amateur Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 "It's just an accident that we happen to be on earth, enjoying our silly little moments, distracting ourselves as often as possible so we don't have to really face up to the fact that, you know, we're just temporary people with a very short time in a universe that will eventually be completely gone. And everything that you value, whether it's Shakespeare, Beethoven, da Vinci, or whatever, will be gone. The earth will be gone. The sun will be gone. There'll be nothing. The best you can do to get through life is distraction. Love works as a distraction. And work works as a distraction. You can distract yourself a billion different ways. But the key is to distract yourself." -- Woody Allen I do agree with that! Religion, like everything else, makes a good distraction, with bible reading, church going, attending church events, plus gives people thoughts that they actually won't die and will get to live forever, which is a huge distraction from our temporary life. I think it's fine if people want to use religion for that. My issue is with the "It's not a religion, it's a relationship" thing. When I've gone through super-lonely, super-depressed times in my life, sitting by myself and talking to my Imaginary Friend that didn't answer back is NOT a relationship. A relationship SHOULD be distracting, by having an actual PERSON or ANIMAL that is there with you, RELATING to you somehow (talking in person or on the phone, communicating by email or letter, playing with your dog, teaching your bird a new word). Talking to a god that never answers back, or never acknowledges that you spoke at all, is not a relationship. Talking to ANYBODY that doesn't answer back is not a relationship. If I keep calling you and leaving messages, and you never, NEVER answer, then we do NOT have a relationship. When I am lonely and call my friend, I am distracted by my loneliness by our conversation. When I am lonely and talk to my Imaginary Friend, I am only annoyed by being ignored by god. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deva Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 In a way, as long as we have an idea that we are separate selves and relate the whole world back to "I", isn't all of life then a relationship? Even if its no relationship. Our lives are relationships with the earth, with other people, with animals, with things.. on and on.. Everything is so interrelated we can't really comprehend the extent of it. Having said that, I do agree that most of our life activities are distractions. After all, don't we have to do something? We all know on some level that even if we attain to the heights of success, it will mean absolutely nothing in 2,000 years. Time is an abyss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RipVanWinkle Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 I agree that the key to a good life is picking distractions wisely. The thing to avoid is believing that our distractions are real. That's the problem with religion. bill 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fweethawt Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 This thread is distracting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fweethawt Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 I'm gonna find another one to distract me now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExXex Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 To me the eating and the working and the focusing on prolonging your life that many seconds longer is the distraction, and the loving, laughing, tasting, creating, experiencing is... the flipping amazing things humans do and are able to do. Sure our lives are fleeting but they're also extremely long in comparison to some organisms. Like some dragonflies, just because their adult form only lasts a few weeks it doesn't make it any less beautiful and wonderful that it exists when you see it. Most of us live much longer than that, making and seeing beautiful things, living isn't just filling time until you die to me, since dying happens tomorrow/in a few decades and I'm alive today. I unno, just my current way of thinking about things, as today I got dragged to church by my parents (still haven't come out, not the best time to and I'm willing to wait to pick my moment) and I thought.. these people are living for something that comes after life, but since I've stopped doing that I'd rather not waste my time trying to believe something I really don't. However I also decided it's time to face up to the silliness of life and be able to laugh that I was standing there listening to a bunch of people talking about something I didn't believe in and that not everything I do has cosmic significance. So yeah, I've embraced the contradiction that I don't really matter that much in the grand scheme of things, but at the same time it's fucking amazing that I'm here at all so I'm not going to claim that the things I do are a distraction. Wheee rambling, apologies if I have actually missed your point/ am not making mine very well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RenaissanceWoman Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 I always say... religion is good, until it's not. It's a fine, very busy distraction until you realize god is not there, and the people that are there in the church are selfish, back-stabbing, insecure, power-hungry little jerks. I am choosing my distractions much more wisely these days. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leopardus Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 Not a bad quote. My favorite by Woody was one he gave when an interviewer told Woody that he would probably be immortal by being remembered for all his accomplishments. Woody quipped back, "I don't want to be immortal by being remembered; I want to be immortal by not dying!" FWIW, my thought on getting through life now is that helping others really makes it go better. If we all sought to help one another along this often hard road called life, the journey would be so much better for all of us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RipVanWinkle Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 "We all know on some level that even if we attain to the heights of success, it will mean absolutely nothing in 2,000 years. Time is an abyss." Deva: For some of us it's a hell of a lot less than that. bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amateur Posted September 17, 2013 Author Share Posted September 17, 2013 ExXex, yes, I very much agree that it's amazing we're right here on this earth getting to do all these cool things, and experience all kinds of awesome things with our funky-as-shit senses. Why some people seem to enjoy being in church and complaining about the trials of this life and our sinful natures and sins of the flesh, blahblahblah, I don't know. Obviously, some people just need to get laid. Or drunk. Or drunk and laid. Leopardus: I love that Woody Allen quote too! And definitely helping each other out, and listening to each other (like on this site!), is an excellent way to spend some time here on earth. I'm not 100% sure of what the point of me making this post was. Truthfully, I was on the toilet reading a magazine to distract myself and found that quote and then I thought of the rest while distracting myself while showering. True story! Got myself all worked up thinking about a depressing time of my life and how I had a few friends that were there for me and how they helped me by distracting me from bad thoughts/loneliness, but an imaginary friend doesn't cut it at a time like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fweethawt Posted September 17, 2013 Share Posted September 17, 2013 FWIW, my thought on getting through life now is that helping others really makes it go better. If we all sought to help one another along this often hard road called life, the journey would be so much better for all of us. 1. Wtf does FWIW mean? 2. This line of thought sounds so nice and serene at first. Then you'd quickly come to realize that this sentiment is complete and utter bullshit. Its just an ideal that can never be attained for the simple fact that eventually -- and rather quickly I might add -- you'd find yourself "distracted" by a shit-ton of people taking advantage of each other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lerk Posted September 17, 2013 Share Posted September 17, 2013 FWIW, my thought on getting through life now is that helping others really makes it go better. If we all sought to help one another along this often hard road called life, the journey would be so much better for all of us.1. Wtf does FWIW mean? 2. This line of thought sounds so nice and serene at first. Then you'd quickly come to realize that this sentiment is complete and utter bullshit. Its just an ideal that can never be attained for the simple fact that eventually -- and rather quickly I might add -- you'd find yourself "distracted" by a shit-ton of people taking advantage of each other. FWIW = "For What It's Worth" Regarding the idea being bullshit, I call bullshit! Of course, the ideal can't be reached because life is full of problems not caused by humans, and because there are a lot of humans who cause problems, too. But that doesn't mean that we can't help out those closest to us, and maybe even some not so close, in a limited fashion. That's not to say that you can fix everything, it's only to say that you can actually make people happy in some instances, and make their lives a little bit easier in a lot of instances. It isn't all or nothing, and I don't have to fix the whole world to claim that I've accomplished something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Moderator florduh Posted September 17, 2013 Super Moderator Share Posted September 17, 2013 Woody Allen is a professional neurotic. I doubt he believes half the pithy stuff he says, though marrying a girl that's half or a third your age is quite a distraction, I imagine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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