I think we're all looking for something. I think humanity is always looking for something more, something beyond materialistic things, belongings, friendships and relationships. We're all on a quest for something greater, something that will completely satisfy us and make us feel whole.
Let me ask you a question...do you feel whole? When you go to bed at night and turn of your lights, when you stare at the dark ceiling ready to fall asleep, do you truly feel whole, complete and genuinely content? To be honest, I know I dont always, and I would be suprised to find someone who can honestly say they always feel whole. I wouldn't be suprised if some of you never feel whole. And to be honest, I think its human nature.
We're always on the hunt for something greater, something new, something exciting that will fill the gap in our soul and heart and make us feel complete. Sadly, we turn to things like alcohol, drugs, materialism and sometimes bad relationships. On the quest for something more, we buy more cars, more movies, more music, more new gadgets...and as soon as bought something new we feel happy and content about our purchase. In a way it might even give us a sense of empowerment. The "high" feeling doenst last long, until we already have our eyes on something else that will satisfy our desire. No drug, no material possesion, no human relationship and no friendship is ever going to fill a gap, a gap in our soul that it seems we're born with.
At times we feel like nothing's right, and we wonder about our purpose in life. Truth is, we as humans have a never-ending desire for love, affection and belonging. This ties directly into our purpose. We want to feel used, feel like we're accomplishing something, feel like we're appreciated and loved. Often times we dont quite appeal to all those needs that are built into our nature. We start getting bitter, maybe we start getting depressed, be it light depression and having the blues, or fullout mental breakdown depression. I found in my life, that humanity will always let us down. People will always hurt you, they will always let you down. And as you grow up you notice that it's not them, its us. We will also hurt, we will also break commitments, we will also let other people down, we will dissapoint, we will fail. We're too frail and imperfect to always succede, to always fit in everywhere, to always handle every situation thrown at us the right manner, to always overcome every hurdle on the road of life, full of potholes. Our heart is unstable, it can be broken, it can be corrupted, it can be hurt in the worst of ways, and it can be hardened.
We think that success in life will make us happy. We make it our primary goal in life to succeed, to be good at everything we do, and to pursue our dreams. This is an idealistic way of thinking, it's shooting for the stars, and most often we fall short of our dreams, aspirations and goals. We feel crushed and worthless, we feel at times like life is not worth living. How do we measure success? What is success for you? Is it money, is it a steady business or job, is it owning a big house with a pool, is it a fancy car, is it power, is it material posessions? One thing I've learned in my short life, is that money will not make you happy. Nor will power. Nor will any material thing you've ever dreamed of. All those things seem great at the time, in fact they're all things we struggle to obtain in our everyday lives, and they're all things that are presented as ideals that we should strive for. Society has taught us that whoever has the most toys wins, that whoever owns the nicest car is the most succesfull, gets all the girls etc. Our society preaches a gospel of material wealth. I dont think money is success. I dont think power is succes. Do you feel like money makes you happy? I do...for a while, and then I realize that I'm no happier than yesterday. Fact is, Im still human with the same emotions as the beggar down the street, and Im just as frail as he is, my life will wither like the grass just like his will, and at the end of my time, I cannot be certain that I was more succesfull than him, or that Im worth more than he is...I will die knowing that I had the power to help him...but I didnt. See, power isnt having more money than someone else, or being in control of someone else...real power is using what you have, to help someone who doenst have it. Oscar Shindler was once talking to a german officer who was holding his gun against a jewish woman crying in fear. The officer smiled at Schindler and said "this, is power", to which Schindler replied "No, Power if having the ability to shoot that poor woman, but not doing it and saving her life. That my friend is power".
So as we embark on this journey called life, as we live out our daily lives in the comforts of our home, and as we go to bed at night, do we feel whole?
Let me leave you with a few thoughts....who are you to be born into the family you were born into? Why werent we born into a poor family in southern Africa struggling to survive? Why do we live in the free country we do, why do we live out our daily lives without having to worry about what we'll eat for dinner tonight...why are we placed where we are placed? And, what is it that we're searching for, what gap are we trying to fill in our soul, what is succes, and does it complete us?

These are merely thoughts and opinions, I'm not claiming to be right about everything. Opinions are subjective, so is truth. I'd love to hear your views on these thoughts, criticism or mockery. I know its totally non-related to hot rods, feel free not to reply and let this thread die down quickly. I considered for a while wether I should post these thoughts here or not...

Mike

Very deep Mike. My grandpa (who was long gone well before I was even a twinkle in my parent's eyes) used to tell my grandma that they were rich, they just didn't have the money to show it. Life's funny in that we are never content with what we have, but yet few people really leave a lasting legacy of "earthly greatness". It's kind of sad, but for all we do on here, and in the world, more than likely our grandchildren's generation will not be able to link a thing of their live's to ours.


In a while, Chet.

__________________
It's not what you take with you when you leave, it's what you leave behind you when you go.

My Monte Carlo Addicts site

A little too deep for me,....... pass the brownies and come check out all the new stuff I got at an auction.

Many times I have thought the very same things. I believe you're right that helping people out is the absolute best thing one can do. I was a volunteer fireman for several years, and one thing I remember about that time above all the bad stuff I had witnessed was that it did'nt matter if I was exhausted after the call, just knowing I was able to DO something to help made all the work and pain worth it.

I have worked jobs on people's cars, and given it back to them without having the bill paid up, so they could get back and forth. I have only been stung doing that a few times, the rest are some of my best customers, and tell everyone they know who to go to.

When I go out singing on weeknights, it's typical I help the DJ set up his equipment, and stay late to help him tear down again 'coz I know sometimes he has a few shots during the evening. I also look at anything that gets broken and try to fix it, and I won't take any special treatment for it either. He does tell people that they should have me look at their cars, some do and some dont. Regardless I always have fun, and I'm 10 years older than most of the singing crowd. And I get along with everybody. There have been times I'll give up my spot late at night so latecomers can do a song, and since I drink pop, I have also run a few ppl home at times.

I believe when a person gives of themself, it comes back to them many times over. I may not be as well off as some people, but I have a beautiful daughter and I'm generally pretty happy, since I started. Life is too short to be stressed out or moping around unhappy all the time.

Doc

What you are trying to say can be put in just a few words.
While we cannot control the length of life, we can control its width and depth. Most of us leave a narrow twisted path that leads nowhere, a few leave a broad avenue of selflessness that leads to the future and benefits all mankind.
Get the idea?

Well, you're one step ahead of most mike, most people are reactive rather than proactive about issues and problems in their and others' lives. You really seem to absorb a lot of information from other people- you'll end up just fine.

I know you're a spiritual guy, and I hope you have a balance between your profession and your religion. Success and money alone won't make you happy, spirituality alone won't always help you to help others and age alone doesn't make you wise. Put out your best product and effort and stand up for what you believe in and you have no reason to feel "empty." One person can only do so much!

K

Hey Nightfire, you've got to get more sleep at night. That's some heavy thoughts there. I'm sure we've all had them and it good to get them off your chest with friends, who'd like to help. 61 bone had some good thoughts and and KF never ceases to amaze me. I don't always agree with him (but he's cool), his last paragraph is great, read it again. Don't get too one sided you need balance in your life. For those of us who believe, even we won't get the true answers we seek until we reach our ultimate goal. I'm not going to turn this into a religious debate cause we're all of different faiths/ or no faith as it may be. I'm no great thinker or any one with vast knowledge of the unknown but I agree with KF help those you can, you can't save them all, be the best and do the best you can and you will be fulfilled. It dosen't come all at once or at a certain time. It's a journey through life no matter how short or long you have, work, play,cry, help,and enjoy the trip. You only get to do it once. You'll never regret being a decent human being. You will regret being a detriment to mankind so (notice the wording below my screen name even though I borrowed it from a movie, I like'd it...) BE THE MIRACLE !
(pm me if you like, at least I can lend an ear and listen.)

i like beer.

btw, kegger at my house saturday night.

on a serious note. well, i'm serious about the kegger, but i've learned it's important to be happy with what you've got, as you've stated, that new toy is cool for a short while, but it won't fill that void we all have. more isn't always better, except for beer.


and so you know, I haven't been drunk since my last birthday. I just like beer.

Like KF said, your one jump up on the majority of the population. My father once told me the richest payment a person can ever recieve is the sincere gratitude of another. I feel that this has never been more true than now, when selfless acts seem to be looked down upon by society. To lend a hand and help someone when there is no material gain for yourself seems to have gone out of style, and all of us have lost out on part of what makes a person whole. We have been conditioned into thinking that "stuff" will make us feel better, so we strive to accumulate it, all the while missing what is right in front of us. Our older parents, our younger siblings, and most of all, our children. We work at our jobs, to make the allmighty dollar, to buy more "stuff", a bigger house, cooler clothes, a bigger TV, and neglect the time we could be spending reading a story to our children, or showing them the cloud that looks like a dragon, or that first "wishing star" in the evening. Our jobs become the focus of life, and the most important things fade into the background, to be adressed "when I have time".


Your deep thoughts into this could not have come at a better time, for me, as I have lately been caught up in this whirlwind called "modern life" more so than usual. Coming home tired, and still wound up in work, I began to feel that I did not have the time and energy to do the things I should, like play cards with my daughter (4yo), or thank my wife for just being my wife. My relationship has suffered, and my daughter has begun to feel its effects as well. Worries about what needs to be paid for and the stress of trying to keep the whole thing above water were causing me to react too harshly, and say things in tones that I would later regret. These things were caused, imho, by the pursuit of the material things we are expected to have in todays society, and are conditioned into believing we need to be complete. Reading your take on these same feelings, has reinforced what I have been coming to see.


Thank you for posting your thoughts, and in the posting, helping me and maybe others order their own.


Garth

Hi Mike-
Welcome to the evolution of man! Mike, the things you are realizing, is the driving force behind man, himself. If we didn't have the DNA thread that encouraged us to succeed or progress, we would still be dragging women around by the hair of the head, and beating our dinner with a club. Its simply evolution. Ironically, the very thing we covet, is the things that our forefathers had, but wanted more. And they did their best to see that their decendants got what they themselves wanted.
You are caught in a quandry. Fighting evolutionary tendancies, versus "the good old days". The good old days also had numberous pitfalls as well. Life expectancy, due to nutrition and medicines. Life was physically harder. Workplaces were much more dangerous. Etc, etc.
The thought for the day "Why are we born into..., I can answer that. Dumb luck. We were fortunate. But, and this is a big but, do you really think that the African people don't enjoy themselves as we do? They may not have the material priveledges we do, but they are still happy for the most part. Yes, the starving are not happy. No contest. But let me ask you a question. Is this part of evolution? Are our gifts of the technology, and us being fortunate part of evolution? Perhaps? Is our ability to question this in a forum part of evolution? MANY MANY MANY life questions will never be answered. We haven't evolved enough yet. Cavemen were completely satisfied when they had brontosaurus burgers. Or were they??

As far as we have progressed, where does the future lead?

Yet, we still fight over simple beliefs, which goes back to cavemen. A belief that has no proven answer as to who is right and who is wrong.......because we as humans are not advanced enough to comprehend the whole picture....

Great readup Mike. That is a very deep topic that I'm sure almost everyone has thought about once in their life. I'm always wondering if I can be successful and have a good life and even if I am successful, whether I'll be able to be happy, etc etc. We're going to worry about things like this all the time but it's important not to let it get the best of us and to just try our best to achieve a good life, regardless of whether or not you'll be the most successful person.

Good one on the (is this politically correct?) stone age African tribes. they live the simple life of not punching a time clock but still have the daily stuggle of food and shelter. I often wonder if they aren't happier with the simpler life with out the daily grind of worrying about material things as much. Work when you need to, take time to enjoy life the rest of the time. I bet in the middle of the night they think about the same things we and Nightfire do.

BTW, thanks for the kind words 38-

K

No problem KF!
Hey, I just noticed your loacation as New Jersey. I always thought you were from Michigan. Did you move? I was in New Jersey last year on vacation. Saw the Statue of Liberty, went to Ocean City and Atlantic City. since we were that close we also went and saw Lucy. Hey, we were on vactation, it was fun.

holy crap nightfire. you're only 18?? really deep thoughts for an 18 year old. come to think of it. that's about the age i really was deep too. really cared about the world. gave a crap. but don't worry, you'll grow out of it. now i could care less.

yes. i feel okay when i go to sleep. i never could until i met my soul mate wife. i feel really bad only when i think about her injury last year and how she has been totally yanked by so many doctors. i think the lowest form of life on the planet is the claims managers for labor and industrial accidents in this state and the medical office receptionist we meet EVERY FRIKKEN DAY!!! just yesterday i took off work to drive my wife to seattle for an appt that was scheduled from the git-go for the 18th and when we got there in the pouring rain/rush hour traffic they said it was the 19th. anyway....

yes. ignorance is bliss. the africans are happy if they kill a snake and can eat. i personally think the best society to ever have lived with as a member of same would either be romans or american indians. but what do i really know about them anyway. we are all lucky to be born in this day and age. to have been born in this country or australia or canada or a host of others in europe.

i always wanted kids and never did. so i feel a tiny bit empty. but compared to the massive void i always had in my heart and whole life before i met my wife it's not too bad. since i met her i feel complete.

somehow being a teacher at job corps didn't really make me all warm and fuzzy. not a high enough success rate i guess. kids who didn't give a flying fk about what i had to teach them. so i am glad i got fired. i think alot about killing certain people. if it wasnt for the fear of God i would kill alot of people. alot of them could simply be beaten. if i see them on the street i would love to cripple them. i am not very spiritual. i wish i was. i know that there is a God. i feel he ignores us. but not cause he doesnt like us but because he's too busy running this and other universes.

right now i feel really empty tho. but it's all you can eat prawn night for $16 night, so i wont be empty for long.

i hope you can feel better too. btw, i was also suicidal at 18. i hope you arn't.