A spectator society
Mar. 14th, 2025 10:20 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
asakiyumeA friend and I were talking asynchronously the other day**, and she put forward this interesting idea:
What do people think? More than an agree or disagree, what questions does the question raise for you, or what roads does it take your thoughts down?
For me, it got me thinking about the difference between something being effortful and something being miserable. Building something strong takes effort, and effort, by definition, involves work, which isn't always fun. But that's by no means the same as misery. You can rightly want to avoid misery, but I think you're likely to be disappointed in life if you try to avoid effort. ---But that's just one tangent. What does the question raise for you?
**"talking asynchronously" is my new way of saying "exchanging letters."
A thought: we've become a spectator society, where people often watch sports or plays rather than participating themselves. Are we also becoming a society where many people watch social relationships (on TV, the internet, etc.) rather than participating?
What do people think? More than an agree or disagree, what questions does the question raise for you, or what roads does it take your thoughts down?
For me, it got me thinking about the difference between something being effortful and something being miserable. Building something strong takes effort, and effort, by definition, involves work, which isn't always fun. But that's by no means the same as misery. You can rightly want to avoid misery, but I think you're likely to be disappointed in life if you try to avoid effort. ---But that's just one tangent. What does the question raise for you?
**"talking asynchronously" is my new way of saying "exchanging letters."
no subject
Date: 2025-03-14 11:08 pm (UTC)I've got back in touch with friends I hadn't seen in years and now meet up with a friend for lunch at least once a week.
there's the Jehova's Wittness who knocked on my door over 40 years ago when I was pregnant and bored. She never did convert me, but we built up a good friendship.
There's a friend who used to be in a morris team with me, and left for health reasons. We went round a museum together yesterday.
A friend I only made two years ago, but is now very dear to me (and her kids and my granddaughter get on like a house on fire). We meet up every other Saturday.
It takes effort to reach out to people you've lost contact with, and say 'I miss you, let's meet up'
But it's definitely worth it.
no subject
Date: 2025-03-14 11:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-03-15 10:19 am (UTC)I'm still a cheerful atheist, but I find the biblical knowledge I gained comes in handy now and then - not least as I'm currently into English Civil War re-enactment, and religion played a big role in that period.
no subject
Date: 2025-03-15 11:44 am (UTC)I've always been preoccupied with/interested in religion, so I didn't gain that much new knowledge, though it was interesting to see where JW beliefs differed from the larger Christian streams. As for my own beliefs, I've never been able to put a name on them. "Respects some of the major tenets of Christianity a whole lot but definitely not a Christian" is probably as good a name as any for them right now.