Is it worth it?

One thing I was wondering this week when we were discussing Buddhism was whether I could do parts of it and whether it would be worth it or not. Specifically, I was thinking about suffering's end with the end of desire. The chapter in the book says that to eliminate suffering you have to reach a neutral feeling. No anger, no happiness, just neutral. I do not know if it would be worth it to give up those feelings. I like to feel desire towards certain things and I think that suffering is worth it, if you gain happiness from it. For example, when I go to the gym I always have trouble reaching my goals, and I feel like I am going to pass out when I am done. That exhaustion is worth it when I am done working out, because I know I will look better and feel healthier later. I really like Buddhism In general, but I don't like some of the small ideas that are part of it. I think parts of it I already follow; I try to lead a moral life and stay positive, even though I do not know all the answers. On page 95 it says that you would have to renounce yourself and your desires to escape suffering. I really do not like that you have to renounce yourself. I like the things that make me, me. I could not imagine just sitting there and being neutral or not liking any of the things I do now.
question: Would you give up your feelings and your life if it meant no more suffering? if it changed the way you lived and thought?

Living Forever

In response to Laura's question, would you like to live forever?
My answer depends because after having a discussion with many of my floor mates and some of our class mates about this topic, I realized that there are different perceptions of immortality. I perceive immortality to involve living forever and never aging. Someone else suggested that you would live forever but,(similar to some Greek mythology,)over time you would age. Another suggestion was that you could be immortal, but there is something that could kill you, which i personally think is contradictory, so I will not be addressing that as an option. If I had the chance to live forever but I had to age, I think I would do it as long as I had the ability to change my appearance. If I had regenerating skin or something and I could not have plastic surgery and stuff then I wouldn't do it, because I would not be happy being that old looking. I know that sounds shallow, but everyone is at least a little shallow, so whatever. If the case of the matter was that you never aged, then I would definitely do it, despite the consequences. I think I would be sad watching all my friends and family members dying around me, but the positive experiences I gained would outweigh the pain I would experience. I would be around long enough to collect money, and see the world. After awhile, I would have enough money to make a difference. I would also have an extended knowledge of the world and the way things work. There are so many things to learn in this world and I think it would be fantastic to learn them all. One thing in-particular I think about is my art. All these famous painters spent lifetimes creating their masterpieces. I wonder what could be done if someone were to live forever, and whether the artwork would actually be any better. I mean, there is only so much you can do before something becomes overdone, but at the same time, there is so much detail in the world we don't notice. Do you think having an infinite amount of time will make a difference when creating a masterpiece?

Natural selection...

The other day we talked about why Darwin's views have political flaws. We said one reason was because people do not like the idea that they will be separated into groups and that natural selection would occur. I think Hitler had an idea that related to Darwinism and it is just not morally acceptable with people. You cannot have superior races I think. There are just too many different traits that apply to different people that work for them, that it would be too difficult to pick and choose which traits are the right ones and the wrong ones. Also, Natural selection is a problem because you do not want it to happen to you, and I believe people have a natural inclination to help one another. I do not think natural selection could occur because people would not just sit by and watch their fellow man die.
I think that genocide is very closely related to the ideas of natural selection, and it worries me because when you put the words down on paper you're like" I would never let something like this happen, that is terrible!" but we let it happen all the time. There have been genocides going on for years in different places, and we all say that it is awful, but i feel like we don't do anything to fix the problem.I do not like the idea of natural selection, so am i being biased by thinking that it does not/ would not take place amongst people? I feel like people are naturally good; if this is true, then why do they let genocides happen? What is going on in the world right now? ( Concerning genocide or anything related to natural selection.)

No more gym class?

One day in class, we talked briefly about gym classes and the presidential fitness tests and stuff that you had to pass in order to graduate. I thought that was really interesting and I wanted to talk more about it. It bothers me that people don't have to exercise as much as they used to. Here is what bothers me the most. When I was a little girl, I didn't have a lot of toys and things to maintain my attention, so I would play outside. I remember more then anything that all the neighborhood kids would drop everything to go outside and play too. Where I lived, you went home from school, got your homework done as fast as you could, and played outside. There are so many things to do now a days, that I feel like no one wants to go and play outside. Television and the internet have made people lazy. In gym class, everyone complains about having to walk, not even run, but walk the one mile around the track. I used to look forward to gym class. I thought it was like having extended recess. I think that more should be done to keep kids in shape in schools. They should have gym class at least 3 times a week all year. It's just healthier that way.
question: Do you think that it is better to have gym, or be done with it? Do we really need gym classes? Will our society eventually break into parts where we have the hardly active shut-ins, and the extremely active people who exercise all the time? If that did happen, Could these two groups coexist? or would Darwin's theory of evolution kick in? (you dont have to answer all the questions, I just wanted to ask all these because they were on my mind.)

Pinocchio Paradox

Awhile ago in class we talked about a paradox with Pinocchio's nose. I recently found a website with a statement claiming to refute this paradox and I found it quite interesting. I think it is slightly ridiculous but I liked the points it made all the same. Maybe you will like it too. Here is the link- http://www.dump.com/2010/02/13/pinocchio-paradox-solved/

Deformed Babies....

In response Julie's post. I think that designer babies are an interesting idea. I don't know how i would personally feel as a parent because there is so much to think about. On the one hand, I would think about probability and just having a kid the normal way, and i could be proud of my kid knowing that they are normal and not some test tube experiment thing. On the other hand, I would never want the possibility of having my child have diseases or things they wouldn't have to have. If i could make life easier for them, like if they were born without asthma, even though my whole family has it, i feel like that would be better. In English class last semester we had to read a book called "Thanking the monkey" by Karen Dawn. One of the chapters touches on the subject of breeding animals. It states that breeding some more aesthetically traits in dogs also has bad effects on the animals health. Pugs for example, are bred to have super cute scrunched up faces, but that makes it harder for them to breathe. I wonder if this effect would happen with designer babies?
I also feel like having the ability to create the kind of child you want takes some of the guess work and excitement out of life. Life isn't interesting if you know exactly how things are going to turn out all the time and you can plan every little thing. What is the point in living if we know what is to come every second of every day? if we know what our kids will look like and how they are going to live their lives? I know I'm taking an extreme approach to this, but something about this topic unsettles me a little.
question: If you had to choose between having a perfectly healthy child that looked awful and grotesquely deformed, or a beautiful child, who had a multitude of serious health conditions, which would you choose?

My dreams

In response to Yvonne's post on dreams. I like to have dreams because my dreams are always really elaborate and i have them almost every time I close my eyes. I personally believe that my dreams are nothing more then an extension of my imagination and that when i go to sleep my head just wants to tell me a good story. I need to be entertained while I'm sleeping so my body creates images solely based on the fact that I need something to look at while i sleep. I feel like without my dreams i wouldn't sleep as well. Sometimes how I feel during the day effects my dreams at night. Like if i just watched a scary movie and went to bed, i have nightmares. If i have a homework assignment due or something else i need to get done, I get it done in my dream. I never really analyze my dreams though. I don't want to take away from the feeling I get when i have them by further understanding them, if they even have meaning. Right now, I am happy with just having them and feeling content.
question: in what cases is it good to over analyze something and in what cases isn't it?