Here Today... Gone To Hell!

Or are we just taught to think that way?

"There is no such thing as perpetual tranquillity of mind while we live here; because life itself is but motion, and can never be without desire, nor without fear, no more than without sense" Thomas Hobbes.

A clever saying proves nothing ofcourse but i do think humans are constantly striving for more. It would be wrong to think of wanting more as purely being a craving for material possessions (which is certainly taught by society) but all humans will strive to better themeselves as a whole; piece by piece. This may never be achieved, but the want remains. Constant motion.

"he who wants nothing is truely free" confuscius say......

People are just fucking assholes that are self-centered, concieted and materialistic. Too much material crap , they don't stop for one second and care about others. Nature is not cool enough anymore , they rather stay inside their house fuck around with their electronic crap.

According to Christianity, we're not supposed want for anything, or however the saying goes. Any many other religions teach the same rule in that regard.

I think it's more in human nature's way to want as much love admiration as possible. People may feel like they're more loved if they have this or that. It just comes down to  everyone wanting to be noticed and appreciated.

I watched a Chris Rock concert on HBO , he said...

"Most people don't know this but it's true, their God is money. Ever wonder why they close ATM machines on sundays? Because churches would be empty. :hihi: :rofl: :hihi: :rofl:

God bless Chris Rock, :beer:.

I guess it's really the end...

ATM's are open around these parts 24/7.

In part I think it is the way you were brought up...you always want to do a bit better then your parents did, have things you never had and provide things for your own children that you never had. Wanting for the sake of wanting is shit but wanting more of what you already got is human nature. I personally strive to be comfortable,provide a good, solid life for my kids with a few comforts we perhaps no not need but if you can afford it, why not? I have been on both sides of 'want' and 'need' and I do not want what I haven't got. Hey, wait a minute...isn't there a song in there somewhere? :hihi:So many people get caught up in "keeping up with the Jones's and to them it means they have security...so, to simply answer the question, I would say 'Yes".

actually Chris Rock says thats why they close BANKS not ATMS


The happiest people I think are the ones who appreciate and can be content with what they do have.

Id rather live in a 2 bedroom house, livin paycheck to paycheck with a piece of shit car but be happy, then live in a mansion with millions of dollars and always be miserable.

happiness is what everyone is truly searching for, it is just very few knowexactly how to obtain it.

People dont realize that nice things and having more gets u more attention but if the people only love u or hang around u because of what u got, then its not real or true.

Be content, thats the key, dont be greedy.

I've always think that people hate people, cause the more people are spreading the more wars are begining, people hate to share, to help and to think in anybody else except from themselves, if that will change one day? I hope so or else will stick in this world until we destroyed it  :no:

it's not about wanting more in the absloute
it's about wanting more ... than the other person.

Thats why people in groups (religion, political parties, rock band forum ...) are stupid.

if you are wanting more (material, and immaterial) relatively to your own persona and that's it. it's fine. you're almost free (not as free as confuscius ultimate state).

when you start coparing with other people. (country vs. country, company vs. company, you vs. me ...) then you're fucked.

but, western countries have to slow down a little. i mean really slow down.
our standards are so high we are trying to find ways NOT to eat all the food we have. when people somewhere else are desperate to eat some food they don't have.
if we want world peace, we need to want less. we need to put growth on a negative number.
we need to stop with big cars and wanting to be anywhere fast.
it's not about not being rich, or fighting technology (i mean, i make video games - that shows how our needs are so fullfilled, we take time to think about pleasure and fun...)

but in the end don't blame money. money is nothing. cause we're paying products with products, and services with services.

If we didn't want more we would never do anything

If we were content with a cave and a meal every 3 days then humanity would never have progressed

Our desire for more is the sole reason we do anything - u wouln't go to work if u didn't want the money

Our greed is good :)

It's human nature to want more in spite of living in a industrialized country or in a developing country. And to stop the progress, slow down or whatever is totally impossible task for human nature to do. To slow down and to retrograde would increase restlessness, anarchy and poorness. I'd say the world is a better place to live that it was few hundred or thousand years ago. It's just that today the distance between the poorness and richness is very big. it's not more miserable to live for example in Africa today than it was in few hundreds of years ago, in some parts it could be more enjoyable. It's just that now when the distance of poornes and richness is such a high in some parts of world it really throws it back to your face, we are terrifyed to see what we have and they don't. To slow down means same that we could as well start to wait the end of the world. Still one thing what should be done is increase more the count of donations, collections and other help activites towards the developing countries. 

I think as population grows, so does violence and greed.

Space, and resources become a concern.

So much technology is totally useless though, is a cellphone that takes pictures really advancing the human race?  :hihi:

no. :hihi:

Not really if you want to use it in a selfish way, if you don't want to see anyone grow but yourself and want that the person that is making progress to fail thats where the humanity loose its humanity  ::)
WTF!? Im so cheesy

If I settled for a normal house in a middle middle class hood as opposed to a bigger house I'd have to carry a note on for another 30 years...does it really make a difference in my life?

Thats  a Great point Izzy and I agree with that but I think there comes a time where u have to stop being Greedy and start being content with the things u do have.

I mean how much shit does a person need?

Like If my woman has a 4 carat diamond ring, I mean what if she comes to me and wants an 8 carat? u know?

Im more or less talkin bout materialistic type possessions

Its never a bad thing to want to better your station in life but on some things enough is enough.

If u have a 3 story 24 bedroom house bought and paid for, why would u go in debt just to have a 35 bedroom house?

I know a lot of people who try to fill the empty hole inside themselves with material possessions, its either a bigger TV or a nicer car etc etc etc and they never realize that material gains are only a temporary solution.

Lol - u always want things

U got out of bed this morning because u wanted something - excercise, food, the opportunity to swipe ur neighbours mail.....

Our ''greed'' is our motivation - we can't function without it. Why do anything if we want nothing out of it! What would be the point of breathing if we didn't want to live?

If u didn't want to be heard u wouldn't be on this site

It's the most important part of our psyche - the need for things more than we currently have, the need for cars, money etc is just one part of it

there is a difference between what we need and what we want...isnt greed the excess of want over need?

Actually... it's a human situation to want more... it's healthy to have ambitions, projects, wishlists...

Look at young rich people... they can get anything they want, that's why 99% of them falls into drugs, alcohol... life is empty if you don't have some things you want and you can't reach easily.

In any moment of your life, try to make a wishlist... you will always be able to fill a list  :hihi:

What we need is basic shelter, warmth, X amount of food and water every 3 days

That's all u need to survive

Anything we want above that is greed, thus greed ceases to be a meaningful concept - its just a phrase society implants with negative connotations

After all, an incredibly greedy person may also be incredible hard working to satisfy their greed, and what seems greedy to a person with little would appear very modest by the standards of those that have a lot

As there are no standards to measure what is and isn't greed it becomes meaningless

no its what we are taught that tells us to want more...its because we are more and more Capitalistic...its human nature to survive, not to acceed...ambition is certainly not greed because ambition can directly and indirectly affect others in a positive way and greed tends to go against morality unlike ambition

what about security, emotional stability, health, self esteem.... and you are taking it to the extreme noone lives like an animal in this country...do you find that an acceptable amount to fulfill your needs? im sure your answer is no

greed has negative connotations for a reason...from wikipedia "Greedy individuals are often believed to be harmful to society as their motives often appear to disregard the welfare of others:"

thats why society now is full of selfish arseholes

That's like a monkey that learned how to wank. I guess.
Sure, Your Grandpa's ceiling is too low for you but I think there must be a limit to your greed.
You can't take it with you.
being incapable of getting satisfaction or feeling happy from anything you're in quite a bad state of mental health.
Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed overnight and Roto's wife became a statue of salt.

I want nirvana.

(http://tinypic.com/aujwae.jpg)

 ;D

Thanks, SLC. Now I have complete enlightenment.  :hihi:

This will fall under my "what is the last kind thing you have done?" thread.

I think that human nature is about habits, so I think we all are taught to want more, to fight for what its supposed to be us, to do things that can benefits us even if that perjudice others and nobody notice it. It's kinda a moral situation.

Once you have it, you (hopefully) realise it doesn't mean poo.......

I can have more, but will settle for less. Seems a waste to chase......stuff.

That's an interesting thread SLC.

Some psycologists say Human is a machine of desires. I think it's really human nature, as a result of the imitation and the fight for the distinction. People imitate the others by buying the same products, dress like the others, having common entairtaining or following the trends just to be accepted. They also want more to shine and feel they have eminence. So in this case, it's human nature since it's been always like that. I guess today with the promotions, people's need list grew for keeps. So, as far as I am concerned yes, if people want more it's natural but it's also boosted a lot today.

Goods are not necessary evil or something like that... ?The problem starts when people focus only in wealth, when riches become people's main goal in life. In that case, it's beggining an endless chase for possessions. That chase "self-pawns" them... they work to get the goods and if they can't afford them they feel they lack and left behind in the road of life. I guess those pandits were right when they said material is blank, futile. The old people say, that they didn't have anything when we were young and they were happy, today we, the young we've got all of these stuff and yet we're not happy.

It's good if you can feel great with a product you just bought and believe me, don't be like some people that loose their interest when they finally buy the wished product. As D said, it's better to live a life having less property and stay happy than living a trivial life and feel empty. It's easy to understand why some rich people do drugs, they think they've done everything in their lives, they don't have a single goal in their lives and pray for moments of pleasure. People (including me) don't appreciate what they have and realise that when they loose them. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, people need ideals in their life. Thus, you still want more but you also become a better person, you mature. Life's a game where we should always improve ourselves and the quality of our lives.

As far as I'm concerned, there's nothing wrong with smelling like turpentine. Nothing.

respect...