A new outlook

[Shadowknight 54]

So, lately I've been thinking about a lot of things. Not just my problems, though I do think about those a lot, but everybody's problems. And yesterday, while I was talking with this guy at the Corn Maze, I came to a realization.

In Watchmen, perhaps the Comedian had it right.

Life is a rather interesting thing. You go through it, experiencing good times and bad, and typically people love to complain about the bad. If you take a step back from the here-and-now and look at the big picture, the grand scheme of things, you begin to realize how trivial an novel most problems are. As long as you've got your health, food, and shelter, things could always get so much worse.

It's kind of funny, really. Every day we make mountains out of molehills, because we're so sheltered that any ripple in the ocean of life is treated like a tidal wave. To be perfectly honest, we're not that interesting. We try to compensate for that, then, by creating drama and instability. If we couldn't complain, we'd have nothing to do. So come on and laugh with me. Because it truly is funny that we're so bored, we can't stand to be content for risk of accepting just how dull we actually are. Which, in all truthfulness, is pretty dull.

When you really think about your day-to-day problems, social issues especially, it's funny how cliché they all are. Issues involving relationships, for example, have a tendency to be over the top and completely ridiculous, something that has been reflected perfectly in teen-drama television shows. The same can be said for most things that we complain about.

So really, life would be so much better if we stopped complaining and started laughing.

[Sahaqiel 1232]

Well said.

However, to each individual, there are individual feelings, making up an individual mind, with an individual world. That ripple isn't amplified. It's just the right size, to a person. We like to think of things as over the top until it happens to us.

In a kind of twisted empathy, we try to get people to feel with us.

It could've been worse. But our world isn't that large. We aren't special.

There's nothing wrong with that.

You can change your world. Make it bigger. Invite more people into it. And like a good host, make your guests happy.

Sahaqiel

[Shadowknight 54]

Some problems are serious, and some really shouldn't be considered so. You are the only person can decide which category your problems fall into. Because of that simple fact, I think that other people's problems should always be considered serious. Empathy is always a good thing. No man is qualified to judge the severity of another's difficulties.

At the same time, you can decide how severe your own problems are. That's what I'm working with, honestly. I've found that some problems simply aren't worth devoting my time or energy to, particularly those that you really have no control over.

In much the same way, you shouldn't spend energy on worrying about things that already happened. Their outcome is already determined, and there isn't anything you can do to change it, so why bother thinking about could-have-been and should-have-been scenarios? It doesn't really matter how it could have been, all that matters is how it is. It's fine to look back at things and reflect on them, perhaps even learn something that you can use later in life, but don't get nostalgic. It's a waste of precious time.

I choose to think of things that have already happened as amusing, since in retrospect, I could have done things so much differently. If I were doing it again, I would do things differently. But the opportunity has come and gone, so all I can do is laugh it off and move forward, focusing on things I can actually change.

[pheonix561 2080]

Empathy is always a good thing. No man is qualified to judge the severity of another's difficulties.

smart man, that shadow knight.

I should really get aroudn to seeing that movie.

[Shadowknight 54]

Oh, believe me, the part about empathy did not come from the movie, nor the graphic novel. I actually only referenced Watchmen because the Comedian didn't dwell on things, and he saw life as a joke. An extreme example of what I'm saying, to be sure, but toned down a bit, and with more care for other people's feelings, it's not a bad concept.

[PremaritalSex98 0]

The Comedian felt remorse and ended up being killed for it.

[Shadowknight 54]

I thought he got killed because he found out about Veidt's plan. But even if I'm wrong, I am aware that the Comedian is very different from what I'm talking about. I was just using his "everything is just a joke" outlook as a loose example.

[Chase 390]

I agree, a little apathy and dry humor could definitely make our lives much more enjoyable. Empathy, like you said, is probably the second best thing you can do for a fellow man. Dying for them is the best thing you can do for them.

Now, if only I could practice what I preach, eh? I guess there's never been a better time to start than the present.

[Shadowknight 54]

Well, you can only practice the last thing you mentioned once in your lifetime, but empathy is certainly something to strive for. From my experience, if you can make someone else feel better, you can also help yourself at the same time.

The biggest point to be made is that during the younger years of our lives, it's not worth wasting our precious time, our youth, on petty conflicts. You're only young once, so you should make the most out of it.

[PremaritalSex98 0]

Then go do something instead of posting on a video game fan site.

[Shadowknight 54]

Well, considering the fact that I posted these things at night (most fairly late at night) and early morning, I think it's safe to say that posting this didn't really impede on me doing anything about it.

[PremaritalSex98 0]

So you weren't serious when you were talking about all the changes?

[Padraig! 103]

You have this right.

Yes, I am a particular fan of the "everything is a joke" outlook. Life is one great, big, gallow joke.

[PremaritalSex98 0]

Why did you use the Comedian as your example?

[Road 0]

I like to unwind and joke about almost everything that goes wrong in my life. Look on the brighter side. My friends complain alot, namely those who were all "Everything's gone to pot" when I was with them in a club. I just kept quiet and didn't complain-- nothing to gain from working myself up and causing a fuss when nothing will be done except self-humiliation. And trust me, I know humiliation. Most of it comes from me acting silly though. I'm a natural joker really. I can't take anything seriously and when I try I usually fail at it and make an ass out of myself or get everybody frustrated. Oh well, the majority of the time it works.

I'm falling away from my point again with incessant rambling about myself. Anyway, I totally agree with you shadowknight, people need to stop complaining. One man can't shape the world by himself. Leave it to others to fix their own problems if they can't. I'm sure you have your own and it would be a shame if you were to mess up your own affairs by intruding on others'. Maybe I don't share your mind set, maybe I'm just a horrible friend. Maybe I'm repeating what everybody else has summed up in a sentence. All I know is I'm helping clear my own head here. Thanks for that and I hope you clear your own soon.