SolitaryWalker
Tenured roisterer
- Joined
- Apr 23, 2007
- Messages
- 3,504
- MBTI Type
- INTP
- Enneagram
- 5w6
- Instinctual Variant
- so/sx
I enjoyed the essay.
The compassion in my heart sang along with these words:
BlueWing, I do think in reading the essay and re-reading your posts to this thread that perhaps I understand a bit more clearly the point you're trying to make here and how it relates to the opening poster's question.
Would these words of yours contain some summary of your point of view?
Do you see the OP as describing a longing for paradise? If so, do you see that longing as unlikely to bring a person to true peace? Do you believe that true peace can only be experienced when you learn how to deal with the world as it comes and figure out a way to be happy with what you have?
If so, I feel agreement with this idea.
Yet I don't find the idea inconsistent with imagining what could be or with delighting in the tastes of those imaginations we might find present in our reality.
It seems to me the block to peace might come in a belief that happiness rests in a realization of ideals. I think ideals are ideals, reality something else. Ideals shed a light on reality, illuminating the richness of it's colors.
I experience and delight in subtle shades of the OP ideal through intimate human relationship("Intimacy is linked with feelings of closeness, safety, trust and transparency among partners in a collaborative relationship."). What I experience is reality, not realized ideal, but I believe my engagement in this reality is greater for having the ideal to light the way.
I wonder if perhaps our realities naturally move closer to the ideal when we allow it's light to guide our steps.
I don't discount the possibility that the fullness of what the op describes might somewhere be or one day come to be reality. I don't base my happiness on it being or becoming so, but I don't limit potential by saying it cannot be or rejecting what of it does present in my world.
Well put. Nothing wrong with idealistic visions so long as you dont confuse them with reality. You summarized my views well.
To recapitulate: true path to happiness lies in attainment of inner peace where you will not need to borrow from the external world in order to be content. Idealistic visions tend to encourage you to borrow from the external world because they suggest that you mold it into whatever you want it to be just so it can make you content in the end.
I have always found compelling an idealistic inclination to dream of what could be, grounded in a realistic acceptance of what presents in each moment. Sometimes life gets unbalanced, but always within me is a deep respect for the value of both.
Thats fine so long as you apply your vision only to yourself. This would be a good idea because it will give you a sense of higher purpose in life, this will prevent you from becoming conceited. Two poignant examples of this would be the search for truth (INTP), and search for true good,human perfection (INFP).
If you try to change the external world, it will corrupt you and you will lose touch with your inner benevolent motives. Bringing about external changes requires forcing conformity on others, this almost by property of itself must corrupt the inner being. This is why in history noone has succeeded in making this world heaven and only succeeded in making it hell.
Again, I can not stress this any more intensely...
Is there somewhere where we can drop all the masks, pretence, barriers, falsities...
Somewhere where you know what's in the heart of everyone else and they know whats in yours - without words - your pain, your love, your joy, your sadness...
No need for words...
A place beyond this?
I know of nothing better than to turn to within yourself in your quest for paradise because this world just isn't 'meant' for that.