Is the world a place to conquer?

[andave_ya]

I was talking with a couple friends about this a while ago and was curious to see what other bookish people think. For me, the world is a place to conquer. My friends just thought I was being precocious and smart-alecky, but I genuinely feel that the world is, hmm, not as scary as some think. I mean, if you let it scare you, it will scare you, but if you don't let it scare you, it won't. I'm a Christian, and my faith has given me a lot of courage to face some sort of reality. Like that poem says, Footprints in the Sand, with God carrying me through the rough parts I'm able to get through anything.

What do you say? I realize that there is evil in the world, and that I cannot do everything --it's just simply beyond me-- but... I think life is good and worth living.

I'd really love your thoughts on this. :idea:

[samercury]

slightly confused here- what exactly do you mean by "to conquer"? (just making sure we're on the same page)

[andave_ya]

Sorry. What I mean is, do you think the world is frightening and intimidating or not?

[grace86]

I agree, but I think that the hardest part about conquering obstacles of the world, or even the world itself that a person has to conquer the most important thing of all....the fear. Once you conquer the fear, in whatever way you can (psyche yourself out, religion etc.) I think that you will be able to do anything you set your mind to.

andave_ya, I share your faith and agree with you, but letting go of the fear in order to have that Guide direct you is probably what I (personally) would consider the ultimate item to defeat. I think that through that you can conquer the world.

That doesn't seem "smart-alecky"

[Matrim Cuathon]

certainly the instablility and ugh, what is the word, fickleness of the world is scary. i became bookish partly because internet relationships are easier to deal with. evne if its just a joke, all the teasing when i do something embarrasing puts me off from people. suppose i ask a girl out and get rejected, the most likely circumstance considering my current social position. massive assaults of teasing, not even all just a joke, but often in relation to certain individuals, downright malicious, makes me afraid to follow my feelings in som cases. if people didnt make such a big deal of social issues i would be much more inclined to try my luck with girls, and or regular friends be they male or female. mostly i just have the friends i happened to fall in with.

i understand that is somewhat to be blamed on human intelligence. i.e. without evolution to chose who fails people attack and compete often violently for social standng which at least in my age group determines who is respected, popular and such. when certain males and females are more desireable or even certain social standing, its not really a surprise that there is a lot of competition, but it seems to me that getting rejected or shot down is embarasing enough without an attakc afterwards. especially depending on the strength of the rejection.

ive never actually been rejected becuase ive never taken a chance, but ive seen in books, and real life the situation following and actually participated myself, although not in a malaicious way but more with friends who understand that im not attacking them.

[andave_ya]

andave_ya, I share your faith and agree with you, but letting go of the fear in order to have that Guide direct you is probably what I (personally) would consider the ultimate item to defeat. I think that through that you can conquer the world.

That doesn't seem "smart-alecky"

Maybe, grace, it's not so hard to let go when it gets through to your head that God actually knows what's best for you. Believe me, I've gone through this a million times. For me, anyway, it's not so much fear of letting go but a want to direct my own life. There is SOOOO much to do: reading, writing, traveling, cooking, listening to music, going to museums, getting a job, getting married...the list goes on and on! I just have to tell myself that I'll get to that when and if God wants me to, and that even if I don't get to do all that, what He'll have me do is really seriously better or more fun than what I want to do...What I want to do now, anyways.
:) :D :) :D :) :D :)

[andave_ya]

I'm doing a double post because I don't know how to put more than one quote per post...sorry:blush:

Matrim, sorry, I can't do much there. I have yet to find someone living in California as bookish and nutty as I :lol:
But I do know that "relationships" (if I can call it that) with book- or movie- characters are a lot easier than real life relationships. That was one of my first reasons for becoming bookish too. Now I'd be a bookworm regardless...:D

:D

[Adudaewen]

Conquer yourself and you can conquer the world.
(I love this quote and would give credit to the person who quoted this but I cannot remember nor find it online. Maybe someone here knows.)

On another note. There is also nothing quite as sweet as total surrender. A lot of people are afraid of that word, afraid of anything to do with submission. I, myself, find it quite liberating to give yourself over completely to another person, situation, God. I think it takes a lot more courage to surrender than to fight in a lot of cases, and sometimes the rewards are so much greater.

[Tenacious]

Sounds like a buddha quote...

[Adudaewen]

I was thinking Buddha, Ghandi, Dalai Lama, someone like that. Of course it is very possibly from a movie.

[muhsin]

To conquer world? How hard this is? Hahaha! A bit curous still.......

[ShoutGrace]

“Vincit Qui Se Vincit.” Virgil would've known.

Or more recently, “Overthrow yourself completely.” Of course in this case, however, the follow through is only implied.

[dramasnot6]

It sounds like you are reffering to conquering one's life more then the world itself, or perhaps you mean that everlasting battle between "good" and "evil"(and i apologize for being so generic and black-and-white in my description).
I believe there are many things we can not control in life, but this is not what matters. What matters is how we control our reactions and behaviours towards what we cant control, using what we have to the full potential instead of using nothing at all because what we have may not be exactly what we want.

[amanda_isabel]

I agree, but I think that the hardest part about conquering obstacles of the world, or even the world itself that a person has to conquer the most important thing of all....the fear. Once you conquer the fear, in whatever way you can (psyche yourself out, religion etc.) I think that you will be able to do anything you set your mind to.



well said.

[Virgil]

I believe there are many things we can not control in life, but this is not what matters. What matters is how we control our reactions and behaviours towards what we cant control, using what we have to the full potential instead of using nothing at all because what we have may not be exactly what we want.

I think this is well said too. Sounds like good stoic philosophy.

I like this thread. I like how young people believe they can "conquor" the world; what I really think you are all trying to say is accomplish great things. Being older, I know that things don't always work out for the best, but without trying, without effort, nothing gets accomplished. Accomplishments occur by first believing and then trying. Some work out, some don't, but when they do you have made the world a better place.

I've posted this quote before. I have this framed at my desk at work. It's from an old American President, Theodore Roosevelt:

"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."
This is why I hate critics--it's so easy to criticize--and love those who attempt to do great things.

[andave_ya]

"Pick yourself up,
dust yourself off,
and start all over again!"

life is good living!

[subterranean]

Suppose each one of us has his/her own definition about "conquering" the world. And I assume that conquer means to achieve something or to set him/herself in certain position, where are we among our fellows in this huge world? And I think one should set his/her own stage, because when we measure ourselves to other people's standard, I think we'd never win. And I agree with what drama has posted that sometimes we get what we what, sometimes we got what we need and sometimes we just get what we get.

Sometimes things flourish,
And sometimes they do not.
Sometimes life is hard
And sometimes it is easy.
Sometimes people are strong
And sometimes they are weak.
Sometimes you get where you are going
And sometimes you fall by the way.

Toa De Jin, the book of Tao

[byquist]

Agree that conquering, or at least chipping away at, what presents itself to us as fear-laden is crucial, and an ongoing process. Even sometimes really professional actors who have been on stage for decades are suddenly struck by "stage fright." They have to deal with it "as they act" or go into theater management or directing.

I don't know much about conquering the world; perhaps subduing small portions of it might make some sense. Don't even think about conquering others, is my opinion; it's not possible.

By sustaining a particular "take" on everything and everybody such that nothing shocks or disturbs you, might be a conquering; but that is subjective. Getting a poise about one's own temperament might be a conquering of dispositional faults.

[andave_ya]

No conquering people: that is agreed. That would be awfully cheeky.

I'm fascinated with everyone's takes on this, but I don't have to be great or famous in order to be happy and content with what God has given me. To expect notoriety or notability would be a little ridiculous for me -- I'm a bookworm, not a movie star or dress model. Especially not model. :p It's just that I can accept the nice parts of this world and disregard, though not ignore, the unpleasant aspects of it. I am who I am, a person of eccentric tastes, and, the world will just accept me as I am, or ignore me. In any case, I don't need to be remembered, because life in heaven will be better anyways. I'll live my life and everyone else here can live theirs, and I'm happy for them.

Just don't take away my books. :D

[Redzeppelin]

I don't know if the world is to be "conquered" so much as we need to "conquer" or "subdue" or manage the world's effect on us. I'm not Buddhist, but sometimes I feel like we must transcend the world - that we must come to terms with its illusory nature in order to "play its game." When I say "illusory nature" I'm referring to the deceptive nature of this world - the nature that the scriptures warn us of, and that all great literature points to.

[hyperborean]

The only thing we should be conquering is ourselves.

The world is not a place that should be "conquered"; leave that to the power hungry neo conservatives ...I'm assuming this forum is liberal :p .

[Virgil]

The only thing we should be conquering is ourselves.

The world is not a place that should be "conquered"; leave that to the power hungry neo conservatives ...I'm assuming this forum is liberal :p .

We don't discuss politics here on this forum. It keeps us happy. I don't particularly like that insult to Conservatives.

[hyperborean]

You do have a point. Most arguments on forums stem from political disagreements. I'm not bad mouthing all conservatives, but particular groups that do yearn for global domination. Philosophy and politics do blend together in the grand scheme of things (conservatives for the most part criticize the study philosophy and science as if they rather not step forward as a civilization).

[Black roses]

I personally believe that the world isn't there to be conquered, but simply to exist and become what we make of it, which, in one way, is conquering it. Techincally, we have conquered the world, though not always in a good way. We plowed fields on the earth's surface, and cut down trees, and began global warming.
The world is not fearsome... human nature is, and we take it to be the world since most of the world, with the exception of some very northern places, is inhabited by humans, and they, though we are they, inspire fear in ourselves, because we understand exactly what they can do. We all got horrified at the story of the man who went into an Amish school and shot everyone, but, we must admit, we may do the same thing if we wished.