"Happiness is the Ultimate Good"

As humans, we are able to persist and develop our selves and our society only through use of our reason and observation. The tools that we have to (1) understand the reality in which we exist, and (2) solve our problems, are the powers of reason and observation. It is absolutely vital that we understand this premise, so that we may focus on further developing these abilities, and recognizing fallacious logic, to solve our problems as efficiently and effectively as possible.

You are one of the humans who operates on this system of reason and observation.

Perhaps the biggest obstacle in this area to overcome, however, is a result of the utilization of these powers (of reason and observation). People use these abilities to come to conclusions about all different subjects. And yes, this is exactly the goal of reason; however, there is a significant problem when human nature and conclusions are mixed. People have a natural tendency to continue believing whatever it is they currently believe - it is difficult to acknowledge being wrong. It is difficult for everybody.

People want to persist in their current understanding (of everything they think they understand) so much so, that it is normal behavior to consciously or unconsciously seek out and grab onto observational evidence that supports current beliefs, while rejecting and even forgetting observational evidence that is contrary to current beliefs.

We hold onto our inevitably flawed understandings with death-grips.

These death-grips are truly one of the biggest hindrances to the wellbeing of humankind. Countless problems that humanity spends time talking about or working on every single day fall under the umbrella of this death-grip problem. For some reason, though, the real problem - of stubbornness, close-mindedness, and uncurbed bias - is never spoken about. It seems there isn't a very effective way, so far, to persuade massive groups of people to internalize the concept that each one of them is nearly 100% certain to be wrong about several things.

When a conclusion you have made (intentionally or unintentionally) about reality is challenged, if you wish to pursue truth, you must consider the new information and/or reasoning that has been presented to you.

Our perception of reality is not even close to being entirely understood. We do not have a comprehensive list of truths and facts about this "universe", as we call it. It is absurdly common for a notion to be considered irrefutable fact (in all areas of life) only for it to be discovered that said notion was not precisely correct.

We must be open to challenges to our beliefs. I must be open. You must be open. Only through open-mindedness, even towards concepts that you have entirely shut out, even towards notions that make you utterly furious, can we thrive as intelligent beings.

In addition, only through respect for the other intelligent beings on this planet (as well as their opinions, lifestyles, etc.) can we thrive as intelligent beings.

Hatred and anger in response to words and actions you don't like:

• will not solve any problems.
• will not help the person(s) you have deemed your "enemy", who you think is misinformed, to escape their supposed misfortune
• will only fill our world with hatred, anger, dissonance, and alienation among ourselves.

Please keep this always in mind.

The Facts of Reality

I have come to recognize two human behaviors that are very common:

1) caring way too much about petty or insignificant things
2) living a life that revolves around something insignificant

So, here is my input for those of you engaged in these behaviors, or for anyone who might otherwise benefit from it:

You are some sort of object capable of conscious thought, sensuous observation, logical analysis, emotional experience, creation, and communication. This world is full of other beings who have the same abilities. The universe, including your body, is composed entirely of energy in different forms and states. We don't know what energy is. We don't know why there is something rather than nothing. We are beings who have developed utterly awe-inspiring, abstract abilities. We are sharing this strange and wonderful experience together.

These fundamental facts of our existence, the nature of being a living organism capable of experience, are not even recognized by so many humans. These fundamental facts of our existence should make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. They should make your heart stop. They should invoke an emotion inside of you unlike any other you have felt before.

The facts of the reality we have found ourselves in are more beautiful than any creation of any kind - more beautiful than any detail of the reality itself.

Drawings

These are drawings of mine that I scanned and digitally edited.

The one with the eyes is desktop-sized -- please, feel free to use this masterpiece as your computer's desktop background.

Anxiety

I have anxiety. There are a lot of contributors to this general unrest and panic in my heart. One of them is flaw in the communication I have with others. There are too many feelings, too many concerns that I have, that I can't explain to other people. Too many of the trees of reasoning I create in my head are too complex or abnormal for me to hand them to other people, and say, "Hey, look at this. Does this make sense? What advice do you have for me? Do you like this idea? Is this reasoning sound? Is my understanding flawed?"

Many of the concepts and feelings this applies to are emergent from attempts to resolve dissatisfaction in my life. This inability to communicate and get feedback that actually stems from an understanding of my problem causes more dissatisfaction, and leads to unresolved problems, which create a life filled with problems and anxiety, which is a life in which it is increasingly easy to develop more problems.

In this situation, I fall into (quite frankly) a fucking stupid hole of my own unintentional creation. I lose my real identity. I lose my other interests. I lose the other thoughts and feelings that once occupied my mind. My mental state is perpetually anxious, concerned, isolated, and seeking. Seeking for an exit to a hole that I made myself. Seeking for a solution to a problem that has morphed into something very far from what my initial, and real, problems were (and are). 

Seeking for a solution to a problem that isn't really there, but still permeates my entire life and works exponentially faster to destroy my identity, my relationships, my interests, my passions, and my brain... A problem that I feel so intensely and so constantly, I have yet to find success in internalizing the fact that it isn't there.

My anxiety is fueled by this desperate need in my soul to find a solution to a problem whose existence is continually granted by me. Or is it? Is this analysis correct? Am I delusional? Is my focus misguided? Would it be better if I didn't think about any of this? Of course not. I have to think about it to figure out how to fix it. But what if there's nothing to fix? Of course there's something to fix. My being is changing - I'm losing abilities - I'm pushing other people away - I can't make friends - I'm not functioning mentally and emotionally as I have before. Of course there's something wrong. How do I fix it? I just want to fucking fix it. I'll do whatever I need to do; I just don't know what that is. What existence is this, where all I desire is to fix the dysfunction that is becoming my own person, but in all my searching and all my work to do so, I cannot find how?

My Mother's Eyes

Nothing shines
Souls have dried
Decaying mind

Tried and tried
Aim tall and wide
No goal in sight

My mother's eyes
Showed deep inside
Now solid white
As though she died

"Ahead is death"
Just drifting by
No smile beside
Tears not been cried

I need those lights
Or I will die
In time nearby

Dysfunctional Biological Material

Awake

Living

Functional biological material

Instinctual and primitive

Kills to live

Looks for a meaning

A nonexistent or unlikely purpose

Struggles for momentary satisfaction

Trudges through bad to good

Just to be in good

Liars - cheaters - thieves, lead

But their endeavors... everything

Insignificant to anything

Nonetheless, they live
Inspired by emotion, but

Greed - lust - fear
Rule the primitive mind

Poorly functioning biological material

Awake for a second to observe our failure