My brain weighs nine pounds.
Posted on 05/11/2012 5:04:25 AM PDT by Lazamataz
How do you take over Free Republic? You can't. You shouldn't even try,
Recently, a friend came to me with what he perceived to be the failings of Free Republic. I wrote back: "....JR is really not interested in people advising him on how to run the forum. He's had success with his own direction.......Seriously man. Don't stress this so hard. It is what it is, and you have no power over other people/places/things. Hell, you don't even have power over YOURSELF. That's GOD'S power. Just suit up, show up, color in within the lines, and enjoy what you can in the forum. You know what's off limits. So do I. I live within the boundaries, without complaint and grateful for my blessings."
It is a good life lesson, using Free Republic as the catalyst. How many of us struggle mightily against the circumstances in our life, only to find that we have made utterly no difference? Maybe we have even made things worse, for our interference. We human beings have tiny little three-pound brains. What makes us believe we know best, how our reality should be? Often, what we believe is best for us, turns out to nearly kill us. Similarly, that which we believe is horrible for us, turns out to change us, positively, for the best. It is clear we do not know what it is that will make us prosper.
Many of us live in a perpetual state of anxiety or fear, or regret or remorse. These are wasted emotions. These emotions sap your energy and have no positive effect. Regret and remorse are utterly incapable of changing the past, and since we truly cannot know what is good or bad for us, how can we profit from fear or anxiety? It is best if we leave the particulars of our lives to the will of our God, however we understand Him.
This suggestion works well for atheists, too, since all of us have a God of our understanding. Perhaps, for the atheist, their God is an impersonal and uncaring universe. It still works. Let the results be decided by someone or something other than yourself. When we stop trying to control events around us, much better things come to pass than we had ever envisioned.
This is not to say we don't participate. We do. We show up every day, and we do the next right thing. This is not to say we don't make plans. We do. We are simply willing to get out of the way should the God of our understanding have something better in store for us. In my experience, when I get out of the way of God, the most amazing things happen to me. When I try to control some things, my fat sausage-fingers manage to make it much worse.
Back to the topic of this forum: We all have directions we believe the forum should go. Yet, if we did succeed in altering the forum's direction, we might end up destroying it outright.
So, how do you take over Free Republic? You can't. You shouldn't even try.
Holy cow. All these years all I’ve heard is Laz would hit it, and all that. I didn’t know you were such a great writer. Your message this morning was very good. Nice to meet the other Laz!
There are many things I love about FR; things that have kept me on this site since 1998 (and why it’s always my browser’s Home Page). Among those things is the fact that FR “evolves” without “changing”. Look-and-feel are similar to the earlier days, but with added functionality and ease-of-use, for example.
Back then, posts tended to be longer, more thematic, more prosaic. One would think very, very carefully before posting; the bar was set pretty high.
Still, the “evolution” of FR hasn’t been bad in terms of content. It’s more free-form now; more interactive. The cast of characters has grown, changed, and expanded in terms of styles and backgrounds.
As FR continues to evolve, I’ll be here to be either funny, acerbic, sometimes angry, occasionally thoughtful.....but always appreciative of what we have, thanks to Jim and John Robinson.
Best site on the Internet, hands down.....and Laz, you’re one of the guys who keeps me coming back here every day.
Being what?
Point me to where God has punished those who question him on this earthly estate?
Excellent, Laz, excellent.
Thanks
Are you a friend of Bill W.?
Great essay, Laz.
May I request that you increment to "75" with the addition of "dayglored"?
Thanks!
My brain weighs nine pounds.
XLNT!!!
It is best for me to remember that my mind is a dark, dangerous place and best not to go in there alone.
Reflection of what I have done this day, attempt to do better the next and apologize where necessary.
My motorboating through someone else’s waterspace ain’t good for nobody.
>> So, how do you take over Free Republic? You can’t. You shouldn’t even try.
Hmmm... I never even thought to take over FR.
Of course, my brain isn’t anywhere near three pounds... prolly only a pound and a half, and six ounces or so of *that* is snot.
>> 74 Satisfied Customers!™
I feel a masochistic streak coming on... please add me to your poing list and you’ll have an even seventy-five.
Take over Free Republic?
Wait. What?
Is someone actually trying to take over Free Republic? I had not even noticed?
Not much. Heh.
J/k!
This is what's been different about 2012. Seeing otherwise rational Freepers pick a useless fight on a thread and stay up beating it to death all night, derailing useful discussions into what could only be charitably called chat threads. Like watching a room full of Arators in a world where there will never be another election.
Back to the topic of this forum: We all have directions we believe the forum should go. Yet, if we did succeed in altering the forum's direction, we might end up destroying it outright.
So, how do you take over Free Republic? You can't. You shouldn't even try.
I dunno Laz. You - as much as anyone else, including Jim Rob - have altered Free Republic. This place would be measurably worse if there were no Lazamataz. There is no question in my mind that your influence will forever be an integral part of FR.
Well, I would.
I didn’t know you were such a great writer. Your message this morning was very good. Nice to meet the other Laz!
Thank you. TheOldLady was one of the first to see it.
Read it again; I'm not going to repeat the article here.
Point me to where God has punished those who question him on this earthly estate?
Absolutely not my point, but while we are on the topic, it's been my experience that God does not punish us -- He lets us punish ourselves.
Was it that obvious? ;^)
It seemed like a great segue to 'carry the message', no?
You are too kind, dear sir.
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