Tag: criticism

Working at the Log Jam…

 

“Whenever you feel like criticizing any one…just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.”
― F. Scott Fitzgerald

 

I am so grateful for the knowledge of (most of) my own shortcomings. It often stops me from being critical of others. It’s easy to criticize and its fun. There is that kind of sick guilty pleasure in it and so many people who can be said to deserve it. People in positions of power and authority are targets by their very presence. Yet being critical of others far too often serves as a smokescreen for our own flaws. If I criticize the lady who cut in front of me in the grocery check-out, perhaps no one will notice that I have 30 items in my cart in the express lane. It may even make me forget about it. Far better for me to work on my own stuff. This isn’t as easy as it may seem . I’ve been working on it however.
Blessings, G

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Calling For HomeCalling For Home by G A Rosenberg

 

Diamond Vortex MandlaDiamond Vortex Mandala by G A Rosenberg

Flinging Poo

“Even Benny Benedict’s “One Month to Go” column was based on that illusion. Benny had actually read Darwin once, in college a long time ago, and had heard of sciences like ethology and ecology, but the facts of evolution had never really registered on him. He never thought of himself as a primate. He never realized his friends and associates were primates. Above all, he never understood that the alpha males of Unistat were typical leaders of primate bands. As a result of this inability to see the obvious, Benny was constantly alarmed and terrified by the behavior of himself, his friends and associates and especially the alpha males of the pack. Since he didn’t know it was ordinary primate behavior, it seemed just awful to him.
 

Since a great deal of primate behavior was considered just awful, most of the domesticated primates spent most of their time trying to conceal what they were doing.

Some of the primates got caught by other primates. All of the primates lived in dread of getting caught.

Those who got caught were called no-good shits.

The term no-good shit was a deep expression of primate psychology. For instance, one wild primate (a chimpanzee) taught sign language by two domesticated primates (scientists) spontaneously put together the signs for “shit” and “scientist” to describe a scientist she didn’t like. She was calling him shit-scientist. She also put together the signs for “shit” and “chimpanzee” for another chimpanzee she didn’t like. She was calling him shit-chimpanzee.

“You no-good shit,” domesticate primates often said to each other.

— Robert Anton Wilson

 

Robert Anton Wilson goes on to say that the way that many of us avoid our fear of being identified as ‘no-good shits’ is by pointing out other ‘no good shits’. Looking around at social media (among other things) I’d have to agree with him. I have been guilty of this myself in the past, looking at others who are doing wrong in the world or in their lives, those who I considered to be much worse than me.
“Look at those people who abuse or abandon their kids.”
“Look at what our nation’s leaders are doing now.”
“I can’t stand people who lie to themselves”
Hell it beats working on myself to become more self-actualized and aware. I am not saying we should not stay aware of what’s happening in the news or even of behaviour we see in others as much as staying self-critical and compassionate. It also helps when I realize that I have baggage too.
Blessings, G

 

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Lizard EyeLizard Eye by G A Rosenberg

 
Portal VoyagePortal Voyage by G A Rosenberg

Quote of the Day – October 7 2012

“Is there a greater fault than being conscious of the other person’s faults?

If the other person laughs at you, you can pity him, but if you laugh at him you may never forgive yourself
If the other person injures you, you may forget the injury, but if you injure him you will always remember.
in truth the other person is your most sensitive self given another body”
–Kahlil Gibran

 

And yet we still criticize. Tho often the fact that we can recognize a fault in another also means that the fault lies at least in potential within us. Could that be the answer, so simple? To keep a notebook handy and track every thing we say about others to see how it leads back… That could work… tho for many of us it would lead to notebooks growing very full very quickly.. Hmmm that might not be a bad thing to see either…
Still I have learned much from friends pointing out blind spots, I learn from and consider each of them with gratitude… Occasionally I even find the courage and fortitude to work on them and so perhaps grow..
Blessings, G

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Emerald Mandala by G A Rosenberg

 

Goddess Energy by G A Rosenberg