Good and Bad are human constructs
I may go into this in more depth in the future but for today this will pretty short.
Whenever I find myself dwelling on the "negative" I try to step outside of my own perspectives. I ask myself what a rock or a tree would think of this. "Nothing" you might think, and that's the point. They wouldn't feel the need to define it, they just are. There is no reason we can't be the same, or at least imagine from that perspective. From that perspective we can see all occurrences as equally beautiful and inspiring. When we see those o curances as beautiful, we are able to move around themcmuch more easily.
Our ideas of good and bad come from society, from religion and especially from our self interests. They come from a limited perspective and are full of bias. By being able to detach from them, we develop a fluidity about us. We can move more effortlessly through whatever is thrown at us.
This doesn't mean we should stop defining things as good or bad. In fact, I would argue that defining things as good and bad is one of our jobs here in life, to define what kind of world we want to live in and what kind of people we want to be. But we find that harmony will lead us to greater pleasure then dissonance, and so to be able to remove ourself from our own perspective becomes a valuable too for finding that harmony in a chaotic world.
I still define what I want to define as good or bad, but I recognize that my views are limited, and when I get stuck in them, I let go for a while to recollect and find that harmony in between the cracks of my daily life, as it exists everywhere around us if we are willing to see it.
Anyway, have a great day.
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Well written post here @whatamidoing. I really liked your quote here:
It's a really empowering perspective. There's such a huge difference between reacting judgmentally, and choosing to judge. I love your perspective of the latter.
Religion talks about man being created in the image of god. We look at ourselves to try and understand what god is, perhaps we have it backwards
Perhaps we do ;-)
You make an excellent argument, and something we need to remind ourselves of! So thank you, from the @onetree
I would say that bad is whatever threatens the integrity of my existence, other than that I don't care.
I define "bad" as whatever causes disharmony between two things. But as I said, I try to escape that definition from time to time.
Disharmony is sometimes necessary to achieve dynamics.
I can't do anything right while in perfect equilibrium.
People do things because they are in dis-balance, not when we are happy and careless.
You do have a point. If everything was in harmony there would be no movement. But I see so much disharmony, I don't think things need to be so out of hand.
My question is how do you know that good/bad is just a social construct and not a scientific principle that we do not yet understand? Just some food for thought. :)
Thanks for the post.
I think it is! I would call it harmony. Harmony with others and harmony within yourself, as in desires do not contradict each other. And harmony with nature.
I think you are definitely on the right track there!
It is true that good vs evil are deeply embedded in our thoughts and lives. My question is can we conceive of an alternative way to live our lives? Is there a way to live in this world that is NOT based on "doing what is right in my own eyes"?
We recognize that we live in a LIE but are we empowered to do anything about it?
Your thought?
Words are sticky here...
I think it's great to live life based on what you believe is right. I certainly do. But I also try to learn from others, from nature and my experiences to have a better idea where everyone wants to go so I can try to find ways to agree upon a direction. When I'm in a really balanced state of mind, I wouldn't look at things as right or wrong but more in terms of "harmonious" and "desirable". This can turn into an essay actually, maybe it will one day
We anxiously await the essay.
Thank you