@stuartk,
I guess what I’m suggesting is that it’s a matter of mental discipline to manage the part of us that craves novelty and try to keep ourselves (mostly) focused upon that "child-like" pleasure, if in fact, that’s one’s top priority. I recognize it’s not this way for everyone.
No, but it probably should be. With so many conflicting priorities and demands and only so much money and time it’s far from easy. Demands can come thick and fast and from surprising directions.
Audiophiles I think tend to be the cerebrotonic ectomorphs that Eric Berne wrote about. I’m guessing that we are prone to getting mentally overloaded from time to time and thus it’s extremely important for us to have our place to retreat to.
We also need understanding people around us who can also appreciate the level of support that we tend to provide.
@mijostyn,
"what is going on is we are being screwed, all of us, every last one of us.
Our money is being forcibly removed from our pockets and spent on maintaining political power and accumulating wealth usually to make corporations and certain voting blocks happy.
We should all be fighting together to stop this.
They are getting us to fight instead with each other.
We need term limits and campaign finance reform fast before we become a police state.
Humans need a reason to perform. Without that reason they devolve into apathy. The second amendment is not about guns. It is about keeping our government at bay.
Watch what happens when they are not scared of us any more."
Very wise words indeed.
But what to do?
The ancient tactic of divide and conquer still seems to be working remarkably well in 2021.
Don’t get disheartened, the sun will still shine. Everything else will come and go.
Look after yourself, your loved ones and spread the word where you can.
Everyone must discover and learn for themselves.
That means being able to focus, to asses and understand, and then be able to later recall and explain to others - nothing less than the Feynman technique in a nutshell.
Sadly it’s not for everyone.
All of Freud’s warnings about the death instinct being a subversion of libido seemed ridiculous when I read them 30 years ago. I always thought the old man was too pessimistic.
Ha, but I don’t now!
Is this really 2021 or is it 1921?
The terrible shock of WW2 seems to have totally worn off now and who knows where we’re heading now?
Some of us might still want to live in a civilized world where equality of opportunity is available for all, but sadly all human beings are not like this.
Any car driver will tell you that.
All the best.