ROG IS STILL HAVING DIFFICULTIES ABSORBING JON's BURDEN JON: Now I want to suggest that perhaps pursuit of happiness in this day and age is immoral......... Maybe if we started telling them how terrible the world is, our kids would sober up.........And there are too many happy adults in the world......But the truth is, we *shouldn't* be happy in today's world. At least, those who love humanity shouldn't be happy. ROGER: Jon, you seem to carry a tremendous burden. May I ask if there was ever a Golden Age where people could be happy? If not, when will you deem that suffering has been reduced enough that we can celebrate and throw a bit of a party? JON: Happiness would eventually return to the world. A more profound, more moral happiness than we now experience. Today's happiness is built on a foundation of death and suffering. We're all guilty. ROGER: Guilty? Of not focusing our entire lives on suffering? Of enjoying conversations in the checkout line? What is this 'foundation of death' that we are guilty of? JON: Maybe one day the average person will wake up and not think: "How am I going to entertain myself today?" but think instead: "Who's suffering am I going to alleviate today? Who's life am I going to help save?" ROGER: I would hope he starts with his own. The 'average person' in this example will be living the life of hell. A self -created world where each of us is like Sysyphus pushing a giant boulder up an infinite hill. JON: Would that be such a terrible world? ROGER: Yes. Rog PS -- Jon, how are you personally approaching life with this vision? I mean, what do you do all day? Are you studying to be a great doctor, or (to quote the Wizard of Oz) are you a "phila...phila...phila...Doer of Good deeds?" I am serious. I think it would be revealing if you could share more on a personal level of how you build this philosophy into Every Day Direct Experience. MOQ Online Homepage - http://www.moq.org Mail Archive - http://alt.venus.co.uk/hypermail/moq_discuss/ Unsubscribe - http://www.moq.org/md/index.html MD Queries - [EMAIL PROTECTED]
