Padawanbater2
Well-Known Member
This is a post directly from Reddit, but I thought the question was thought provoking and the top answer was really well thought out;
1. You, and everyone you know, is an animal. It is impossible to completely divorce yourself from your animal urges. However you do not have to be a slave to them.
2. It is important to be good. Be good to yourself. Be good to other people. Be good to the living things around you. Not because you will be rewarded. not because you will be thanked. but because you will make the world a better place.
3. The difficulties you face in life will make it harder, but it does not have to make you miserable. Do not focus on what goes wrong, focus on what goes right. Spend some time every day thinking about how your friends and loved ones (pets too) improve your life, about how grateful you are for them. It will improve your overall mood and help you through your day.
-limbodog (Reddit)
I really don't understand the first one. What are you classifying as "animal urges" exactly? Reproduction? I am trying to figure out why this is the number one most useful piece of information. Can you expand please?
-clickmyface
Meaning you have the urge to yell at the guy who cut you off in traffic, but doing so doesn't make it so it never happened. In fact, it will typically make things worse.
You have the urge to smash your boss on the head with a filing cabinet until he stops saying "absitively" instead of "absolutely" or "positively" and still thinks he's witty. But you shouldn't.
You have the urge to bonk a young woman on the head and drag her back to your cave, but you should not do so. Inviting her is a better plan, and accepting when she says no is important. (tho why would she say no to you? You look marvelous!)
My point I'm trying to make is that the emotions we feel are the animal part of us. Our ability to be motivated by those emotions is a strength, but our ability to overrule those emotions when they would steer us wrong is one of the most important things we master as humans.
-limbodog
1. You, and everyone you know, is an animal. It is impossible to completely divorce yourself from your animal urges. However you do not have to be a slave to them.
2. It is important to be good. Be good to yourself. Be good to other people. Be good to the living things around you. Not because you will be rewarded. not because you will be thanked. but because you will make the world a better place.
3. The difficulties you face in life will make it harder, but it does not have to make you miserable. Do not focus on what goes wrong, focus on what goes right. Spend some time every day thinking about how your friends and loved ones (pets too) improve your life, about how grateful you are for them. It will improve your overall mood and help you through your day.
-limbodog (Reddit)
I really don't understand the first one. What are you classifying as "animal urges" exactly? Reproduction? I am trying to figure out why this is the number one most useful piece of information. Can you expand please?
-clickmyface
Meaning you have the urge to yell at the guy who cut you off in traffic, but doing so doesn't make it so it never happened. In fact, it will typically make things worse.
You have the urge to smash your boss on the head with a filing cabinet until he stops saying "absitively" instead of "absolutely" or "positively" and still thinks he's witty. But you shouldn't.
You have the urge to bonk a young woman on the head and drag her back to your cave, but you should not do so. Inviting her is a better plan, and accepting when she says no is important. (tho why would she say no to you? You look marvelous!)
My point I'm trying to make is that the emotions we feel are the animal part of us. Our ability to be motivated by those emotions is a strength, but our ability to overrule those emotions when they would steer us wrong is one of the most important things we master as humans.
-limbodog
