On 18 Apr 2006 09:26:02 -0700,

we spend so much time judgeing other people, comparing ourselves to
other people, letting ourselves be defined by other people.... it's so
easy to have streotypes and misconceptions of others, and to pigeonhole
ourselves, just as much as we pigeonhole others... maybe the thing to
work on is to not sterotype yourself into rigid, narrow labels, and to
not let other people's labels stick to you... some people have thought
of me as a saint, and other too positive, unrealistic labels, some
people have called me very negative labels.... maybe the thing is to
reject all that... and remember that you are a complex, 3 dimesnional
person with strengths and weaknesses, just like everyone else on
earth... I guess when you have low self esteem on many levels, you
want other people to always be understanding, and to always give you
praise and meet your emotional needs, and you get angry when many
times, people won't do that... I guess you have to work on building up
your own self esteem in a realistic but compassionate way....

So we shouldn't define ourselves by the standards of others, but we "...are
a complex, 3 dimensional person with strengths and weaknesses, just like
everyone else on earth..."

So if we are the same, what's the problem with defining ourselves in
similar ways?

It's just normal human grouping instincts. It has helped us survive for
all of human history. It helps us survive now also, though in somewhat
dissimilar ways.

Yet when human production and comfort is at such high levels, you get those
lazy, greedy, dissatisfied people who start acting disgruntled about how
good they have it. And they start pondering how not to be like the others,
even though it is the others who make their life possible.

But then that is how we form new, and dissimilar ways to continue with the
human grouping instinct. So in the end, Jordie, it's not something you
actually want to do away with, it is simply something your artistic mind
wants to create a new take on.


--
SELF-EVIDENT, adj. Evident to one's self and to nobody else.

- Ambrose Bierce