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Sam's Soapbox: Good God I don't believe it!


samspruce

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I just want to say something to anybody and everybody on this forum. I posted a thread called What God wants (which incidentally is the title of a song) and it caused some interest since it might have suggested that mental illness is caused by culture.

I fully get it why some people would counter some of the implications. And some people equally agreed with it in some ways.

I have thought more on this. Having been roaming around this community and "family" I have noticed how nearly all the posts representing unhappiness and distress refer to what I would term "emotional pain" and the majority of cases refer to the effects in terms of the people around them.

(I am trying to be accurate here because I know there are exceptions)

I want to make something that is in my mind very clear. It might not be how the world IS and it might not be how some people "see it". So you really don't have to agree and I am not asserting it (yet) as a truth out there. But it is currently very clear in my head.

Everybody on this forum, without any exception, is a wonderful, beautiful, sensitive, creative, adaptable, valuable human being. Nearly all (maybe all) the people on this forum are suffering immensely. A large part of that suffering is caused by other people. Even if someone has a condition which doesn't allow them to function well in the current culture their condition is aggravated by the non acceptance of them by the culture. I base this not only on my experience but by what most people are clear about on this forum and that is that the first and most important thing that people respond positively to is support, sympathy and a gentle acknowledgement of their pain and difficulties. Just imagine how it might be if absolutely everybody you knew and met greeted you with the same respect and consideration, with the same evident support and care. In fact to be blunt with real genuine love. I think everybody on this forum would agree that at the very least their lives would be a little better.

I think one (perhaps of many) problems that people encounter is that, for example, they don't want to "blame" the people they care about. Often it is parents. Blame is perceived as an aggressive process which is in some way detrimental to the "blamed" person. In fact many people here experience the effects of blame whether from the outside or from themselves and know it hurts.

Also I will say that when we can see certain processes going on like "I can't blame my parents because I don't want to hurt them but I wish they wouldn't do this or that." that we can bet things like this go on internally where we can't see them too. So you hurt and you don't know why and deduce that there must be something wrong with you.

My point is that it is not a case of "blaming" the culture (as if that would fix the problem) but it might be helpful to recognise where a lot of the difficulties are coming from. Working out what is causing a sharp stabbing pain in your foot might not relieve the pain or fix the problem but it is surely additional useful information which can help us deal with the problem and adds potential to actually fix it too.

So in summary I am trying to say that everybody is a beautiful human being. That is the real truth. We don't always see it and many people on this forum know how ridiculous that sound when they apply it to themselves. But it is the truth. And knowing the truth can help. It doesn't change the facts, it doesn't magically fix any particular problem. But it helps. That is part of the reason I blame the culture for a heap of the pain experienced by people categorised as "mentally ill". We do not have a loving culture. It tries... but it has a long way to go. Love is not conditional it is simply a real perception of the reality behind the world that we see.

Gravity is not conditional. It is reality. We ignore it at our peril.

Love is not conditional. It is reality. We ignore it at our peril.

The next statement is my opinion and you are welcome to disagree with it.

I think mentally ill people are the truly beautiful people on this planet. I think they, more than anyone else, suffer to maintain the truth of their real lives. I think the really mad people are the ones who lose their own lives to gain security, money, position and power in the world. It really is the bankers and the politicians and the conformists that we should worry about. I think we should start a revolution - Oops - I'm getting carried away.

There! That's my bit from the pulpit today :)

If anyone finds this troublesome please let me know. I believe what I say and I really believe if our culture could get its head round the idea that love is more valuable than money we would reduce the suffering in the world immensely.

May love go with you all.

Sam.

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Hey Sam

Who sang the song ???

(yeah I know - priorities :rolleyes:)

What you write Sam is not troublesome (I dont think) I have read it several times now, coz I cant get clear in my head what your saying, and well honestly Im confused (sorry Im probably making myself look a womble, but I would like to understand it better ....oops)

Help ??????

please :)

Hope that you are ok :)

Take care

Sue

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