tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post115643240862998858..comments2024-03-27T11:16:36.951-07:00Comments on One Cʘsmos: Envy and Gratitude (9.14.08)Gagdad Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14249005793605006679noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-46816105028777291582010-03-13T10:15:39.460-08:002010-03-13T10:15:39.460-08:00Относительно давно посещаю ваш блог, но ни как не ...Относительно давно посещаю ваш блог, но ни как не могу подписаться на rss. Подскажите, в чем проблема? Заранее благодарна.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-1156609632046171942006-08-26T09:27:00.000-07:002006-08-26T09:27:00.000-07:00Will Wilkinson "outs" the mind virus of envy, the ...<A HREF="http://willwilkinson.net/flybottle/" REL="nofollow">Will Wilkinson</A> "outs" the mind virus of envy, the practical and even religious paralysis of the resentful and envious:<BR/><BR/>"[quoting another}<EM>What’s bizarre about all of these statements is it treats wealth, and in this case specifically income growth, like a phenomena that is independent of individuals and their actions. They treat income growth like it is a natural spring bubbling up from the ground, and a few piggy people have staked out places by the well and take all the water before the rest of us can get any.</EM><BR/><BR/>The mysterious world of numinous unmoored macro forces that are somehow rigged to benefit just the rich is a world of magic and wonder. Good thing we don’t live there."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-1156478457862596642006-08-24T21:00:00.000-07:002006-08-24T21:00:00.000-07:00Alan,You and me both, brother. Dr. Bob packs more...Alan,<BR/><BR/>You and me both, brother. Dr. Bob packs more wisdom, insight and humor into a single paragraph than most authors can squeeze out of whole tomes.<BR/><BR/>This thread reminds me of a quote I remember from a book by Robert Anton Wilson. It goes something like, "A man is not truly sane until he has given gratitude to the whole Universe." When I was younger, I considered RAW a prophet and a huge influence on my thinking; these days, he looks more like a charlatan and a major progenitor of the kind of nihilistic relativism that Bob deconstructs here. But I gotta give him props for that quote.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-1156467346712435152006-08-24T17:55:00.000-07:002006-08-24T17:55:00.000-07:00Bob, do you know the Shepherd Boy's song from John...Bob, do you know the Shepherd Boy's song from John Bunyan's <I>Pilgrim's Progress</I>? There was a time when Bunyan (1628-88) was part of most high school curricula in the Anglosphere, but of course he's not PC. Anyway, today's topic made me think of his poem:<BR/><BR/><I>He that is down needs fear no fall, <BR/> He that is low, no pride; <BR/>He that is humble ever shall <BR/> Have God to be his guide. <BR/> <BR/>I am content with what I have, <BR/> Little be it or much: <BR/>And, Lord, contentment still I crave, <BR/> Because Thou savest such. <BR/> <BR/>Fullness to such a burden is <BR/> That go on pilgrimage: <BR/>Here little, and hereafter bliss, Is best from age to age.</I><BR/><BR/>There is a lovely musical setting of it by Gordon Jacob, an English composer who died in 1985.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-1156457388138305472006-08-24T15:09:00.000-07:002006-08-24T15:09:00.000-07:00Another enlightening discussion.A few years ago th...Another enlightening discussion.<BR/><BR/>A few years ago there was a T-Shirt slogan that said, "He who dies with the most toys, wins!"<BR/>That was about the same time that the film, "Wall Street," made Gordon Gecko's motto, "Greed is good," famous. So much in our culture urges us on to embrace materialism. So few voices on the other side. It is a breath of fresh air when anyone urges less covetousness and more thankfulness.<BR/><BR/>Thanks for sharing your insights and thank God for this beautiful day and all the blessings it brings.<BR/><BR/>May I be forgiven for envying you your ability to communicate?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-1156455472675571692006-08-24T14:37:00.000-07:002006-08-24T14:37:00.000-07:00dicentra63 said "isn't it true that the first comm...dicentra63 said "isn't it true that the first commandment of Marxism is "thou shalt covet"?"<BR/><BR/>Not quite, isn't it "Thou shalt demand that thy neighbor shall satisfy thy covetousness"?<BR/><BR/>And what "Sigmund, Carl and Alfred" said goes for me too - I may have to become a leftist in order to force my Job to grant me paid extended coffee/One COsmos breaks.Van Harveyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08470413719262297062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-1156454561738973632006-08-24T14:22:00.000-07:002006-08-24T14:22:00.000-07:00This is most annoying.The more you write, the bett...This is most annoying.<BR/><BR/>The more you write, the better it gets.<BR/><BR/>It used to be afternoon coffee and a time to unwind. Now, it's coffee and a look through the bobservatory.<BR/><BR/>Good stuff.SC&Ahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08896449261475558935noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-1156454324267454362006-08-24T14:18:00.000-07:002006-08-24T14:18:00.000-07:00I apologize if this is a bit off the subject, but ...<I>I apologize if this is a bit off the subject, but I want to qualify my statement about being leftist. In fact maybe some other label would suit me better here. It seems we have a different focus on what it is to be left.</I><BR/><BR/>How about "Classical Liberal"? Many of the best "conservative" bloggers used to identify with the Left, but believe that the Left has left them for something entirely different for what they signed on for.<BR/><BR/>A Classical Liberal upholds the Enlightenment ideals that informed the Constitution and other bedrocks of US society, is not afraid to question his/her own assumptions, would never accept "fake but accurate" facts, and knows the difference between the baby and the bathwater.<BR/><BR/>And perhaps most important, realizes that people aren't naturally good--we're equally capable of good or evil, depending on what we choose.<BR/><BR/><BR/>As for the Ten Commandments being inverted, isn't it true that the first commandment of Marxism is "thou shalt covet"?<BR/><BR/><BR/>Dennis Prager identifies human insatiability as the primary obstacle to happiness; only when you realize that you really can't get "enough" sex, love, comfort, food, wealth, approval, popularity, or whatever it is you think you want, can you go about the business of being content with what you have.<BR/><BR/>My definition of Enough: everthing I need and a little of what I want.dicentra63https://www.blogger.com/profile/18265008441951516140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-1156452417253778362006-08-24T13:46:00.000-07:002006-08-24T13:46:00.000-07:00Agreeing with Stu & Will, I envy the magnitude of ...Agreeing with Stu & Will, I envy the magnitude of your writing/thoughts and am grateful that you have chosen to share it with me!<BR/><BR/>Your writings are a positive beginning to each day! Keep shining that bright light. Thanks.Lisahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04969685296436358865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-1156451217272333022006-08-24T13:26:00.001-07:002006-08-24T13:26:00.001-07:00I want everything that I have...I want everything that I have...Guitanguranhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04681832816808122712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-1156451202950379272006-08-24T13:26:00.000-07:002006-08-24T13:26:00.000-07:00Speaking of appreciation, I want to say that I app...Speaking of appreciation, I want to say that I appreciate the time and insight you offer so graciously, Bob. This has been an interesting experience. <BR/><BR/>I apologize if this is a bit off the subject, but I want to qualify my statement about being leftist. In fact maybe some other label would suit me better here. It seems we have a different focus on what it is to be left. I care about equality, human rights and justice. In my opinion communism and atheism are a bastardization of the meaning of “left.” Moreover, what some people think is childish rebellion, some others see as reform. Consider that without reform we might still have slavery and be a territory of Great Britain, and no woman would be educated enough to appreciate your blog. As far as religious rebellion, that is just a negative spin on searching for Truth. The difference between positive and negative reform lies in the mental capacity and motives of the reformists.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-1156446484734684332006-08-24T12:08:00.000-07:002006-08-24T12:08:00.000-07:00O, how I wish I had a book and a blog and was a ma...O, how I wish I had a book and a blog and was a master of pithy word-play.<BR/><BR/>Thanks for the series of posts, Bob. Can't wait to see what's coming next.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-1156438650920341752006-08-24T09:57:00.000-07:002006-08-24T09:57:00.000-07:00I think behind envy there is, of course, fear. I'm...I think behind envy there is, of course, fear. I'm pretty well convinced that 99% of all fear we experience is fear of what others might think of us. It's not the great, abstract fears that do us in - it's the 9 to 5 fears, the pedestrian fears that corrode the soul.<BR/><BR/>In any event, great tour of the top ten. Next, maybe an esoteric exegesis on the Book of Revs, the 7 seals? That could be a bit "out there", but . . <BR/><BR/>For What It's Worth Dept: Bob, you may have noticed some readers pointing out links between your posts and synchronistic events in their own lives. I'm always uncomfortable getting "personal", but - last night I was visited by a junior epiphany, you know, one of those simple little Truths, almost a background given, that for some reason, suddenly lights up in neon in the mind. It was this: The worrying concern that we harbor for what we don't have inhibits the gratitude we should harbor for what we do have. Then I read today's O.C. posting and I think, Holy Snakes On A Plane . . . <BR/><BR/>Maybe I reasoned, unconsciously, that you would write on envy today and from out of this anticipation, I crafted for myself a needed epiphany. Maybe. Or maybe this is a time many of us are riding the same spiritually-informing current, and your giving voice to it validates that there really is such a current.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-1156438258930179442006-08-24T09:50:00.000-07:002006-08-24T09:50:00.000-07:00from "I AM THAT", Q&A with Nisargadatta Maharaj:NM...from "I AM THAT", Q&A with Nisargadatta Maharaj:<BR/><BR/>NM: 'Are you happy because you have what you want, or because you do not want what you do not have?'Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-1156437497069977432006-08-24T09:38:00.000-07:002006-08-24T09:38:00.000-07:00"...lose the friction necessary to distinguish bet..."...lose the friction necessary to distinguish between fantasy and reality.A sort of hypnotic, dreamlike imagination takes hold, which can become quite elaborate and unnatural."<BR/><BR/>Is that the point of the injunction to live in the Here and the Now? That you are actively part of that spark struck from the Horizontal meeting the Vertical - not just aware of it when the friction warms up to the point of drawing our attention?<BR/><BR/>"For in that gap between desire and fulfillment lies the hidden key. In that gap there is both anticipation and hope." but if that gap isn't filled with your active attention, the actual YOU (or maybe Ohm, All,God..?), not the chimera of mechanically spun desire, there will be no filling of the void?<BR/><BR/>Excellent wrap up for the Top 10 - you do give the One e-Ticket rideVan Harveyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08470413719262297062noreply@blogger.com