From now defunct 30bad forums…
(NOTE: when I refer to you, in most cases I mean myself)
judgement:
* it’s not bad to judge as long as your intentions lie on actually helping someone
swearing:
* being self-disciplined and creative in our word choices is an effective way to communicate a clear message with more intellectual zest and through that perhaps reach an even larger audience.
seriousness:
* (referring to lesson on swearing) I also think it’s equally important to let loose once in awhile and detach ourselves from the value systems we identify ourselves with. Don’t take yourself too seriously.
books:
* I realized that buying physical books is still very relevant in today’s society. It’s also a good way to inject our values into our dumbed-down populations by buying books, reading them and then donating them to your local library instead of letting them gather dust on someone’s bookshelf (or as ebooks, lost in someone’s inbox among hundreds of other “you should read this” emails)
animal rights / activism:
* this was the most important one for me. The priority of providing equal rights to all animals (human & nonhuman) should always come before our rationalizations, justifications and anything else we fathom while billions of lost, voiceless innocent creatures are suffering unnecessary cruelty we can barely comprehend.
communication / understanding:
* I quote my friend Prad in a recent email I received from him. This sums it up quite nicely and it (+ lack of it) is something I have been very aware of while interacting with people not just on these forums but elsewhere as well. “Conflict doesn’t really exist if two people are sincere in trying to acquire understanding. There may be disagreements and strong biases, but not conflict.”
knowledge / action:
* our knowledge (whether on nutrition, spirituality, morality, society, etc) is truly meaningless if we don’t apply what we know into our own lives. A good ground rule of thumb: spend at least twice the amount of time you use to gain knowledge, into incorporating it into your daily life. e.g. if you read a book on fitness for 30 minutes, spend 60 minutes actually doing it! Reading a book on fitness for 4 hours won’t get you anywhere. Or if you are reading a science txtbook, spend time also writing your own notes or discussing it with someone (even yourself). The good thing about studying health is that by living a healthy lifestyle, you automatically also practice it and everything you learn just emphasizes your practice.
honesty:
* here I would like to provide 2 quotes from a fascinating book I am currently reading called “Radical Honesty” by Brad Blanton: “an honest person prefers language that reveals what is so, whether it’s about someone else, the world, or himself”….. “honest people speak simply, using language more to describe than to evaluate”
Thank you friends for all the inspiration and education.
I look forward to another great month ahead!
- Comment by Freelee on February 6, 2011 at 7:35pm
- fantastic Markus! You are such an asset to our community and great friend X
- Comment by BigG. on February 2, 2011 at 9:34am
- Thanks for being you.
- Comment by Jared Six on February 2, 2011 at 8:19am
- Your contributions to this forum have been priceless Markus.
- Comment by pradtf on February 2, 2011 at 5:12am
- these ideas are among the best i’ve seen on the net, markus!imho, you’re ability to assimilate and then synthesize is outstanding!
30bad has been a really good place and your recent efforts have made it even better!
in friendship,
prad
Comment by teedo on February 2, 2011 at 2:03am
- i really enjoyed this, thank you.
i look forward to your posts and also look forward to one day being able to contribute to them 🙂