does 'free will' exist?
I have been feeling the impact of my nature lately. Feeling like I try so hard at living a good life and then feeling dragged down and derailed totally. I don't know why I would be so afflicted,I don't know, call it nature or nourture? Call it mental illness? I don't know
exactly why I am the way I am. Could it be a pleasure seeking that's gone amuck?
Every one is unique and so we are born with different propensities, leanings, abilities and qualities.
Does our individual 'cosmic make up' make us able to chose what to do in each situation or are we genetically
disposed to act in a way that is predetermined for us (by our genes).
I am watching a tv show that made me think that we each may have our own nature, and then 'weaknesses for things' - that some others may not have. But I suppose we can chose what to do, but how much can we change or chart our desired path? Some people don't have to think about things like this - they just go about their lives easily it seems. Well, maybe not easily - I know maybe only 10% of people who look happy actually are. But it struck me today as I worked - as I felt the effects of my mind that changes so much - and my ability to relate to others consistently - and thereby have relationships and also regular hobbies and such. That idea of 'nature or nurture' just comes to mind.
Sending good vibes - and pleasant comforts through the day. :)
Replies
My dad once told me our lives are pre determined. So not sure. My dad is a smart guy, but not college (book) material. I think we have some free will. Some people know the difference between right and wrong, and some don't. Dunno.
I believe who and what we are (both nature and nurture) is predetermined. We don't get to choose our beginnings in life. Those beginnings matter every day, but they decide nothing. What to do with those predetermined facts of life is ours to decide, day by day, action by action. I only believe. Proof irrelevant.
I also believe that on my happiest days, I need my moments of quiet, non-smiling reflection. On my grimmest of days, I can still choose to smile once in a while. Passers-by can't tell which is which. Comparing my insides to other people's outsides is not a fair comparison, especially when I don't even know *their* names.
I can say this, if you had a good childhood or not so good. No one is perfect mentally or psychologically. We each have our "ticks" as my mom says. Some people have a thing for watches, or pens....or more serious phobias. If a person says "they are not crazy" best say good bye....give them a wide birth.
Everyone has issues.
Traveling deep today Mark.
I do not believe in Predestination...nor do I believe in Pre-determined paths. I do believe that each human is created with a Plan in mind for that life....but Free Will exists and each person can affect their path in life with the choices they make.
I was born to a Pedophile and a Psychopath.....I have 4 living 1/2 siblings. I have nothing in common with my siblings, except parentage and the monsters who gave us life and the hell we lived through as children. They all still live clustered in that small Texas town within a 5 mile range....
I could have let my birth, the nature and well there was no nurture in my house, direct my life....but no, it did the exact opposite. It made me fight harder to learn more, faster, move farther away and achieve the most. It made me be more determined to not let the BiPolar destroy everything I knew I was going to do with my life. I learned to accept the medical/physical issues as part of life and not fight them, but live life with them. I had a conviction that I would teach my children to not hurt other people, but to nurture them, have compassion for others, give to their community and just be good human beings.
I never considered myself a victim, a fighter yes, a survivor yes....Nothing that I went through for the first 15 years of my life dictated what the rest of it would be. None of it decided that the remainder would be so difficult I would fail at everything else. I had and have Free Will to make every choice from the time I turned 16 and left my parents home....the mistakes and successes...they were my choices to make.
Life is never easy, no matter how perfect we think someone has it, there are always choices to make. Happiness is not automatic, we don't com pre-programmed as content, happy people, even the most clinically sane individuals. Happiness has to be worked at, we live in a world where evil exists, and the outside world and outside evil comes at us from so many different directions every day....nobody can be happy all the time. You have to find your joy, the thing inside you that makes you joyful and happy, the people in your life that help you be joyful, the activities that create joy. Balance is a truth in life, its okay not to be happy all the time, it's okay to be sad, thoughtful, even angry.....its all part of being human.
thanks Kat.