I know there are things I should do and things I should not do, things I should do a little less, things I should do a little more. Logic is not enough here. Maybe I should emulate the Buddha and rid myself of desire.
I’m not dissatisfied with my life. I just know that if I had found the Buddha earlier, I coulda done something with my life. I coulda been somebody. I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender, instead of a bum, which is what I am.
You are desiring no desire.
There’s the rub.
If you want to be a better person, get in touch with the sacred. Listen to Bach (or Mozart), eat a really good pizza, go to the top of a mountain on a windy day, hug a tree…
Or just make a donation to www.Forumosa.com. 
We’ll definitely think you’re a good person.
[quote=“Richardm”]I know there are things I should do and things I should not do, things I should do a little less, things I should do a little more. Logic is not enough here. Maybe I should emulate the Buddha and rid myself of desire.
I’m not dissatisfied with my life. I just know that if I had found the Buddha earlier, I coulda done something with my life. I coulda been somebody. I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender, instead of a bum, which is what I am.[/quote]
Becoming a republican might be a good start 
Rid yourself of desire? Is life worth living without that precious commodity? If I didn’t have desire and ambition for that matter, I would be a nice guy driving a cab in Copenhagen.
A good person is in the eye of the bystanders. Don’t judge yourself but follow your instincts and your underlying personality shines thru. Changing yourself??? Sounds a bit too familiar to “cheating yourself” if you ask me.
BTW Maoman only hugs trees, when he’s about to fall off them .
Gosh Richardm why are you being so hard on yourself? Its never too late for anything. So long as you are still on this earth, keep chugging and keep working towards those things that you feel are important to you.
Cheers!
Rose
I don’t know, Roseha, maybe Richard’s right to be down. To a certain extent by the time one gets to our ages one is pretty much fixed. We are who we are and there’s not a heck of a lot one can do about it. One can go to the gym and lose a few pounds, but then the months roll past, we flake out, and with time again we’re fat. One can try to be nicer and to only say good about things about others, but before you know it we’re gossiping about co-workers and bickering on segue. It’s tough.
Regarding fitness, I’ve thought sometimes it might be nice to be morbidly obese because then it just wouldn’t matter. One could sit in front of the tube stuffing ones face with buckets of fried chicken and icecream because there would be no way one could ever be slim. Likewise, the life of a psycopath might be a good one – to go through life unburdened with trying to live up to impossible moral standards and never knowing guilt, shame or regret.
I have two questions for you, Richardm:
What do you mean by a “better” person?
Why do you want to be a “better” person?
Let’s face it. Chances are, none of us will ever make a difference in the world. We don’t matter. Oh sure, we could do something really radical–like kill somebody important, or start us a religion and get us some good-for-nothing followers (speaking of which, you may be pleased to know that Buddha is said to have been forty years old when he left home)–but how much change would that really make? Even the best of us are insignificant little worms. God doesn’t even care enough to hate us. We might as well kill ourselves now, unless we’re pathetic enough to hold out for whatever scraps of pleasure might succeed in making us forget our wretchedness for a moment. (Okay, a night.) Or if we’re too chicken for even that, never mind–death will come soon enough, and then it’s lights out! And nothing will mean anything.
P.S. Our votes don’t matter, either.
I’ve just been thinking about why we, none of us, live up to our potential.
Probably one of the biggest money making scams is that if you can convince enough people that you have some method or idea that will make them able to think better and have more energy then you will have answered the million dollar question. TM, EST, Silva Mind Control, etc.
All of them have some element of truth. If you could go through and separate the good parts from the trash, you might be on to something.
Potential for what?
What do you mean by potential?
Is it in your life, career, how people perceive you or???
I personally still feel that I haven’t lived up to my potential yet, but I think that I am well on my way.
We all have great potential to do very good things, and very evil things, and very silly things, and very stupid things, etc…
Personally, I’m glad that I haven’t lived up to my potentials.
I won’t have failed to live up to my potential until I die, and then it won’t matter anyway.
Richardm, what kind of potential is it you haven’t lived up to?
If it’s the one as axe murderer, then you might be happy that you haven’t done that so far.
No offense, but if you think you are a bum, then you are a bum.
Not to be harsh, but you become what you perceive yourself to be.
When you see the phrases “better person” or “live up to my potential”, you can just pretend that you are a rational human being with a native speaker’s understanding of the English language and interpret them accordingly. It will then be obvious that “ax murderer” was not what I had in mind. Nobody uses an ax anymore. That is so twentieth century.
It is true that they will mean different things to each individual, but I think that over 99% of people will interpret them in a positive light. But then again, I’m not a Republican.
There is much truth in that, but the paradox is that we seldom become what we want to be. There’s an old saying that I made up, “Life in never what we want it to be, but it is what we make it.”
PS. I don’t really think I’m a bum. I was just having fun with Brando.
[quote=“Richardm”]When you see the phrases “better person” or “live up to my potential”, you can just pretend that you are a rational human being with a native speaker’s understanding of the English language and interpret them accordingly…
It is true that they will mean different things to each individual, but I think that over 99% of people will interpret them in a positive light. But then again, I’m not a Republican.[/quote]
Well, since I am a Republican, I must disagree. You could “live up to your potential” for earning money perhaps by earning billions of dollars. But, would that necessarily make you a “better person”?
I didn’t ask my questions to jerk you around… and anyway… a wiseman once said that there are no stupid questions…
[quote=“Richardm”]I know there are things I should do and things I should not do, things I should do a little less, things I should do a little more. Logic is not enough here. Maybe I should emulate the Buddha and rid myself of desire.
I’m not dissatisfied with my life. I just know that if I had found the Buddha earlier, I coulda done something with my life. I coulda been somebody. I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender, instead of a bum, which is what I am.[/quote]
Life is in the breath.
I read that somewhere. Some dude called buddha and ananda. therefore it doesn’t matter if you meet buddha as a 5 year old or as a 75 year old.
i’m not dissatisfied with my life, but sometimes i think death would be more satisfying.