"Feel-Goodery" And Empty Words

douglasbalmain (61)in #philosophy • 6 years ago (edited)

I recently heard it said—

"Accept what you can't change. Change what you can't accept."

—and could not help but to be incensed by the thoughtless, "feel-goodery" of such an empty utterance.

Is it not most often the case that what we cannot change are the very things that we cannot accept? If this were not the case for an individual, I wouldn't be able to help myself from thinking that they must either be a maniacal, Tartarean shithead, or simply someone who saw and understood very little about the world they're in.

To me, the aforementioned saying translates directly to something like:

"Keep your head buried in the sand and say things that make you feel safe and validated."

The prevailing issue here is not this one specific case; this saying simply provides a clear example of the innumerable, careless, empty slogans that we feed ourselves—the grossly inaccurate ways in which we so often speak of our experiences and situations.

Positive and meaningful change will not come out of ignorance and comfortability. Only by speaking about—and understanding—our situations, experiences, and conflicts as they truly are can we ever hope to collectively bring about any sort of meaningful change...

...even then it will be a battle with little chance for victory.

—---—--- — — — — ---—---—
Like what you read?
Check out my page for more music, philosophy, and writing!

Click the "Burnin’ Both Ends” album cover above to listen to my latest record for free!

"Balmain has emerged with an album that sounds like it could have come out of Detroit in the early-1970s or Muscle Shoals in the late-1970s. It’s a vibrant and rich mix of rock and soul that has all of the swagger of the feel-good decade...
(Brian F. Johnson, MARQUEE MAGAZINE )