Indifference

[markdohle]

Indifference

Lack of love, does reduce the unloved into a thing, perhaps something below contempt that is also hated and despised. Or perhaps lack of concern would be a better word. The opposite of love is not hate as is commonly supposed, but indifference. There is no relationship with something that does not have substance for the observer, for things are lifeless without feeling or value. There is a freedom that comes with apathy, though the cost is ones humanity in the end. For it is in loving that we become fully human, and to love as Jesus loved is to become free, a state in which love flows naturally from the heart of Christ into the hearts of those who seek to grow in that love. Other religious traditions also show the way to see others not as objects but a subjects that need to be seen, heard and helped if possible.

[Drayno]

Indifference

Lack of love, does reduce the unloved into a thing, perhaps something below contempt that is also hated and despised. Or perhaps lack of concern would be a better word. The opposite of love is not hate as is commonly supposed, but indifference. There is no relationship with something that does not have substance for the observer, for things are lifeless without feeling or value. There is a freedom that comes with apathy, though the cost is ones humanity in the end. For it is in loving that we become fully human, and to love as Jesus loved is to become free, a state in which love flows naturally from the heart of Christ into the hearts of those who seek to grow in that love. Other religious traditions also show the way to see others not as objects but a subjects that need to be seen, heard and helped if possible.

The indifferent man perceives the stillness of the world. With the hustle and bustle of routine eliminated, with the dictation of what a man must feel in certain circumstances conquered, the indifferent man is free. For when a man is indifferent he is liberated from the confines of his emotions. But as humans are, the stubborn emotions that accompany the human condition are hard to dismiss unless one is strong of mind. We should be able to agree that love is one such emotion that humans thrive on. Love, although hard to define, could be said to be unconditional kindness. For when one feels love, one feels what has always been there. When man feels love man wants to dance. When man feels love man opens himself up to the world - despite the horrendous gifts it has to offer at times, and he feels love overflow from the cup he filled for those he loves.

So I must ask - is it better for a person to give in to the emotions that drive them; though not giving in to the point of blindness, however, or to observe the world in a veil? For if love is opening one's self up to the world then perhaps, maybe, indifference is the intentional or unintentional withdrawal of one's self from the shifting conditions of the world - both the grim and joyful aspects of it. For indifference is the lack of participation of feeling - indifference is indeed the opposite of love, as you accurately suggested..

[Cassea]

The indifferent man perceives the stillness of the world. With the hustle and bustle of routine eliminated, with the dictation of what a man must feel in certain circumstances conquered, the indifferent man is free. For when a man is indifferent he is liberated from the confines of his emotions. But as humans are, the stubborn emotions that accompany the human condition are hard to dismiss unless one is strong of mind. We should be able to agree that love is one such emotion that humans thrive on. Love, although hard to define, could be said to be unconditional kindness. For when one feels love, one feels what has always been there. When man feels love man wants to dance. When man feels love man opens himself up to the world - despite the horrendous gifts it has to offer at times, and he feels love overflow from the cup he filled for those he loves.

So I must ask - is it better for a person to give in to the emotions that drive them; though not giving in to the point of blindness, however, or to observe the world in a veil? For if love is opening one's self up to the world then perhaps, maybe, indifference is the intentional or unintentional withdrawal of one's self from the shifting conditions of the world - both the grim and joyful aspects of it. For indifference is the lack of participation of feeling - indifference is indeed the opposite of love, as you accurately suggested..

Both these posts are incredibly thoughtful and beautiful. I was thinking of how God sees the world. In the creation story the six days is certainly not what it seems to us. And I was watching this amazing video. Wondering what God would think if he saw the world in a time lapse way. As you say a veil of indifference. I believe love is a thoughtful choice within us. Not simple a reaction to those around us. It is base and crude to only love those you admire or care about. It is deep to make a commitment to love. When you love with a commitment. You are constantly reminded of the fragility of humans. Reminded of how hard it is sometimes to love one another. Reminded of how Jesus loved us unconditionally. Reminded of how far from such a state of purity we are. For me this realization teaches. Me to love more.

The indifferent man perceives the stillness of the world. With the hustle and bustle of routine eliminated, with the dictation of what a man must feel in certain circumstances conquered, the indifferent man is free. For when a man is indifferent he is liberated from the confines of his emotions. But as humans are, the stubborn emotions that accompany the human condition are hard to dismiss unless one is strong of mind. We should be able to agree that love is one such emotion that humans thrive on. Love, although hard to define, could be said to be unconditional kindness. For when one feels love, one feels what has always been there. When man feels love man wants to dance. When man feels love man opens himself up to the world - despite the horrendous gifts it has to offer at times, and he feels love overflow from the cup he filled for those he loves.

So I must ask - is it better for a person to give in to the emotions that drive them; though not giving in to the point of blindness, however, or to observe the world in a veil? For if love is opening one's self up to the world then perhaps, maybe, indifference is the intentional or unintentional withdrawal of one's self from the shifting conditions of the world - both the grim and joyful aspects of it. For indifference is the lack of participation of feeling - indifference is indeed the opposite of love, as you accurately suggested..

Both these posts are incredibly thoughtful and beautiful. I was thinking of how God sees the world. In the creation story the six days is certainly not what it seems to us. And I was watching this amazing video. Wondering what God would think if he saw the world in a time lapse way. As you say a veil of indifference. I believe love is a thoughtful choice within us. Not simple a reaction to those around us. It is base and crude to only love those you admire or care about. It is deep to make a commitment to love. When you love with a commitment. You are constantly reminded of the fragility of humans. Reminded of how hard it is sometimes to love one another. Reminded of how Jesus loved us unconditionally. Reminded of how far from such a state of purity we are. For me this realization teaches. Me to love more.

[Drayno]

Thank you, Cassea! I do agree that markdohle crafted his words beautifully.

When a man loves a woman, or a woman loves a man - or in general, when a person loves another person, there come challenges. More often than not these challenges are simply because of our humanity. We all have faults, and to accept another for their good and bad reflects the love that one can give to another. For if one can understand that another is only human, but to love them immensely all the same, then maybe we can say love is understanding.

Then perhaps, if indifference is the opposite of love, indifference could be construed as the lack of understanding. Or rather, the lack of care towards understanding. The indifferent man sees what he sees, breathes - exists. I do not believe that a hypothetical and fundamentally indifferent being to the core does not live. For one who embraces the fire of love embraces the world in confidence. The indifferent man turns his head the other way and does not engage; again, does not participate. Now, one may not be fully indifferent, but instead partially. Nonetheless, one who chooses not to engage in the world has a right to do so. But it would also be fair to say that one who does love does engage the world, and because they engage the world without fear - though an indifferent person can also do so, for fear does not comply to one who is caught in the stillness, the love that fills oneself presents one to be more so happy and not so glum. So perhaps one who embraces the world finds more opportunity, for they do not hold back and let their life be led by their love for another.

[Cassea]

Thank you, Cassea! I do agree that markdohle crafted his words beautifully.

When a man loves a woman, or a woman loves a man - or in general, when a person loves another person, there come challenges. More often than not these challenges are simply because of our humanity. We all have faults, and to accept another for their good and bad reflects the love that one can give to another. For if one can understand that another is only human, but to love them immensely all the same, then maybe we can say love is understanding.

Then perhaps, if indifference is the opposite of love, indifference could be construed as the lack of understanding. Or rather, the lack of care towards understanding. The indifferent man sees what he sees, breathes - exists. I do not believe that a hypothetical and fundamentally indifferent being to the core does not live. For one who embraces the fire of love embraces the world in confidence. The indifferent man turns his head the other way and does not engage; again, does not participate. Now, one may not be fully indifferent, but instead partially. Nonetheless, one who chooses not to engage in the world has a right to do so. But it would also be fair to say that one who does love does engage the world, and because they engage the world without fear - though an indifferent person can also do so, for fear does not comply to one who is caught in the stillness, the love that fills oneself presents one to be more so happy and not so glum. So perhaps one who embraces the world finds more opportunity, for they do not hold back and let their life be led by their love for another.

Hatred paralyzes life; love releases it. Hatred confuses life; love harmonizes it. Hatred darkens life; love illuminates it.

Martin Luther King Jr.

[Drayno]

Hatred paralyzes life; love releases it. Hatred confuses life; love harmonizes it. Hatred darkens life; love illuminates it.

Martin Luther King Jr.

[xYlvax]

I find the post could've had more included. Yes, the lack of love is indifference, but indifference is freedomn in a way. "Love" in the definition that it's stifled with is just lust to those that can't understand the true loss of it-or the true meaning. You can't know true love without loss is what I mean to say. You speak of the light like a "philosopher", but you are just an artist painting words on a lonely stretch of black in which I type my words now. What "Jesus" did should be an example yes, if that's what you believe, but I find it utterly lacking in consciousness that one might set an unknown character as a role model in such important matters. I guess that's why people are so close-minded-they don't seek the truth, don't know fact from fiction, and can't even comprehend what love is.

Edited January 17, 2012 by NikkiAidyn

[Drayno]

I find the post could've had more included. Yes, the lack of love is indifference, but indifference is freedomn in a way. "Love" in the definition that it's stifled with is just lust to those that can't understand the true loss of it-or the true meaning. You can't know true love without loss is what I mean to say. You speak of the light like a "philosopher", but you are just an artist painting words on a lonely stretch of black in which I type my words now. What "Jesus" did should be an example yes, if that's what you believe, but I find it utterly lacking in consciousness that one might set an unknown character as a role model in such important matters. I guess that's why people are so close-minded-they don't seek the truth, don't know fact from fiction, and can't even comprehend what love is.

By the absurd doctrine, when one accepts the absurd reality, his or her's reality becomes a state of perpetual indifference. They perceive the absurdity and thus they are liberated; many folk say it is an existential doctrine, but in all reality it isn't. Camus often spoke of the absurd man in The Myth of Sisyphus, his character of the rebel in the titular The Rebel; indifference was also a key to his character Meursault in The Stranger, who was quite detached. When I describe the stillness - I describe the whole of everything without material things interacting with the environment - the base setting. When one achieves a level of conscious vision, one can indeed see an absurd pain of living similar to what Camus and Kafka saw. For when one achieves a stoic detach, withdraws emotionally; a period I conducted socially for a while in public where I became a mute, observing the people around me and writing about it in great detail. So from my experience I can definitely see the detachment that the absurd character has; hence my use of the term "indifferent man", for it is a very Camus-esque perception of things.

[markdohle]

The indifferent man perceives the stillness of the world. With the hustle and bustle of routine eliminated, with the dictation of what a man must feel in certain circumstances conquered, the indifferent man is free. For when a man is indifferent he is liberated from the confines of his emotions. But as humans are, the stubborn emotions that accompany the human condition are hard to dismiss unless one is strong of mind. We should be able to agree that love is one such emotion that humans thrive on. Love, although hard to define, could be said to be unconditional kindness. For when one feels love, one feels what has always been there. When man feels love man wants to dance. When man feels love man opens himself up to the world - despite the horrendous gifts it has to offer at times, and he feels love overflow from the cup he filled for those he loves.

So I must ask - is it better for a person to give in to the emotions that drive them; though not giving in to the point of blindness, however, or to observe the world in a veil? For if love is opening one's self up to the world then perhaps, maybe, indifference is the intentional or unintentional withdrawal of one's self from the shifting conditions of the world - both the grim and joyful aspects of it. For indifference is the lack of participation of feeling - indifference is indeed the opposite of love, as you accurately suggested..

To face life, I guess we need to give up trying to escape it. I would think that the word "sin" in my Christian tradition could be viewed in that vein, a way of not becoming more human, to simply escape the process. Sad to say, it seems that suffering and how we react to that is the furnance that creates us into something beautiful or perhaps not. I think if a man or woman became truly indifferent it would require a great deal of repression, which would lead to depression, which is not indifference.

Nice comment, thank you very much for taking the time to articualte your point so well.

peace

mark

Edited January 17, 2012 by markdohle

[markdohle]

Both these posts are incredibly thoughtful and beautiful. I was thinking of how God sees the world. In the creation story the six days is certainly not what it seems to us. And I was watching this amazing video. Wondering what God would think if he saw the world in a time lapse way. As you say a veil of indifference. I believe love is a thoughtful choice within us. Not simple a reaction to those around us. It is base and crude to only love those you admire or care about. It is deep to make a commitment to love. When you love with a commitment. You are constantly reminded of the fragility of humans. Reminded of how hard it is sometimes to love one another. Reminded of how Jesus loved us unconditionally. Reminded of how far from such a state of purity we are. For me this realization teaches. Me to love more.

Both these posts are incredibly thoughtful and beautiful. I was thinking of how God sees the world. In the creation story the six days is certainly not what it seems to us. And I was watching this amazing video. Wondering what God would think if he saw the world in a time lapse way. As you say a veil of indifference. I believe love is a thoughtful choice within us. Not simple a reaction to those around us. It is base and crude to only love those you admire or care about. It is deep to make a commitment to love. When you love with a commitment. You are constantly reminded of the fragility of humans. Reminded of how hard it is sometimes to love one another. Reminded of how Jesus loved us unconditionally. Reminded of how far from such a state of purity we are. For me this realization teaches. Me to love more.

Thank you for this beautful comment, you say it much better than me.

peace

mark

[markdohle]

I find the post could've had more included. Yes, the lack of love is indifference, but indifference is freedomn in a way. "Love" in the definition that it's stifled with is just lust to those that can't understand the true loss of it-or the true meaning. You can't know true love without loss is what I mean to say. You speak of the light like a "philosopher", but you are just an artist painting words on a lonely stretch of black in which I type my words now. What "Jesus" did should be an example yes, if that's what you believe, but I find it utterly lacking in consciousness that one might set an unknown character as a role model in such important matters. I guess that's why people are so close-minded-they don't seek the truth, don't know fact from fiction, and can't even comprehend what love is.

Thanks for sharing your point of view my friend.

Peace

mark