"love at first sight"....

[Protoclown]

Originally Posted by Helm

Proto, excuse me from taking this a bit too far. I won't tell you how to live your life, but consider this hypothetically. Besides the wanting to be happy, wouldn't you say man has an inner drive towards understanding and progress? Maybe that drive could be more than instinctual?

Yes, I would, Helm, and I do appreciate that quality about humanity a great deal. I just think personally that sometimes people try to take their understanding a bit too far, for my taste anyway. But that's because I like mysteries. The REASON ghosts fascinate me so much is BECAUSE we don't know much about them. I love the speculation, the theories, the imagination, and wonder that well up within me when I think of them. I'm a real sucker for anything paranormal or unexplained, it's that kind of thing that exercises MY mind more than any scientific evidence explaining how something works in minute detail. But that's just MY personal preference, I'm not saying that humanity should ignore the quest for truth. Scientists should certainly continue to try to explain things such as the "ghost phenomenon", it's just that their eventual revelation of truth won't interest me (and in fact will disappoint me) when they do.

Possibilities excite me a great deal more than nailed down, definite terms. But to each their own. I did not mean to criticize, I just wanted to point out how different we are in how we view the world. I think that's interesting, and your point of view often gets me thinking of things I never would have bothered to explore on my own.

Originally Posted by Helm

Have you ever considered the possibility that being -or wanting to be- happy could just be a failsafe, a custom built faux-purpose we're all given so we don't feel completely defenseless against the awesome dread that is to think that there is no reason to exist, and we must invent one? Wouldn't you like to know? Once you realise that this question MUST be answered before you can stand on your two feet and be more than a dog or a turtle that lives on instinctual desire, to be Man, there is no way to ignore it any more. One must invent his pupose, and no failsafe happiness will keep him content for much until he faces that truth. This isn't classifying, and cataloguing. This is killing the gods that you are given in fright, in favour of erecting a symbol of belief in your own self.

I actually agree with this, Helm, and I have explored this quite a bit over the years, in philosophy classes and in my own personal ventures, to the point that I'm satisfied. I have reached conclusions that make sense to me, and that's really all I was looking for.

Originally Posted by Helm

Ghosts, Love, Gods or the tooth fairy and whatever else momentarily distracts you from this purpose will not last long when you've come to terms with your inner ambition. There's more than being happy in life, I think.

I certainly won't dispute that. But I think being happy certainly makes the trip easier. That doesn't mean that I AM happy, but I'm not entirely disatisfied with my existence either. Happiness is but one of many pursuits that often embroils mankind.

Chojin, I like your take on this whole "love" thing.