[LONG] Wisdom of The World

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Wisdom of The World -- 9 Painful Truths About Life

For the purposes of this article, use of the term "The World" refers to the social environment of this planet, inclusive of all of the people currently alive, their customs, their laws, their traditions, and their attitudes.

Each one of these truths is best validated by personal experience -- "Learning things the hard way" from the "School of Hard Knocks". I am hoping to spare you the pain and indignities of having to learn these truths in the same way that I had to learn them; but I am enough of a realist (cynic?) to reason that for most people, this is just another in a seemingly endless collection of bluntly-worded lists offering advice that no one wants to read, and that no-one will accept as valid until they learn it for themselves the hard way.

Good luck with that. Let's get started.

1) Life Isn't 'Fair'. You know it. We know it. Everybody in The World knows it. So why do you keep complaining about it? Here's why: You are not saying "Life isn't fair", you are actually saying "The World doesn't work the way I want or for my benefit". So you've seen someone else owning the things you've always wanted -- so what? Have you also seen the hours of study to earn the degree that got the person the job that pays them the money to buy those things? No? "Fairness" is earning the privileged that you wish were just handed to you. "It's not fair" is what gets said by people who don't want to play by anybody's rules but their own. Either learn the already-established rules and live by them, or quietly deal with the fact that life will never be "fair" to you.

2) Life Is Hard. The World will snub you, ignore you, disagree with you, insult you and yell at you. You will not always get your way. You will not always have friends, if you have any relationships at all. You will have to earn people's trust and respect. You will also have to work to earn money to buy the things you want. That's just how life is. Either find a way to cope or find someplace to hide -- whatever you do, just do it quietly, please.

3) The World Does Not Care. There are 7.5 billion people in The World, and most of them do not care care about you. Of those few dozen or so people that you personally know, it is likely that most already resent having to set aside their own problems to contend with yours, especially if they must do so on a daily basis, and MOST especially if you are not helping them with the problems they have. One day, they will be gone, and you will have no idea how to care for yourself. You would do well to stop relying on others to make the choices you need to make, and learn how to care for yourself in every way.

4) Just Being Nice Is Never Enough. If all you have to offer is being 'Nice', then The World will see you as weak, and will take advantage of you at every opportunity. The World will also suspect you of being a manipulative butt-kisser with selfish goals and ulterior motives. Nice people are also taken for granted, but only when they're not being exploited for whatever they can provide, whether it is talent, labor, money, or for being a convenient scapegoat to take all of the blame. Sure, good manners and civil behavior are important; just don't let them get in the way of earning a good wage for being a good provider.

5) The World Cares Only For What You Can Provide For It. The World needs food, clothing, housing, clean water, clean air, medical care, education, and entertainment. Either you will learn a skillset that allows you to to provide at least one of those things, or The World will reject you, and walk right past you to the next person in line who can and will provide those things. Worse yet, if all you can do is take without giving, then you will be "kicked to the curb", left out in the cold, and soon forgotten. Learn something useful -- something that you can do to provide what The World wants, and that The World will pay you to provide -- or mark out a spot in the alley and get used to sleeping there alone.

6) The World Will Not Change Just For You ... because it simply is not going to happen, that's why! The World has been around for over 4.5 billion years, and there are over 7.5 billion people living on it today. Suddenly, here you are, demanding that The World be re-made just to make you happy. Too bad for you that those 7.5 billion people already like things the way they are, or things would not be the way they are in the first place! Only YOUR life is about you; the rest of The World isn't. Accept it or not -- The World won't change.

7) The World Owes You Nothing. This means that if you want something, you have to put forth the right kind of effort to get it. Stop demanding that The World provide you with unlimited cash, a mansion, a limousine, gourmet food, love, trust and respect -- all for free. Just because you have the 'right' to all of these things does not mean that anyone else is automatically required to provide them for you. You have only the 'right' to ownership, while ownership itself is a privilege that must be earned or paid for. So, get up, get out, get a job, and earn some money.

8) It Is Pointless To Argue Against Wisdom of The World. Wisdom comes from experience of living in The World, and when someone with much more experience than you tells you what you need to do to get out of the situation you're in, just do it. Don't tell them that it's impossible, because that older person has likely been in the same situation you're in, and has done exactly what they told you to do to get out of it. Don't say that you'll think about it, because thinking isn't doing, and you'll just think yourself into an even deeper situation than the one you're already in now. Don't tell them that they're stupid, because they may decide that if you're so smart, then you can get out of your situation all by yourself. So just do it. Oh, and you might even want to say "Thank you" to the people who shared their wisdom with you.

9) Finally, NOBODY Likes A Complainer. The only people who like listening to complainers are either getting paid to listen, or they're getting some kind of enjoyment from knowing that you have something to complain about. Either way, they'll give you all of the attention and affirmation you crave while they sit smugly in the knowledge that they have yet again goaded you into your most predictable behavior -- complaining.

Thank you, and have a nice day!

-Fnord, the Metasyntactic Variable-

Its actually not that long but the only one I really have a problem with is the first one. I mean I guess I agree with it but I would like to point out that there are hard working people that pour hours in studying and working that go unnoticed. So I would only agree with that if it were changed from "The World doesn't work the way I want or for my benefit" to "The World doesn't always reward hard work from hard working people and can in fact do the opposite". Of course that is unfair but that was the point of point one anyway right?

I should have a two year degree, I have almost as many credit hours...

That is a defining situation of "Life Isn't 'Fair'".

Okay well cool, not entirely an easy thing to read but I see your points, carry on. Probably not easy to read because I and probably many have learned them the hard way.

I accept the truth of this message b/c those who espouse the wisdom of this message still b***h and scream about the unfairness of life when it comes to their pet causes.

Why does it have to be either or? Why can't one pick his battles or why can't someone just laugh at the absurdedness of it all

Good points. "Pick your battles and laugh at the bull****." -- I like that.

As have I. It just seemed time to actually codify these points.

Again, why does it have to be either or black and white? Why can't one just learn certain rules only to get by? Why can't one move to a different location where the rules may be different and the rules may be easier to follow? Why can't one become some kind of Monk?

To me, the whole sefishness vs selflessness as most people in our culture understand them is to simplistic and black and white. Why one be selfish in some cases?

I don't think Fnord's advice excludes that possibility, it all depends what one wants from life. It is certainly possibly to live with fewer expectations from the world around us, so long as we are content to live without the benefits that engaging in those things could bring us. For example, I have little problem living on a subsistence level income, supplemented by bartering my PC skills and time for gifts in kind from friends and family - but crucially, I don't hanker after an enormous TV, fast car, fancy clothes, expensive nights out, holidays abroad etc.

As I see it, the core of that piece of advice is to realise that if you don't want to, or cannot, live with those expectations, there will be consequences for that which are unavoidable. One could take the option to challenge those expectations as a campaigner, but even then, one has to accept that the changes one is fighting for may not happen in one's own lifetime, if at all. Most importantly, if all we do is sit around wallowing in jealousy, complaining, and waiting for our fairy godmother to appear, we totally exclude the possibility of getting any closer to whatever compromise maximises our satisfaction with life, nor the serenity of the "Monk" who accepts the world for what it is (which may or may not include the possibility that external changes are possible.)

@Fnord
Nice to see you back - your posts have been top notch since you've returned.

If you are correct then I accept and agree with Fnord.

Here are my issues with this message.

1. Let's go by Fnord's definition of the world. I have to question whether those who claim wisdom of the world has lived, visited and traveled to all or at least the vast majority of the planet. Those who claim wisdom I have found when I ask what parts of the world they visited it is only parts and only segments of those parts. So, those who claim wisdom from the world are really claiming wisdom from only those parts of the world.

2. This presumes that the methods and techniques that the wise man or the guru that he or she used for him or herself that worked for them will work for others as well. This is a weak generalization. How does the guru know that it will work for others and even if it worked for others does it mean it will work for a subset?

3. This proves that Fnord is right when life really is unfair when he says "Oh, and you might even want to say "Thank you" to the people who shared their wisdom with you" as though I owe this guru. Why do I owe this person a thank you at all? Maybe this guru is entitled himself but I guess in some cases some are more equal then others and some do owe others. So, life isn't fair. Fnord is right. Which means, I'm not owed consistent standards either by anyone.

4. "Don't say that you'll think about it, because thinking isn't doing, and you'll just think yourself into an even deeper situation than the one you're already in now." Or maybe from the non-guru's perspective it is better to think through the message first before jumping into something head first and ending up in s**t because he realized everyone in his life who claimed to be wise and a guru was really not and he ended up in s**t anyway which proves life is unfair.

It is not a matter of "Black or White". It is a matter of "All or Nothing". These rules describe how society in general operates. Failure to acknowledge all of them as valid leads to frustration.Homeless people are just "getting by". If that's what you want for yourself, then go for it; if not, then learn to accept how society operates and act accordingly.Because these rules are universal; everywhere you go, society follows these rules. It's like you're asking, "Where in the ocean can I swim without getting wet?" Pointless.Good idea! Step away from the keyboard, throw away your smartphone, go live in a cave, forage for your food, and avoid all contact with humanity. That's the only way that you'll be able to get away from The World.

Dude, you're over-analyzing again. All that you need to understand is that The Rules are how The World (society in general) operates. Living by these rules means realizing and accepting them as valid. Not living by these rules means misery and frustration.

This is human nature. Why ask why?

Thanks! Nice to be back.

I've prepared several long posts. I hope that people find them, read them, and ponder their contents. If they find what I've posted useful (for something other than "Why? ... Why? ... Why?"), then even better!

I meant to ask why can't you be selfish in some cases and if selfishness is human nature then how did we as a species come up with its opposite?



To get to the essence and heart and matter of the concept.