible also in the due course that I share them with a few friends like the great vampire rock star emer, ed, jo, dim di, alfe etc... Its a wonder that as you contemplate and discuss your views with others, the conversation might well churn out new ideas or perspectives.
As such, here is a follow-up to the previous post about emotion handling (my way). Yes... about my self-perceived ill effects of the media and popular culture on consumers, I said that these forms of 'standardization' in general influences a viewer subtly so that s/he may least expect it (refer to earlier post/s).
I forgot to mention that, while the common images/lifestyles we consume everyday may encourage us to think in the way they suggest, the other possible negative effect of it is that... okey, sorry to say, not that I am against or at war with lovey dovey stuffs... but that too much of these lovey-doveyness also inadvertently eliminates or de-emphasises the value of the state of being single. After all, we were born single, not... 'connected' (in that lovey-dovey sense, i mean). Do not mistake me, I am not attacking couplehood and I also understand our natural human needs (laugh, if only to direct it at yourself) - I wish all my attached friends all the lovey-doveyness I can ever wish of course.
But I'm only simply attempting to reinstate this lost value to the state of singularity/singleness/loneliness. Contemplate this, especially those who believe in the 'naturally occurring miserable state' of loneliness and who suffer its effects. Your desires to get attached may have been greatly intensified by such... if you tire of the word 'conformity', maybe you could simply call it... 'external invisible pressure'.
One possible way of seeing this pressure to couple up is that it is an anti-thesis to the affirmation of life. Meaning: by increasing the value of coupling up, this 'pressure'... this 'conformity' automatically lowers the value of being single, such that the individual who believes in the existence of such pressure-induced misery comes to see less value in him/herself. So maybe this is a partial reason why some of us lament about being "unwanted", "useless", "ugly" (plus other life-denying terms).
Yes... I make use of my reasoning to speak for these commonly-perceived 'poor and lonely' souls. I also speak of these things for myself, thanks to my most wonderful ex who imparted this valuable gift of deeper reasoning to me, not necessarily that she owned it in the first place. I must say, I'm not trying to console myself for my current state of singleness (puh-leeze... refrain from any jeering), nor am I saying this out of contempt of couples. No. If I was, I must be having certain depressive feelings consuming me now. Alas, my mind is very clear, I am in a neutral state and my concern is only to construct some well-structured reason/excuse to attack this external invisible pressure, this... conformity, ultimately for my twisted pleasure. So, instead of the usual and simplistic the-grass-is-greener-on-the-other-side words of consolation, maybe my 'warped' reasoning can help? Harhar.
Anyway, no harm done, it's my own reasoning, my own view... Just try to make your life meaningful whether or not you are attached, for those who are feeling miserable. Otherwise, I hope this has at least provided entertainment to the rest of you.
Read on or read not at all.
If anyone is to understand what mostly forms the basis of my beliefs and worldview, below are selected portions of text I've directly quoted from the following website (for the full text, which I have yet to fully understand because i'm not that smart, visit the site or just look his name up on the net if it interests u at all). Different readers may interpret his works differently. I've taken some of his stuffs and combined it with other stuffs elsewhere, and, in the end, that makes me.
Nietzsche and the Genealogy of Morals: An Introduction
Gary Shapiro, Professor of Philosophy
University of Richmond
http://oncampus.richmond.edu/academics/core/nietzsche/intro.html
Friedrich Nietzsche, author of On the Genealogy of Morals, is one of the most influential thinkers of the last two centuries. While his writings received little public attention during his lifetime (1844-1900), he was not completely off the mark when he said of his thought "I am not a man -- I am dynamite" and when he predicted that wars would be fought in his name. Shortly after his death, Nietzsche's works began to be read very widely in Europe and the Americas. Since then he has been celebrated or condemned for the most various and incompatible reasons; for example, some have thought of him as a prophet of individual freedom and self-realization, while others have seen him as a theorist who helped to make Nazism possible. Certainly it is possible to pick out individual sentences from Nietzsche's works which would support both interpretations, but a careful reading will want to go beyond isolated sentences and attempt to deal with the general tendency and arguments of his work.
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Nietzsche thought that the tragic world-view of the Greeks provided an example of how one could live joyously even while recognizing the pain and suffering of existence, but without any hope of future salvation (as in Christianity).
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He became convinced that Western culture was endangered by what he called nihilism, the view that there is no point to human endeavor.
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asceticism and otherworldly religion carry with them the baggage of guilt and the rejection of the value of human life in its actual earthly and bodily setting.
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In his book Thus Spoke Zarathustra, written as something of a parody of the Bible, Nietzsche urges us to "remain true to the earth" and to strive to create something higher and better out of ourselves. That which is to be created is called the Übermensch in German. This is usually translated as "superman," which is misleading for a number of reasons; Nietzsche's idea has nothing to do with the comic strip figure who leaps tall buildings at a single bound and is not even necessarily masculine (if he had wanted to emphasize the male gender he would have used the word Mann). The word might be translated more faithfully as "post-human"; it also ought not to be thought of in the terms of racism or Nazism as referring to a specific ethnic group which is destined for political domination (indeed, Nietzsche had nothing but scorn for the racism and anti-semitism of the nineteenth century ancestors of the Nazis). One sense that we get of how the post-human would see the world is that such a person or group would value its experience in the world so highly that it could think of no better possibility than that everything which happens to each of us would occur continually, in the same order, in a great cycle. This thought, which Nietzsche called the eternal recurrence of all things, is meant as a counter-myth to all of those philosophies and religions (such as Christianity) which tell us that life is worthwhile only because of some goal that lies beyond it (e.g. in the world of Platonic ideas, in the Christian heaven, or in some future utopia on earth). This thought could act as a litmus test for a person's level of vitality: while some people might think there is nothing more depressing than to live their lives over again, concentrating on all the pains and humiliations of those lives, others would be excited at the prospect, ready to repeat the suffering because of the joyous times and episodes. For such people, Nietzsche thought, the idea of eternal recurrence was the strongest possible formula for the affirmation of life.
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However, it is worth remembering that many things have changed in one hundred years and that Nietzsche's thought itself has often played a considerable role in that change. This book should at least challenge you to further define your own position about morality and religion.
Oh, additionally, even though I may have mixed some personal opinion/feelings (for personal pleasure or for reason) in the stuffs I said, I also want ya to know I didn't spend 3 years in the U learning about stuffs such as media effects and consumer behaviour for nothing, u know.
Hello Aqualung, because my response is long, I hope you do not mind if I post our exchange on my main blog here. Friend or stranger, it matters not, for my words mean no ill. There is a reason why I ramble, even pleasure itself is reason enough. But perhaps there is more to these than just pure ‘16-year-old angst’? I cannot be sure and neither should you. Anyway, in response to these words of yours which compel me to defend so strongly against…
Aqualung
89
2004-06-15
12:34
“You tend to over-intellectualise simple matters, obscuring the obvious solutions with incoherent, irrelevant and meandering rambling.
ps. angst at the media and about individuality / conformity is _SO_ 16-year-old. get a grip and move on.”
Get a grip on what? Move on to where? Can you surely and readily define these 'destinations'? If I must be seen as harbouring any '16-year-old angst at the media', then let it be known I am doing it partially for personal pleasure - a pleasure which is mine nonetheless and which meaning is equally my own as well (note the disclaimer).
While I may reserve that right to see it this way, there certainly is quite a degree of truth in my '16-year-old angst-ridden' ramblings. I could recommend some academic readings from my school or some such related articles.
Regrettably, an over-dosage MAY 'poison' the reader's mind in a way, like it may have did mine. But, it is also possible I might have been so drunk in my 'over-intellectualisation' that only your comments could pull me back somewhat to our 'reality' once again. My reluctant thanks.
This is another long post - read at your own risk.
Life is essentially meaningless. We live, we die. But to make life meaningful, we do things, make things, live by things and while doing so we infuse meaning into these things. As such life becomes meaningful amidst the not-so-apparent nothingness that forms the basis of our existence. You may say our lives are meaningful even after we're gone because the things we've done in life may be remembered, our memories do not fade but reside in the hearts and minds of our loved ones and those who simply remember. Yet these too will end. They will not last. They will go too as we have. Everything is a cycle - there is a beginning, there is an end. You start from nothing and you become nothing. But during our period of existence, we surround ourselves with things that have meaning for us, so that our lives are meaningful during the period it is lived.
As such, I may say that meaning does not exist just by itself as if it has been some kind of preset standard that has always been around even before humanity came about - no. Meaning is created by people, by us, by you, by me. Different people find meaning in different things and not everything means something for everyone. Some meanings are standards set for the convenience of communication between people - like the meaning of a dollar note which essentially is just a piece of paper, but because it represents a certain value, the meaning of that dollar exists. Some meanings are only shared between select groups of people - for instance, the gothic lolita culture would hold no meaning for one who has no knowledge of such ways of expression. Yet there are meanings that only hold value to one individual person alone and no others may find any use for it save for the individual him/herself - for instance nobody in the whole world would know the meaning of WTF except yourself if you're the only one who has coined that abbreviation to stand for 'What the fuck!?" for your personal/private curses and swears (until you share it with another, that is).
As such, meaning can be created, destroyed, twisted, manipulated, changed etc...
And meaning can be shared by two or more, or simply retained within an individual.
So what does this all mean?
Usually, nobody tells us why things are the way they are. Why do certain rules exist, certain ways of thinking, certain styles, certain patterns, modes, ideas, traditions, cultures etc... But we understand there are certain meanings underlying each and every one of them. Then again, since meaning can be created, destroyed or changed, it isn't fixed. Knowledge is power but how then can this simple knowledge of the malleability/flexibility/changeability of meaning benefit a person?
Before I go any further, I'm putting up a disclaimer - below are words that reflect my personal opinion, hence may not and need not be applicable to everyone. I would also like to title this section...
'HOW TO HANDLE EMOTION (my way of course)'
You may agree or disagree and still not have any consequence on my thoughts.
I have mentioned before that people somehow cannot live without problems in the world while at the very same time they whine and complain about their problematic lives. Like I've said it before......
"Most ppl define their lives by the miseries and shortcomings they experience which then become their source of pessimism and weakness. The alternative requires will."
Where that motto come from? haha, if u remembered Matrix, when Agent Smith was interrogating Morpheus
"... Did you know that the first Matrix was designed to be a perfect human world. Where none suffered. Where everyone would be happy. It was a disaster. No one would accept the program. Entire crops were lost. Some believed that we lacked the programming language to describe your perfect world. But I believe that as a species, human beings define their reality through misery and suffering..."
So, with the knowledge that meaning can be manipulated, what can you do? I've used it to reason my way out of this illogical need for pain such that pain does not affect me as it used to. As human, I acknowledge I'm not perfect so that doesn't mean I'm immnue to humanly miseries but this simple knowledge together with a great dose of reasoning has allowed me to wrench the very meaning out of such common ailments of the heart, meaning I've become more powerful - powerful as in having a greater ability to master control over myself, controlling my emotions. Often we hear of people who unwittingly become "victims of their desires, their whims, their emotions". These people are unable to stifle their emotions, and in particularly bad times, they get hit pretty bad. Of course many of us are no stranger to this thing called the 'depression/sadness/heartache etc...', so while you may laugh at these people who are supposedly weak, you may be laughing at yourself.
Anyway, to go further, think about this... All around you, you see and consume images presented to you at every corner of society - the media, advertisements, traditions, cultures, peers, schoolmates, whatever and whoever. Maybe you watch a lot of romance movies, maybe you listen to a lot of lovey dovey pop songs, maybe you love to indulge in ideas of happily-ever-after love stories, maybe you dream that one day there is that someone who'll come along and whatever. Yes? I'm sure we all indulge in such stuffs once in a while, here and there. But one thing you have not asked yourself, where do all these ideas come from? I'll give you the answer. While such desires have always been around in their natural state, this desire has become further enhanced/augmented/built up by the media which broadcasts such images to the masses, who consume it eagerly, who are in turn eager to experience such fantasies in real life and it goes around, spread to your peers, your friends, people whom you know and don't know. And so we have this 'love is in the air' thing floating about, and at the same time, the unfortunate thing called 'peer pressure' comes about as well.
But reality is, not everybody gets their desires realized, not every dream comes true, not every person's story ends up good. Tragedy happens without reason. But some who experience some such failures go on to seek solace in finding a reason for their problems and setbacks. In truth, there is no need for reason for shit to happen. But people need to find meaning in their pains, find a reason to carry on or find something to hold on to when they're in shit, so that they can drive themselves forward. Often, that which they are holding on to isn't real. But the illusion drives them.
And all these reasons to live, reasons to move on stem from... 'meaning'. Meaning gives hope. But as we know, not all meanings are beneficial to us. The romantic meaning in, say, the movie 'Titanic' lasts only as far as the movie's end and may not be applicable to the viewer's situation. But because he/she has consumed most of the message in that movie, his/her desires to realize such fantasies in his own life situation may rise up to an unrealistic level if left unchecked. That is why we also have a need to reason with things, to moor ourselves to reality and not rise way too high beyond our own abilites. Of course, people can have dreams, we can all desire, but my concern is only this... "When does it become too much? When will it be that we reach the state in which our emotions become our ruler? And we become the slaves?" This is for the individual to decide for him/herself. But such decisions are best made with reason and knowledge - not the kind of reason that tries to mask reality and offer false hope but the kind of reason that reflects reality, the reason that makes sense.
So next, when you're having shit and you know how to tap into this reasoning and pull the meaning out from your miseries or extricate yourself from pain, your problems will simply disappear. But here comes my final concern, what happens when you become so good at it? What happens when you no longer need pain and suffering? Think about it - we whine and cry over our pains and problems but what happens if that no longer becomes necessary?
It is pretty obvious from my words here that I've tried to 'get there'. I dare say I've reached further than most would care to reason for and after reaching this 'destination', I find only emptiness.
So I it's all a paradox really. We don't want pain but somehow cannot live without it. It is like living without meaning. How much meaning is too much? How much pain is too much? How much emotion or reasoning becomes too much?
The downside of this knowledge can be found in a situation whereby I no longer feel the sense of elation - the wild kind of overwhelming feeling that makes me go "WOW!" the very next morning that I wake up - after the end of this recent D'J Party. Maybe I've got used to this kind of gig stuffs. Then again maybe I've reasoned too much. "Oh the gig is over. I'm supposed to feel elated and joyful about the great gig I just had. After that, my elation dies down. After that I'm back to my usual life again." Because of this over-reasoning, I may have sped up the 'dying down' so fast that it's over before I even get to feel elated.
Paradoxically, ironically, fortunately or unfortunately (whatever), as much as knowledge is power, ignorance is bliss.
.... Okay, so the above has been the part on 'how to handle emotion'.
Next is something to do with issues of individualism and conformity. It's very short. When I do something, and you say "What are you doing? What kind of people do this kind of thing? It's rubbish!" I would say, "There is meaning in it only because I will it so."
Because I believe that I've supposedly 'gotten there' only to find emptiness and have since 'returned' to the common ways of life, I also believe I now have this power to 'control' where or what I choose to put meaning in, wary at the same time not to become a victim of reason as much a victim of emotion.
I waste most of my life away playing games now.
I spend most of my time meaningfully playing games now.
Once my game is complete, I feel empty. Does it mean I am not living a meaningful life playing games? Or that the games hold meaning only during the period I'm playing them?
Whatever the case, I think I better start finding something else that can sustain a longer period of meaningfulness than games, like a bloody job.
