Comments on: “Frak the Comfortable” http://www.whatawaytogomovie.com/2009/04/16/frak-the-comfortable/ A middle class white guy comes to grips with Peak Oil, Climate Change, Mass Extinction, Population Overshoot Tue, 20 Jul 2010 16:33:25 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Jason Failla http://www.whatawaytogomovie.com/2009/04/16/frak-the-comfortable/comment-page-1/#comment-25662 Jason Failla Wed, 20 May 2009 16:08:59 +0000 http://www.whatawaytogomovie.com/2009/04/16/frak-the-comfortable/#comment-25662 Love it. "fuck the comfortable." They need to get in shape anyways, so pushing someone out of their sofa may not be so mean afterall. Cheers, loved the movie too, very moving. Love it. “fuck the comfortable.” They need to get in shape anyways, so pushing someone out of their sofa may not be so mean afterall. Cheers, loved the movie too, very moving.

]]> By: JPH http://www.whatawaytogomovie.com/2009/04/16/frak-the-comfortable/comment-page-1/#comment-23738 JPH Tue, 05 May 2009 18:45:58 +0000 http://www.whatawaytogomovie.com/2009/04/16/frak-the-comfortable/#comment-23738 Accepting not-knowing feels better to me than trying to know the unknowable. I place a lot of value on feeling and intuition. Sally, I think it was either you or Tim that commented on the fact that it could very well be too late to avoid catastrophic climate change. I've read things that pretty much convinced me that this is the case. In light of this, I decided that embodying my idea of a life well lived is the best I can try for. It's all going down and I often feel like attempting to make it crash faster and attempting to stop the crash are equally pointless. If I try to make it crash faster, the lesson won't be learned (even if that lesson ends in extinction) and the whole drama of civilization is more likely to play out again later. If I try to stop the crash, I only delay the inevitable. The global industrial economy is destroying everything, including itself. All anyone can do is be themselves. We'll see what, if anything, remains after the dust clears. I would love for the more reasonable and nurturing members of our species to make it through this period, but we can't know that, and that's okay... http://www.futurescenarios.org/content/view/31/51/ ...This is looking more and more likely, and that's also okay. I'm working on two things. Embodying a life well lived and displacing my fear with love. If I don't do this, I don't like my life at all! I like liking my life. I believe that I only get one. Love, JPH Accepting not-knowing feels better to me than trying to know the unknowable. I place a lot of value on feeling and intuition.

Sally, I think it was either you or Tim that commented on the fact that it could very well be too late to avoid catastrophic climate change. I’ve read things that pretty much convinced me that this is the case. In light of this, I decided that embodying my idea of a life well lived is the best I can try for.

It’s all going down and I often feel like attempting to make it crash faster and attempting to stop the crash are equally pointless. If I try to make it crash faster, the lesson won’t be learned (even if that lesson ends in extinction) and the whole drama of civilization is more likely to play out again later. If I try to stop the crash, I only delay the inevitable.

The global industrial economy is destroying everything, including itself. All anyone can do is be themselves. We’ll see what, if anything, remains after the dust clears. I would love for the more reasonable and nurturing members of our species to make it through this period, but we can’t know that, and that’s okay…

http://www.futurescenarios.org/content/view/31/51/

…This is looking more and more likely, and that’s also okay. I’m working on two things. Embodying a life well lived and displacing my fear with love. If I don’t do this, I don’t like my life at all! I like liking my life. I believe that I only get one.

Love,
JPH

]]> By: Jonathan http://www.whatawaytogomovie.com/2009/04/16/frak-the-comfortable/comment-page-1/#comment-22559 Jonathan Mon, 27 Apr 2009 04:56:05 +0000 http://www.whatawaytogomovie.com/2009/04/16/frak-the-comfortable/#comment-22559 "The Matrix is a system, Neo. That system is our enemy. But when you're inside, you look around, what do you see? Businessmen, teachers, lawyers, carpenters. The very minds of the people we are trying to save. But until we do, these people are still a part of that system and that makes them our enemy. You have to understand, most of these people are not ready to be unplugged. And many of them are so inured, so hopelessly dependent on the system, that they will fight to protect it." - Morpheus “The Matrix is a system, Neo. That system is our enemy. But when you’re inside, you look around, what do you see? Businessmen, teachers, lawyers, carpenters. The very minds of the people we are trying to save. But until we do, these people are still a part of that system and that makes them our enemy. You have to understand, most of these people are not ready to be unplugged. And many of them are so inured, so hopelessly dependent on the system, that they will fight to protect it.” – Morpheus

]]> By: Paul Tierney http://www.whatawaytogomovie.com/2009/04/16/frak-the-comfortable/comment-page-1/#comment-21614 Paul Tierney Mon, 20 Apr 2009 05:22:33 +0000 http://www.whatawaytogomovie.com/2009/04/16/frak-the-comfortable/#comment-21614 The ability to tolerate the shame of not knowing The willingness to risk not pretending that we know The courage to admit to ourselves we might not know The courage to admit to others that we don't know The discovery that we're not the only ones who don't know Surviving not knowing Unpacking the cultural message that we are supposed to know Daring to practice not knowing, anyway Discovering that not knowing opens doors we didn't know were there Seeing that knowing prevents direct experience & discovery The realization that knowing is not the answer, or even _an_ answer The sinking feeling that if we can't discover anything new we can't enter a real dialog Entering a real dialog we will be changed in ways we can't predict or control The fear of losing control of our sense of self The grief of having to choose between living in uncertainty and pretending to know Feeling betrayed by ego's promises and assurances Absorbing the enormity of the loss of privilege, protection & comfort Accepting that privilege, protection & comfort were illusions Grieving the lost time, effort and soul we sacrificed to maintain the illusion Becoming aware of how much _work_ it is to live without knowing Accepting that we can only endure not knowing for brief periods Noticing that we (only?) feel alive when we can tolerate not knowing Noticing that knowing feels safe but essentially dead Choosing to let go of knowing a little more often than before Seeing that not knowing is an opportunity, not an obligation Getting scared, hurt or angry and falling back into certainty Accepting loss forever; starting over The ability to tolerate the shame of not knowing
The willingness to risk not pretending that we know
The courage to admit to ourselves we might not know
The courage to admit to others that we don’t know
The discovery that we’re not the only ones who don’t know
Surviving not knowing
Unpacking the cultural message that we are supposed to know
Daring to practice not knowing, anyway
Discovering that not knowing opens doors we didn’t know were there
Seeing that knowing prevents direct experience & discovery
The realization that knowing is not the answer, or even _an_ answer
The sinking feeling that if we can’t discover anything new we can’t enter a real dialog
Entering a real dialog we will be changed in ways we can’t predict or control
The fear of losing control of our sense of self
The grief of having to choose between living in uncertainty and pretending to know
Feeling betrayed by ego’s promises and assurances
Absorbing the enormity of the loss of privilege, protection & comfort
Accepting that privilege, protection & comfort were illusions
Grieving the lost time, effort and soul we sacrificed to maintain the illusion
Becoming aware of how much _work_ it is to live without knowing
Accepting that we can only endure not knowing for brief periods
Noticing that we (only?) feel alive when we can tolerate not knowing
Noticing that knowing feels safe but essentially dead
Choosing to let go of knowing a little more often than before
Seeing that not knowing is an opportunity, not an obligation
Getting scared, hurt or angry and falling back into certainty
Accepting loss forever; starting over

]]> By: Bob http://www.whatawaytogomovie.com/2009/04/16/frak-the-comfortable/comment-page-1/#comment-21490 Bob Fri, 17 Apr 2009 19:42:37 +0000 http://www.whatawaytogomovie.com/2009/04/16/frak-the-comfortable/#comment-21490 Hi Sally, Well, you got it right in your paragraph about "Fuck the comfort-addicted aspects of people’s wounded egos, and their unconscious, privileged lifestyles that support and maintain those wounded egos.” Those egos and that addiction to comfort will not serve us either individually or collectively. Trouble is when you try to actively engage those people they simply don't want to play. Those who have not "flipped the switch" inside of themselves as you have are hopeless to attempt to influence and all you end up doing is burning yourself out. You have to find the balance between engaging the unengageable ("Fuck the Comfortable") and helping others who are actually ready to flip that switch. If a person cannot make that distinction in life, he/she is due for early burnout and disillusionment, like auntiegrav. Mitakuyue Oyasin, Bob Hi Sally,

Well, you got it right in your paragraph about “Fuck the comfort-addicted aspects of people’s wounded egos, and their unconscious, privileged lifestyles that support and maintain those wounded egos.” Those egos and that addiction to comfort will not serve us either individually or collectively.

Trouble is when you try to actively engage those people they simply don’t want to play. Those who have not “flipped the switch” inside of themselves as you have are hopeless to attempt to influence and all you end up doing is burning yourself out. You have to find the balance between engaging the unengageable (“Fuck the Comfortable”) and helping others who are actually ready to flip that switch. If a person cannot make that distinction in life, he/she is due for early burnout and disillusionment, like auntiegrav.

Mitakuyue Oyasin,

Bob

]]> By: Bob http://www.whatawaytogomovie.com/2009/04/16/frak-the-comfortable/comment-page-1/#comment-21486 Bob Fri, 17 Apr 2009 18:54:20 +0000 http://www.whatawaytogomovie.com/2009/04/16/frak-the-comfortable/#comment-21486 Thanks for this post Sally! Related to this conundrum you speak of - of being protected vs being connected - more and more I find myself discovering simultaneity (not to be confused with multi-tasking) to hold a key. That is that we as beings need both to connect and to protect. If we focus only on protection, we become empty shells; but if we focus only on connecting, we will likely perish due to outside forces that we haven't prepared for. Kind of like a good immune system - it needs to be prepared to defend the body but not to the extent that the body can't truly be "alive". Here's to finding that right balance... Thanks - Bob Thanks for this post Sally!

Related to this conundrum you speak of – of being protected vs being connected – more and more I find myself discovering simultaneity (not to be confused with multi-tasking) to hold a key. That is that we as beings need both to connect and to protect. If we focus only on protection, we become empty shells; but if we focus only on connecting, we will likely perish due to outside forces that we haven’t prepared for. Kind of like a good immune system – it needs to be prepared to defend the body but not to the extent that the body can’t truly be “alive”.

Here’s to finding that right balance…

Thanks – Bob

]]> By: Barb http://www.whatawaytogomovie.com/2009/04/16/frak-the-comfortable/comment-page-1/#comment-21483 Barb Fri, 17 Apr 2009 17:58:10 +0000 http://www.whatawaytogomovie.com/2009/04/16/frak-the-comfortable/#comment-21483 Thanks so much for blogging more frequently. Yours is an important voice for me. I've just caught up on the last three posts and I feel sober, grounded and confirmed. I'm also grateful to hear about your experience of anger directed toward you. I haven't had that yet, but I bet I will soon. I am happy to be forewarned. Thanks so much for blogging more frequently. Yours is an important voice for me. I’ve just caught up on the last three posts and I feel sober, grounded and confirmed. I’m also grateful to hear about your experience of anger directed toward you. I haven’t had that yet, but I bet I will soon. I am happy to be forewarned.

]]> By: auntiegrav http://www.whatawaytogomovie.com/2009/04/16/frak-the-comfortable/comment-page-1/#comment-21435 auntiegrav Thu, 16 Apr 2009 19:18:47 +0000 http://www.whatawaytogomovie.com/2009/04/16/frak-the-comfortable/#comment-21435 "It has been when I have faced consciously into those extremely uncomfortable experiences that I have discovered resources inside me that I didn’t know were there, that have pushed me out of old, ego-based, childish ways of thinking and being and into a selfhood that was more fully adult." Well, good for you, Sal. Too bad some of us are just too fuckin' tired now because of all the new-age crap we've tried and gotten burned out. Fuck the comfortable. Fuck the uncomfortable. Fuck it all. Just fuck it. People suck. “It has been when I have faced consciously into those extremely uncomfortable experiences that I have discovered resources inside me that I didn’t know were there, that have pushed me out of old, ego-based, childish ways of thinking and being and into a selfhood that was more fully adult.”

Well, good for you, Sal.
Too bad some of us are just too fuckin’ tired now because of all the new-age crap we’ve tried and gotten burned out.

Fuck the comfortable. Fuck the uncomfortable. Fuck it all. Just fuck it. People suck.

]]> By: Floyd Robinson http://www.whatawaytogomovie.com/2009/04/16/frak-the-comfortable/comment-page-1/#comment-21431 Floyd Robinson Thu, 16 Apr 2009 18:59:07 +0000 http://www.whatawaytogomovie.com/2009/04/16/frak-the-comfortable/#comment-21431 Wonderful insight! Wonderful insight!

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