Geoffrey wrote: ↑Wed Nov 13, 2024 3:41 am
those pumpkins look great! whether carved or drawn on they uphold an interesting tradition. sharing those photographs was such a nice gesture; a pity that nobody bothered to comment on them. people have feelings, and a simple positive word or two can mean a lot. it often seems we live in a cold and uncommunicative world...
Thanks, I'm glad you like my pumpkins! As for
the lack
of responses, that's okay, I don't require positive affirmation from others -- I have always been happy just doing stuff for my own personal pleasure and enrichment!
Geoffrey wrote: ↑Wed Nov 13, 2024 3:41 am
...in a country where
the law
of jante is an integral part
of society ...
...being good at something is fine, but without feedback it will die like a plant without water.
the jante law suffocates a free spirit. vive la différence!
https://youtu.be/XUwUp-D_VV0?si=HWcEF9gpWBub7H4c
Quite frankly, I think that
the "Law
of Jante" is absurd -- it is as ridiculous as being expected to follow religious tenets -- somebody just made it up, and if it works for them, great, but leave me out
of it! I have never been
of the mindset to follow anybody else's paths and rules in life: I make and follow my own paths and rules, based on what I think is best for myself and for
the greater good (I am ethical!). Dogmatic approaches to life, in which everyone is expected to share
the same beliefs and values and do
the same things, are absolutely repugnant to me, and I have never felt any compulsion to join them (quite
the contrary!). I do my own thing, and I honestly don't care what anybody else thinks or does, as long as it doesn't infringe on
the rights and well-being
of me or others.
I have never been in a box, I cannot be labelled, I am a true individual with my own unique identity -- I don't compare myself to anyone else, because they are them and I am me and comparisons are meaningless, nor do I compete with anybody, because it's not about winning anything, it's just about "being" -- and nobody tells me how to live my life, thank you very much! I also have no problem with any
of that -- I embrace who I am and how I am, I don't seek acceptance from others, and thus I feel no need to conform to anybody else's standards. I am a true free spirit -- I don't know how to be any other way -- "vive la différence!" and "to each their own" are mottos emblazoned on my DNA!
You, Geoffrey, seem somewhat torn, as if a part
of you wants to be like me in
the above respects, genuinely not caring what anybody else thinks, living your own life in your own way, and yet, there seems to be another part
of you that feels some inexplicable need to fit in and to belong in some group defined not by you, but by others. You seem to resent "sheeple" and
the boxes in which they live, and yet, you apparently surround yourself with such people and seem always to seek their approval and acceptance. At least, that's how it seems to me based on
the things you write, so full
of cognitive dissonance, but I cannot pretend to understand your views and feelings on such things, because your words on these matters usually strike me as completely alien to my way
of thinking and being.
Whatever
the case, do try to be happy with who and how you are: nobody else is Geoffrey W., and that's awesome -- revel in your uniqueness, because it is really special!
However, should you choose never to return, enjoy 
