You're an inspiring lady, Witch Bruja.

I was thinking about this topic a little and...

I think what matters is that when one chooses some direction in life, then should walk that path in an excellent way, as well as is able to.



And to topic- what do I live for? I will express my stance similarly to how Shade did.

Is my complex secret.

Of course, you're right. No matter what the path, pursuing excellence and holding on to your passion with both hands is what it's all about. I'm sure that as Satanists, we all run the spectrum of lifestyles and desires, but that is the one common thread that we should all share.

Best of luck to you with your complex secret, I've no doubt you will do well. You're inspiring yourself.

As for me, I think I now live for this thread, as it permits me to look at six lovely female avatars popping up in reply to one another.

To enjoy life. I know that doesn't sound very deep, but I'd say it's a good reason.

"If you see life as anything but pure entertainment, you've missed the entire point."
--George Carlin


1. To find new ways to experience and enjoy life, and to maintain the ways that I have already found.
2. To help my wife do the same.
3. To raise my future children in a way to make their existence worthwhile, not just to pump out resource-sucking idiots who merely contribute to overpopulation.

Defining the sub-goals to get from point A to Point B is a bit harder. Right now, and I'm just trying to graduate, get a good job, enjoy the rare moments of free time that I have, and maintain peace with my wife in the process. I'll do my best to figure out the rest as the time comes.

You said it... I just thought it.

Which humans?

Never lose sight of the fact that people who have thoughts more complicated than other animals, in a legitimate conceptual sense and not just computational, are rare.

People can tinker away at their PC's all day long but I don't think they understand life anymore than a cat that's somehow learned to turn on faucets or open doors. Adept tool usage doesn't translate into the larger conceptual understanding that only a small fraction of humans have ever possessed.

There is a major difference between the mind that creates instructions and the mind that follows instructions. Both are useful, good and necessary.

Nietzsche spoke about this dichotomy by referring to Slave and Master morality, but I wouldn't even be that cynical (for once).

My theory is easily proven by the billions of people who don't understand half of what just three or four people in this thread understand. Take away their allotted technological comfort and you are quickly met with an average primate who do not at all fit your pretty picture of "more possibilities" and "more thoughts."

Billions of them.

With guns.

Definitely.

FUR TEH LULZ

>> I think what matters is that when one chooses some direction in life, then should walk that path in an excellent way, as well as is able to. <<


If I die tomorrow, I have failed. Simple as that. And that isn't a joyous thought. What I have within me is an unfillable hunger. An almost pathological drive that I cannot do anything about. Yes; art is, for the artist, a compulsion, not an indulgence.

I have not said that it makes me happier than everyone else. I acknowledge it is both a necessity of my existence and a torture. It can, for the most part, render me completely unhappy.

As I have said, my initial response was to the original post. I made no personal comments to anyone. I was speaking about humanity as a whole.

But my basic point is thus:

That humanity consists of a great mass. Within that mass there are wasters, there are adequate, there are good, and there are exceptional individuals. Within this great sea of people there are multiple generations of families that are of no greater importance than a colony of ants wiped out by boiling water being poured down it.

And then there are those who are the giants, the true Gods who walk amongst men.

Beethoven. Einstein. Jung. Dali.

People who unequivocally and undeniably make an impact, impose their will, upon the world by the sheer driving force of their very being.

It is only a case of applying objective standards to grasp this.

Now myself, as both a writer and a Satanist, why would I not want to pursue greatness? I can't be satisfied with mediocrity, with being a okay writer.

Yes it is a torture. But I am glad I am born with this drive within me.

What I am saying about man and where one fits in society may be unpalatable for many. But as I said, it's an unpalatable truth.

But once again, nothing I have said was aimed at any individual.

So anyway, back to square one: that's why I live.

I knew your stance.

Stratification based on various criteria occurs in every group of individuals, as Satanists we do know that.

I also didn't direct my response at you, not any personal intention.

We are throwing nonexistent hot potato into each other's hands, Mr.

Some say it is the only reason to do anything.

Of everything you've said to your point, this post really drives the crux home.

As I recently remarked to a friend here, I can very much relate to that sentiment expressed by Julius Caesar whom, roiled in his frustrated ambition, approached a statue of Alexander the Great, fell to his knees and began weeping. When asked why he wept, Caesar replied, "Why should I not? At my age of thirty, He had conquered the world, and I have achieved nothing."

Now, here's a matter for discussion and debate:

How important is fame?

And how does it rank in comparison to other values, qualities, and considerations?

Would you (and this is a question for anyone and everyone) rather be less-well-known, but more skilled and more productive, or more well-known, or less skilled or less productive? How satisfied or dissatisfied will you be with your life looking back, if you never become a household name, a la Dali or Einstein?



As Despair.com put it once, "When Keats was your age, he was dead."

If you can find true happiness in this chaos, then you are God in your own life. It's a bit like mathematics, you have to solve the puzzles, and find out what makes YOU happy.

You won't find any answers in books, the answer is already inside yourself.

And then it doesn't really matter if you are a nurse, or a writer. And it doesn't matter if you want fame or not.

I'm a private person, so I don't care about fame, I only sell my art to people I care about.

I like the way you think about life. It's kinda similar to mine. But what do you mean with the happiness and God part in your post? 'Gods' are not happy always, right?
ps. I know your replay was not for me but I'm interested.