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I typed this a while back, and there are probably holes in it, but I'd like to hear what you think you're a 'disciple' of and whether that has changed over the course of your life: I'm sure mine will.
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I would like to say that I am a disciple only to my God, religion and frequently my family (although one day like all I will have to become more independent then I currently am) and nothing else: ‘I’m totally independent in every other aspect of my life, I need nothing else to follow’ but large parts of me think otherwise. I’m fully aware of today’s pressures and trends that are so easily followed, even by the strongest of characters. A lot of people would probably follow these trends simply to get someone where higher in life. I really would love to say that I can avoid pressure added to me to make me follow these damning trends, but I can’t see me getting through my life without them. I could so easily be a disciple of work, achieving this the next step in the ever growing, twisted, staircase is then on to being a follower of money, earning money: no time for family, religion or health even. Such a simple and tempting life. Then after this maybe I could move on to the greatest, and no doubt the most popular followings yet to exist, power. This would probably ultimately create popularity, whether it is false or not.
First of all, work. I believe everyone starts off as thinking they’ll never be devoted such a tedious activity as work, but surely it is so simple to become one of its many followers? (Ironically here I am writing this after all) I certainly don’t want to be placed into a situation where my work is swamping my life and sucking all my devotion straight into it, but in a modern world where the only way to earn a living is my doing such work it must be extremely hard. Don’t get me wrong I do want to work and, obviously, I must and I will hopefully manage to put a certain amount of devotion into it, otherwise I will be avoiding this route entirely! But I hope in the future that I don’t become sucked into such a thick web of work that I won’t have time for leisure, family and religion. At the current time I can only hope that I won’t become a follower of my work, I believe it would crush every single other thing I want to share my devotion with.
Next is money, this must be almost as popular as power. This must be quite an easy route to devote to. If I have money surely I can have everything I have ever dreamt of? I could buy a car, a house and maybe I can even buy some false friends (I would need to because all my old and potential friends would be swept away by my hand and my eager ‘money-struck’ eyes). It’s a very old phrase but it really sums it up: “Money can’t buy you love.” I say that I don’t care about money now but I know there is something swelling and brewing inside of me that just can’t wait to get my dirty little hands on money. And once I feed this temptation surely it is more than possible to go all the way. I know being a follower of money can be potentially devastating but once I see my first wage slip there is a large possibility that I won’t be too keen to go back to my original followings and teachings, such as my family and my God. I mean who cares about all that stuff when your wallet is exploding with riches? It always seems to be, and there probably is a lesson to be learned, that whenever you see a person who is a follower of money they always seem to suddenly realise they have wasted their life by making this money and the very end of their lives, when it is definitely too late. They have forgotten their very personality. Money wrapped their lives in a cloak of darkness not allowing them to ever see their relationships with people and God a like grow. Hopefully the one thing I would be able to do if I ever went into such a terrible life I would be able to criticise myself at the very end (or earlier if possible) and realise my mistakes, but it isn’t much use then, is it? Hell would surely be me cut off from everyone else, surrounded in money, whilst everyone else was having the greatest time and making the most of it, whilst I’m forced to work to make that vital, vital wage slip. I would hate to think I could ever be a disciple of such a thing and would hope that many others could have the same line of thought, or is this just me being arrogant and misinformed, a child? Is it more than possible that it is too late already, right from the very first week’s pocket money being placed into my greedy hands, sweating as all my devotion slowly seeps from my body? I pray not.
Power possibly the centre of the universe. It keeps the ‘lower class’ away from the ‘middle class’ and in turn keeps them away from the ‘upper class’. With such views like this displayed in everyday life and routines is it any doubt that so many people want to be the ‘best of the best’, ‘top of the top’, ‘the all powerful one’? I loathe it all entirely, in my view it leads to such things as racism. Slavery only occurred because people wanted power over others and not a lot has changed. It’s almost exactly the same now except in our country it doesn’t happen quite to those extremes so why care. We our one of the most powerful nations so why should we look out for the ‘lower class’ or ‘third world’? If our leaders really cared surely they wouldn’t solely be solving Iraq’s problems (and there are probably more reasons to why they invaded Iraq than just solely helping others), there are thousands of people calling for our aid such as Zimbabwe. In society power has been rammed into people’s skulls, everyone is after everyone else’s jobs as long as they’re higher up. Many people will quite happily stab each other in the back to get there too: taking credit for certain work by pulling rank and taking advantage of the weak and the honest. Again I pray to God that I won’t be selfish and totally self-obsessed, if I get into such a position I would like to think I would have the power to give full credit to others where credit is due and advise and teach people.
When I look into the mirror I realise I can’t make it on my own. Hopefully my current leaders who I follow, my parents, my elder brothers and God will guide me in the right direction. I realise I will need to learn not to fully depend on these figures, but there is no reason why I need to go it alone. God will always be there I hope. There will be many times when I can’t make it on my own and be greatly tempted to follow other things, but with the help of God I hope I can quickly head back down the right path. I say now I won’t follow such things as money and power but only the future will be able to tell. If I do get into the situations, which I currently pray not to, someone will hopefully wake me up, whether it is another person or God. I don’t want to be disciple of everything I hate. I will put effort and some devotion into my work, but not so much to lose out on everything else. I will, obviously, need to earn money but again I hope I can steer clear of the easy-to-follow road of corruption that will quite easily and strongly swamp my life. Also I hope to avoid becoming a power-hungry person who is only out there for himself, I believe strongly that such power can lead to such hatred as racism. It isn’t worth it. I’ll lose my friends, my family and my God. I’m not willing to sacrifice these vital things in my life just so I can put down and look down on others. My religion will hopefully get me through my life without becoming the demons I hate; this is why it is important, for me at least. I guess only time will tell ultimately though and after all I have only touched on three of the many followings for some people.
-------------------
I would like to say that I am a disciple only to my God, religion and frequently my family (although one day like all I will have to become more independent then I currently am) and nothing else: ‘I’m totally independent in every other aspect of my life, I need nothing else to follow’ but large parts of me think otherwise. I’m fully aware of today’s pressures and trends that are so easily followed, even by the strongest of characters. A lot of people would probably follow these trends simply to get someone where higher in life. I really would love to say that I can avoid pressure added to me to make me follow these damning trends, but I can’t see me getting through my life without them. I could so easily be a disciple of work, achieving this the next step in the ever growing, twisted, staircase is then on to being a follower of money, earning money: no time for family, religion or health even. Such a simple and tempting life. Then after this maybe I could move on to the greatest, and no doubt the most popular followings yet to exist, power. This would probably ultimately create popularity, whether it is false or not.
First of all, work. I believe everyone starts off as thinking they’ll never be devoted such a tedious activity as work, but surely it is so simple to become one of its many followers? (Ironically here I am writing this after all) I certainly don’t want to be placed into a situation where my work is swamping my life and sucking all my devotion straight into it, but in a modern world where the only way to earn a living is my doing such work it must be extremely hard. Don’t get me wrong I do want to work and, obviously, I must and I will hopefully manage to put a certain amount of devotion into it, otherwise I will be avoiding this route entirely! But I hope in the future that I don’t become sucked into such a thick web of work that I won’t have time for leisure, family and religion. At the current time I can only hope that I won’t become a follower of my work, I believe it would crush every single other thing I want to share my devotion with.
Next is money, this must be almost as popular as power. This must be quite an easy route to devote to. If I have money surely I can have everything I have ever dreamt of? I could buy a car, a house and maybe I can even buy some false friends (I would need to because all my old and potential friends would be swept away by my hand and my eager ‘money-struck’ eyes). It’s a very old phrase but it really sums it up: “Money can’t buy you love.” I say that I don’t care about money now but I know there is something swelling and brewing inside of me that just can’t wait to get my dirty little hands on money. And once I feed this temptation surely it is more than possible to go all the way. I know being a follower of money can be potentially devastating but once I see my first wage slip there is a large possibility that I won’t be too keen to go back to my original followings and teachings, such as my family and my God. I mean who cares about all that stuff when your wallet is exploding with riches? It always seems to be, and there probably is a lesson to be learned, that whenever you see a person who is a follower of money they always seem to suddenly realise they have wasted their life by making this money and the very end of their lives, when it is definitely too late. They have forgotten their very personality. Money wrapped their lives in a cloak of darkness not allowing them to ever see their relationships with people and God a like grow. Hopefully the one thing I would be able to do if I ever went into such a terrible life I would be able to criticise myself at the very end (or earlier if possible) and realise my mistakes, but it isn’t much use then, is it? Hell would surely be me cut off from everyone else, surrounded in money, whilst everyone else was having the greatest time and making the most of it, whilst I’m forced to work to make that vital, vital wage slip. I would hate to think I could ever be a disciple of such a thing and would hope that many others could have the same line of thought, or is this just me being arrogant and misinformed, a child? Is it more than possible that it is too late already, right from the very first week’s pocket money being placed into my greedy hands, sweating as all my devotion slowly seeps from my body? I pray not.
Power possibly the centre of the universe. It keeps the ‘lower class’ away from the ‘middle class’ and in turn keeps them away from the ‘upper class’. With such views like this displayed in everyday life and routines is it any doubt that so many people want to be the ‘best of the best’, ‘top of the top’, ‘the all powerful one’? I loathe it all entirely, in my view it leads to such things as racism. Slavery only occurred because people wanted power over others and not a lot has changed. It’s almost exactly the same now except in our country it doesn’t happen quite to those extremes so why care. We our one of the most powerful nations so why should we look out for the ‘lower class’ or ‘third world’? If our leaders really cared surely they wouldn’t solely be solving Iraq’s problems (and there are probably more reasons to why they invaded Iraq than just solely helping others), there are thousands of people calling for our aid such as Zimbabwe. In society power has been rammed into people’s skulls, everyone is after everyone else’s jobs as long as they’re higher up. Many people will quite happily stab each other in the back to get there too: taking credit for certain work by pulling rank and taking advantage of the weak and the honest. Again I pray to God that I won’t be selfish and totally self-obsessed, if I get into such a position I would like to think I would have the power to give full credit to others where credit is due and advise and teach people.
When I look into the mirror I realise I can’t make it on my own. Hopefully my current leaders who I follow, my parents, my elder brothers and God will guide me in the right direction. I realise I will need to learn not to fully depend on these figures, but there is no reason why I need to go it alone. God will always be there I hope. There will be many times when I can’t make it on my own and be greatly tempted to follow other things, but with the help of God I hope I can quickly head back down the right path. I say now I won’t follow such things as money and power but only the future will be able to tell. If I do get into the situations, which I currently pray not to, someone will hopefully wake me up, whether it is another person or God. I don’t want to be disciple of everything I hate. I will put effort and some devotion into my work, but not so much to lose out on everything else. I will, obviously, need to earn money but again I hope I can steer clear of the easy-to-follow road of corruption that will quite easily and strongly swamp my life. Also I hope to avoid becoming a power-hungry person who is only out there for himself, I believe strongly that such power can lead to such hatred as racism. It isn’t worth it. I’ll lose my friends, my family and my God. I’m not willing to sacrifice these vital things in my life just so I can put down and look down on others. My religion will hopefully get me through my life without becoming the demons I hate; this is why it is important, for me at least. I guess only time will tell ultimately though and after all I have only touched on three of the many followings for some people.
Hmmm...
I'm probably a disciple of idea's and ideals.
Thing is, I'm terrible at following it up with practicality.
Sometimes I think I spend so much time in my head that the real world is passing me by, but hey, I'm stumbling my way through life.
Any regrets on what could/should be would only make things worse.
One of the things I've learnt lately is it doesn't help to expect perfection, balance, or expect anything from yourself or the future because you only put on pressure/disappoint when it doesn't go as expected.
So I'm trying to just make the best of anything that comes my way or that I stumble into.
Sounds great?
Well that's because I've got all this masterful theory, if only I could follow it up with proper practice! :-S
I'm probably a disciple of idea's and ideals.
Thing is, I'm terrible at following it up with practicality.
Sometimes I think I spend so much time in my head that the real world is passing me by, but hey, I'm stumbling my way through life.
Any regrets on what could/should be would only make things worse.
One of the things I've learnt lately is it doesn't help to expect perfection, balance, or expect anything from yourself or the future because you only put on pressure/disappoint when it doesn't go as expected.
So I'm trying to just make the best of anything that comes my way or that I stumble into.
Sounds great?
Well that's because I've got all this masterful theory, if only I could follow it up with proper practice! :-S
I think we are all disciples of power in one way or another, whether that power is ethically or unethically pursued.
For instance, a religious person ultimately wants to win a share of God's power - in the afterlife. Live a righteous life and receive eternal life: the hidden motivation behind the belief is power (self-power). It's the driving force behind all ambition and motivation, no matter how grand or small.
That doesn't mean that empowering oneself need be achieved in a selfish manner, but ultimately it is selfish drive.
So I'm a disciple of power.
For instance, a religious person ultimately wants to win a share of God's power - in the afterlife. Live a righteous life and receive eternal life: the hidden motivation behind the belief is power (self-power). It's the driving force behind all ambition and motivation, no matter how grand or small.
That doesn't mean that empowering oneself need be achieved in a selfish manner, but ultimately it is selfish drive.
So I'm a disciple of power.
I typed this a while back, and there are probably holes in it, but I'd like to hear what you think you're a 'disciple' of and whether that has changed over the course of your life: I'm sure mine will.
-------------------
I would like to say that I am a disciple only to my God, religion and frequently my family (although one day like all I will have to become more independent then I currently am) and nothing else: ‘I’m totally independent in every other aspect of my life, I need nothing else to follow’ but large parts of me think otherwise. I’m fully aware of today’s pressures and trends that are so easily followed, even by the strongest of characters. A lot of people would probably follow these trends simply to get someone where higher in life. I really would love to say that I can avoid pressure added to me to make me follow these damning trends, but I can’t see me getting through my life without them. I could so easily be a disciple of work, achieving this the next step in the ever growing, twisted, staircase is then on to being a follower of money, earning money: no time for family, religion or health even. Such a simple and tempting life. Then after this maybe I could move on to the greatest, and no doubt the most popular followings yet to exist, power. This would probably ultimately create popularity, whether it is false or not.
First of all, work. I believe everyone starts off as thinking they’ll never be devoted such a tedious activity as work, but surely it is so simple to become one of its many followers? (Ironically here I am writing this after all) I certainly don’t want to be placed into a situation where my work is swamping my life and sucking all my devotion straight into it, but in a modern world where the only way to earn a living is my doing such work it must be extremely hard. Don’t get me wrong I do want to work and, obviously, I must and I will hopefully manage to put a certain amount of devotion into it, otherwise I will be avoiding this route entirely! But I hope in the future that I don’t become sucked into such a thick web of work that I won’t have time for leisure, family and religion. At the current time I can only hope that I won’t become a follower of my work, I believe it would crush every single other thing I want to share my devotion with.
Next is money, this must be almost as popular as power. This must be quite an easy route to devote to. If I have money surely I can have everything I have ever dreamt of? I could buy a car, a house and maybe I can even buy some false friends (I would need to because all my old and potential friends would be swept away by my hand and my eager ‘money-struck’ eyes). It’s a very old phrase but it really sums it up: “Money can’t buy you love.” I say that I don’t care about money now but I know there is something swelling and brewing inside of me that just can’t wait to get my dirty little hands on money. And once I feed this temptation surely it is more than possible to go all the way. I know being a follower of money can be potentially devastating but once I see my first wage slip there is a large possibility that I won’t be too keen to go back to my original followings and teachings, such as my family and my God. I mean who cares about all that stuff when your wallet is exploding with riches? It always seems to be, and there probably is a lesson to be learned, that whenever you see a person who is a follower of money they always seem to suddenly realise they have wasted their life by making this money and the very end of their lives, when it is definitely too late. They have forgotten their very personality. Money wrapped their lives in a cloak of darkness not allowing them to ever see their relationships with people and God a like grow. Hopefully the one thing I would be able to do if I ever went into such a terrible life I would be able to criticise myself at the very end (or earlier if possible) and realise my mistakes, but it isn’t much use then, is it? Hell would surely be me cut off from everyone else, surrounded in money, whilst everyone else was having the greatest time and making the most of it, whilst I’m forced to work to make that vital, vital wage slip. I would hate to think I could ever be a disciple of such a thing and would hope that many others could have the same line of thought, or is this just me being arrogant and misinformed, a child? Is it more than possible that it is too late already, right from the very first week’s pocket money being placed into my greedy hands, sweating as all my devotion slowly seeps from my body? I pray not.
Power possibly the centre of the universe. It keeps the ‘lower class’ away from the ‘middle class’ and in turn keeps them away from the ‘upper class’. With such views like this displayed in everyday life and routines is it any doubt that so many people want to be the ‘best of the best’, ‘top of the top’, ‘the all powerful one’? I loathe it all entirely, in my view it leads to such things as racism. Slavery only occurred because people wanted power over others and not a lot has changed. It’s almost exactly the same now except in our country it doesn’t happen quite to those extremes so why care. We our one of the most powerful nations so why should we look out for the ‘lower class’ or ‘third world’? If our leaders really cared surely they wouldn’t solely be solving Iraq’s problems (and there are probably more reasons to why they invaded Iraq than just solely helping others), there are thousands of people calling for our aid such as Zimbabwe. In society power has been rammed into people’s skulls, everyone is after everyone else’s jobs as long as they’re higher up. Many people will quite happily stab each other in the back to get there too: taking credit for certain work by pulling rank and taking advantage of the weak and the honest. Again I pray to God that I won’t be selfish and totally self-obsessed, if I get into such a position I would like to think I would have the power to give full credit to others where credit is due and advise and teach people.
When I look into the mirror I realise I can’t make it on my own. Hopefully my current leaders who I follow, my parents, my elder brothers and God will guide me in the right direction. I realise I will need to learn not to fully depend on these figures, but there is no reason why I need to go it alone. God will always be there I hope. There will be many times when I can’t make it on my own and be greatly tempted to follow other things, but with the help of God I hope I can quickly head back down the right path. I say now I won’t follow such things as money and power but only the future will be able to tell. If I do get into the situations, which I currently pray not to, someone will hopefully wake me up, whether it is another person or God. I don’t want to be disciple of everything I hate. I will put effort and some devotion into my work, but not so much to lose out on everything else. I will, obviously, need to earn money but again I hope I can steer clear of the easy-to-follow road of corruption that will quite easily and strongly swamp my life. Also I hope to avoid becoming a power-hungry person who is only out there for himself, I believe strongly that such power can lead to such hatred as racism. It isn’t worth it. I’ll lose my friends, my family and my God. I’m not willing to sacrifice these vital things in my life just so I can put down and look down on others. My religion will hopefully get me through my life without becoming the demons I hate; this is why it is important, for me at least. I guess only time will tell ultimately though and after all I have only touched on three of the many followings for some people.
-------------------
I would like to say that I am a disciple only to my God, religion and frequently my family (although one day like all I will have to become more independent then I currently am) and nothing else: ‘I’m totally independent in every other aspect of my life, I need nothing else to follow’ but large parts of me think otherwise. I’m fully aware of today’s pressures and trends that are so easily followed, even by the strongest of characters. A lot of people would probably follow these trends simply to get someone where higher in life. I really would love to say that I can avoid pressure added to me to make me follow these damning trends, but I can’t see me getting through my life without them. I could so easily be a disciple of work, achieving this the next step in the ever growing, twisted, staircase is then on to being a follower of money, earning money: no time for family, religion or health even. Such a simple and tempting life. Then after this maybe I could move on to the greatest, and no doubt the most popular followings yet to exist, power. This would probably ultimately create popularity, whether it is false or not.
First of all, work. I believe everyone starts off as thinking they’ll never be devoted such a tedious activity as work, but surely it is so simple to become one of its many followers? (Ironically here I am writing this after all) I certainly don’t want to be placed into a situation where my work is swamping my life and sucking all my devotion straight into it, but in a modern world where the only way to earn a living is my doing such work it must be extremely hard. Don’t get me wrong I do want to work and, obviously, I must and I will hopefully manage to put a certain amount of devotion into it, otherwise I will be avoiding this route entirely! But I hope in the future that I don’t become sucked into such a thick web of work that I won’t have time for leisure, family and religion. At the current time I can only hope that I won’t become a follower of my work, I believe it would crush every single other thing I want to share my devotion with.
Next is money, this must be almost as popular as power. This must be quite an easy route to devote to. If I have money surely I can have everything I have ever dreamt of? I could buy a car, a house and maybe I can even buy some false friends (I would need to because all my old and potential friends would be swept away by my hand and my eager ‘money-struck’ eyes). It’s a very old phrase but it really sums it up: “Money can’t buy you love.” I say that I don’t care about money now but I know there is something swelling and brewing inside of me that just can’t wait to get my dirty little hands on money. And once I feed this temptation surely it is more than possible to go all the way. I know being a follower of money can be potentially devastating but once I see my first wage slip there is a large possibility that I won’t be too keen to go back to my original followings and teachings, such as my family and my God. I mean who cares about all that stuff when your wallet is exploding with riches? It always seems to be, and there probably is a lesson to be learned, that whenever you see a person who is a follower of money they always seem to suddenly realise they have wasted their life by making this money and the very end of their lives, when it is definitely too late. They have forgotten their very personality. Money wrapped their lives in a cloak of darkness not allowing them to ever see their relationships with people and God a like grow. Hopefully the one thing I would be able to do if I ever went into such a terrible life I would be able to criticise myself at the very end (or earlier if possible) and realise my mistakes, but it isn’t much use then, is it? Hell would surely be me cut off from everyone else, surrounded in money, whilst everyone else was having the greatest time and making the most of it, whilst I’m forced to work to make that vital, vital wage slip. I would hate to think I could ever be a disciple of such a thing and would hope that many others could have the same line of thought, or is this just me being arrogant and misinformed, a child? Is it more than possible that it is too late already, right from the very first week’s pocket money being placed into my greedy hands, sweating as all my devotion slowly seeps from my body? I pray not.
Power possibly the centre of the universe. It keeps the ‘lower class’ away from the ‘middle class’ and in turn keeps them away from the ‘upper class’. With such views like this displayed in everyday life and routines is it any doubt that so many people want to be the ‘best of the best’, ‘top of the top’, ‘the all powerful one’? I loathe it all entirely, in my view it leads to such things as racism. Slavery only occurred because people wanted power over others and not a lot has changed. It’s almost exactly the same now except in our country it doesn’t happen quite to those extremes so why care. We our one of the most powerful nations so why should we look out for the ‘lower class’ or ‘third world’? If our leaders really cared surely they wouldn’t solely be solving Iraq’s problems (and there are probably more reasons to why they invaded Iraq than just solely helping others), there are thousands of people calling for our aid such as Zimbabwe. In society power has been rammed into people’s skulls, everyone is after everyone else’s jobs as long as they’re higher up. Many people will quite happily stab each other in the back to get there too: taking credit for certain work by pulling rank and taking advantage of the weak and the honest. Again I pray to God that I won’t be selfish and totally self-obsessed, if I get into such a position I would like to think I would have the power to give full credit to others where credit is due and advise and teach people.
When I look into the mirror I realise I can’t make it on my own. Hopefully my current leaders who I follow, my parents, my elder brothers and God will guide me in the right direction. I realise I will need to learn not to fully depend on these figures, but there is no reason why I need to go it alone. God will always be there I hope. There will be many times when I can’t make it on my own and be greatly tempted to follow other things, but with the help of God I hope I can quickly head back down the right path. I say now I won’t follow such things as money and power but only the future will be able to tell. If I do get into the situations, which I currently pray not to, someone will hopefully wake me up, whether it is another person or God. I don’t want to be disciple of everything I hate. I will put effort and some devotion into my work, but not so much to lose out on everything else. I will, obviously, need to earn money but again I hope I can steer clear of the easy-to-follow road of corruption that will quite easily and strongly swamp my life. Also I hope to avoid becoming a power-hungry person who is only out there for himself, I believe strongly that such power can lead to such hatred as racism. It isn’t worth it. I’ll lose my friends, my family and my God. I’m not willing to sacrifice these vital things in my life just so I can put down and look down on others. My religion will hopefully get me through my life without becoming the demons I hate; this is why it is important, for me at least. I guess only time will tell ultimately though and after all I have only touched on three of the many followings for some people.