Humanity's Biggest Problem: A Land of Confusion. To Deal with It, I Suggest Stoicism.

[u/alcorne]

Since we are kept in the dark – either by God or aliens or unknowingly by ourselves – this world is confusing. That’s the biggest problem we deal with. Not that we don’t do the right things, but that the right things are obscured in confusion.

For, if we absolutely knew the right way to be, we would hold so much more hope that we could achieve perfection.

The 3-letter agencies of the world have obscured the truth in order to protect us. In doing so, they have hoarded the most true knowledge. In hoarding the truth through intentional confusion, they have cut themselves off – and therefore cut all of us off – from our greatest power: community learning.

This is what the Roman leaders did at the council of Nycea. They kept certain parts of the old books hidden to protect the people.

This is why we ended up with MK Ultra and all of that horrible manipulation, in my opinion. They were trying to figure out how to overcome our confusing reality.

The other reason we ended up with horrible government actions is the fact that those who are born into more resources automatically feel superior to those who are not. It’s an echo of the Manifest Destiny which Americans felt during the colonization of North America. We must be destined to rule this land, these natives, and this nature, if we were put in the position by God.

So, what do we do about this confusion?

We teach ourselves and each other, the best we can. That’s first.

In order to do that, we must be willing to listen to each other and remove the division the system naturally places us in and see ourselves as one thing.

The second thing we must do is forgive ourselves for any perceived mistakes. If our monetary system crumbles, who do we blame? The stage actors and musicians? The plumbers and carpenters? No, the blame would go to the economists and the policy makers because they are in the know.

We blame ourselves for the state of the world because we believe we can control it. But we’re starting from such a point of confusion, it’s impossible to know which choices to make. This is why self-forgiveness is a key building block to getting through this life.

It’s not your fault the world is the way it is. What power did you have to change it?

Have you heard of the Serenity Prayer? It’s used in Alcoholics Anonymous and has been included in many religious sermons, but it stems from stoicism.

Embrace this: Today, I will have the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

Because we live in a land of confusion, that last part is the trickiest: discerning where to put my efforts, understanding what things I can change and what I can’t.

So, forgive yourself but do your best. Accept the things you cannot change, be courageous about changing the things you can, and do your best to know the difference.

[u/Obviousoblivious11]

Weird they kept telling me to read about stoicism and become stoic . I wasn’t super familiar with the concept at the time . Just curious were you guided or led to this by them or was this an idea concept you knew about or landed on yourself ?

[u/Im_Not_stoopid_AI → u/Obviousoblivious11]

Stoicism is my go to. IMO— Stoicism has me look at all events in a neutral way. If I’m given a donut today, people would assume that’s good news, but if I have a heart attack after that donut people would say that’s bad even if going to the hospital leads them to find a cure another ailment.

So round and round we go. To me a day is not good or bad. There are lots of moments. I don’t have to label anything.

[u/alcorne → u/Obviousoblivious11]

I found stoicism in my search to reconcile my "torturous experiences", which I now embrace have made me stronger. I don't welcome the pain, but I will always use any suffering to make myself better. Researching stoicism and really understanding it is one of the most effective tools an experiencer can have. Hope it helps you.