Quote:
Originally Posted by Seaver
Is that any more arrogant than the people who always talk about the [insert generation here]?
Oh we never did [insert insult here], back in my day we had respect for [insert authority figure or positive trait here]. We never had it easy doing [insert mundane task here], we had to [insert mundane task expanded on with time].
Sorry, every older generation is as arrogant as the previous. The younger is simply more introspective and generally optimistic, while the older looks to their past with rose colored glasses to prove to themselves that was not them 20 years earlier.
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I quite agree.
That said, there might be one or two useful rules that nobody tells you in school. Mine might be:
1. Nothing is more important than opening your mind and educating yourself. Nobody will actually take responsibility for doing this except you. Schools and parents and organizations may tell you that's what they're doing, and sometimes they might even be helping a little. But ultimately, others are interested in making you more like them. Only you can educate yourself to be knowledgeable and more yourself.
2. Teachers and parents and organizations can be very helpful in teaching you facts, figures, and how to work hard. You must teach yourself to relax and chill and do inner work and seek spiritual growth. These things are crucial to a healthy life, and virtually everyone else will want you to prioritize everything else first.
3. Life is hard, and will demand brutally hard work of you. It is also beautiful, and will sometimes reward you with magnificent moments. Your job is to know how to make the choices necessary so that the work you do brings you ever more of those rewards.
3a. Corollary to the above rule: you must learn how to make those choices so as to benefit yourself, but not necessarily at the expense of others. You must succeed without surrendering your humanity and compassion.