something I tweeted recently

[roger]

How much more courage it takes to love than to attack!

[Karl]

It doesn't take any courage to love, but it can take immense amounts of courage to defend the things that you love.

[roger]

It doesn't take any courage to love, but it can take immense amounts of courage to defend the things that you love.

 

Whatever Karl.

 

I've learned to disregard your absurd opinions.

[Karl]

Whatever Karl.

 

I've learned to disregard your absurd opinions.

Maybe you should learn to love them ;-)

[roger]

Maybe you should learn to love them ;-)

 

I was trying to make a point. I was pretending.

 

I had a concealed intention, a loving intention.

 

You see, it's so easy to hurt other people, to attack, to aggressively defend yourself at the expense of others.

 

The truth is it DOES take great courage to love, and particularly to withhold attack. So much so that most people are totally impotent to do so.

 

Very few people have the strength necessary to consistently be careful with others' feelings.

 

I sincerely apologize.

[Karl]

I was trying to make a point. I was pretending.

 

I had a concealed intention, a loving intention.

 

You see, it's so easy to hurt other people, to attack, to aggressively defend yourself at the expense of others.

 

The truth is it DOES take great courage to love, and particularly to withhold attack. So much so that most people are totally impotent to do so.

 

Very few people have the strength necessary to consistently be careful with others' feelings.

 

I sincerely apologize.

Then you are committing the fallacy of equivocation. Hurting/not hurting someone's feelings isn't anything to do with love, but with politeness. Love is something that you feel for a value you wish to possess, or that you may currently possess. If you take care to put the value before the feeling then you can't go far wrong. The problem is that people resort to feelings to make judgements and they aren't very reliable. If feelings can be hurt, then there is something wrong with the philosophy that underpins them. It's useful to use feelings as a guide to how far we have strayed from reality.

[roger]

Then you are committing the fallacy of equivocation. Hurting/not hurting someone's feelings isn't anything to do with love, but with politeness. Love is something that you feel for a value you wish to possess, or that you may currently possess. If you take care to put the value before the feeling then you can't go far wrong. The problem is that people resort to feelings to make judgements and they aren't very reliable. If feelings can be hurt, then there is something wrong with the philosophy that underpins them. It's useful to use feelings as a guide to how far we have strayed from reality.

 

That's very wise imo.

 

I just want to add something to my saying, "So much so that most people are totally impotent to do so (to withhold attack)."

 

The thing is, and this is really a profoundly negative thing, people almost always only "withhold attack" when it WORKS FOR THEM, when they see some benefit to themselves in withholding attack.

 

Oh people will withhold attack in a heartbeat, piece of cake, no problem at all - when it seems to them to be in their best interests to do so, and usually ONLY then.

 

I can guarantee you that 99.9% of the time, when a person sees some gain for themselves in attacking - they'll attack.

 

We live in an insane world.

 

I just hope it's not too late for humanity to find the healing and make the changes necessary to not destroy ourselves.

[Andrei]

http://deoxy.org/iching/6

 

6. Sung / Conflict

 

CONFLICT. You are sincere
And are being obstructed.
A cautious halt halfway brings good fortune.
Going through to the end brings misfortune.
It furthers one to see the great man.
It does not further one to cross the great water.

 

Conflict develops when one feels himself to be in the right and runs into
opposition. If one is not convinced of being in the right, opposition leads to
craftiness or high-handed encroachment but not to open conflict.

  If a man is entangled in a conflict, his only salvation lies in being so clear-
headed and inwardly strong that he is always ready to come to terms by
meeting the opponent halfway. To carry one the conflict to the bitter end has
evil effects even when one is the right, because the enmity is then
perpetuated. It is important to see the great man, that is, an impartial man
whose authority is great enough to terminate the conflict amicably or assure a
just decision. In times of strife, crossing the great water is to be avoided, that
is, dangerous enterprises are not to be begun, because in order to be successful
they require concerted unity of focus. Conflict within weakens the power to
conquer danger without.

 

THE LINES

 

Six at the beginning means:
If one does not perpetuate the affair,
There is a little gossip.
In the end, good fortune comes.

 

While a conflict is in the incipient stage, the best thing To do is to drop the
issue. Especially when the adversary is stronger, it is not advisable to risk
pushing the conflict to a decision. It may come to a slight dispute, but in the
end all goes well.

 

Nine in the second place means:
One cannot engage in conflict;
One returns home, gives way.
The people of his town,
Three hundred households,
Remain free of guilt.

 

In a struggle with an enemy of superior strength, retreat is no disgrace.
Timely withdrawal prevents bad consequences. If, out of a false sense of
honor, a man allowed himself to be tempted into an unequal conflict, he
would be drawing down disaster upon himself. In such a case a wise and
conciliatory attitude benefits the whole community, which will then not be
drawn into the conflict.

 

Six in the third place means:
To nourish oneself on ancient virtue induces perseverance.
Danger. In the end, good fortune comes.
If by chance you are in the service of a king,
Seek not works.

 

This is a warning of the danger that goes with an expansive disposition. Only
that which has been honestly acquired through merit remains a permanent
possession. It can happen that such a possession may be contested, but since it
is really one's own, one cannot be robbed of it. Whatever a man possesses
through the strength of his own nature cannot be lost. If one enters the
service of a superior, one can avoid conflict only by not seeking works for the
sake of prestige. It is enough if the work is done: let the honor go to the
other.

 

Nine in the fourth place means:
One cannot engage in conflict.
One turns back and submits to fate,
Changes one's attitude,
And finds peace in perseverance.
Good fortune.

 

This refers to a person whose inner attitude at first lacks peace. He does not
feel content with his situation and would like to improve it through conflict.
In contrast tot the situation of the nine in the second place, he is dealing with
a weaker opponent and might therefore succeed. But he cannot carry on the
fight, because, since right is not on his side, he cannot justify the conflict to
his conscience. Therefore he turns back and accepts his fate. He changes his
mind and finds lasting peace in being at one with eternal law. This brings
good fortune.

 

Nine in the fifth place means:
To contend before him
Brings supreme good fortune.

 

This refers to an arbiter in a conflict who is powerful and just, and strong
enough to lend weight to the right side. A dispute can be turned over to him
with confidence. If one is in the right, one attains great good fortune.

 

Nine at the top means:
Even if by chance a leather belt is bestowed on one,'
By the end of a morning
It will have been snatched away three times.

 

Here we have someone who has carried a conflict to the bitter end and has
triumphed. He is granted a decoration, but his happiness does not last.  He is
attacked again and again, and the result is conflict without end.

Edited July 18, 2016 by Andrei

[Karl]

That's very wise imo.

 

I just want to add something to my saying, "So much so that most people are totally impotent to do so (to withhold attack)."

 

The thing is, and this is really a profoundly negative thing, people almost always only "withhold attack" when it WORKS FOR THEM, when they see some benefit to themselves in withholding attack.

 

Oh people will withhold attack in a heartbeat, piece of cake, no problem at all - when it seems to them to be in their best interests to do so, and usually ONLY then.

 

I can guarantee you that 99.9% of the time, when a person sees some gain for themselves in attacking - they'll attack.

 

We live in an insane world.

 

I just hope it's not too late for humanity to find the healing and make the changes necessary to not destroy ourselves.

You mean deliberately set out to make someone miserable ? I can't see any purpose in doing that.

[rex]

How much more courage it takes to love than to attack!

That's the spiritual warrior speaking whose real opponent is themselves.

 

... it can take immense amounts of courage to defend the things that you love.

That's the tribal warrior who defends the tribe.