It's a Twisted World

We have a problem in our education system. A bit of philosophy should be taught to try to put purpose in the lives of the youth. Some have a well defined purpose; those you will not change for the worse. It is the lost that at least a bit of exposure would do good to many. Of course, some would need to learn to read first, and remember a few things, like how to spell those words that sound alike but are spelled differently. And then there are those words meanings are different that commonly used. Cement sidewalk, I do not think so. Cement is a gray power used to make concrete. But I degrees, back to the subject at hand.

Some things are up to us, and some are not. OK, that is difficult to argue with. What is up to us? Our judgements. We can then select our beliefs. We are adult, we need no longer believe whatever we we told. We can examine these beliefs, and accept them, reject them, or withhold judgement. As a result, we are responsible for our beliefs.

We were brainwashed in our youth, unconsciously and involuntarily. We can now brainwash ourselves again, consciously and intentionally. Emotions are automatic reactions to situations, as defined by our beliefs. It is our beliefs that control the automatic response that we have allowed to be programed into our mind, hence we are responsible for the current automation, and the result of that automation. This is individual responsibility, that is the foundation of human rationality. It become clear when there is no god, no belief in any supernatural, just in the brutality of nature, and a way of thinking, knowing ourselves, that keeps equality of persons, gratitude for truth, and a bit of wonder for it all.

We are responsible for our thinking, and through extension, our emotions or feelings, and thence through extension, our behavior. With the triune brain, that desire to eat is either primitive, which is beyond our control, unconscious or conscious, which are both within our indirect and direct control. It is all up to me. Eating beyond the prescribed quantity or not in the prescribed times is my issue, my responsibility. It is an opportunity to dig out the thought that I should eat when I am hungry and through it out. Take that goofy OA program.

The process of knowing ourselves may require a bit of digging in the past, but most of our effort should deal with the present and the building blocks of a flourishing life. Positive attitudes, engagement in life,  meaning in life, relationships, and achievements. Pick a few more if the need arises. Working one day at a time allows achievement each day. A positive purpose takes up a couple of those.