The Four Seasons of Life

Life strikes existence so silently,
and finds its path in the warmth of the sun,
until the fallen leaves hide it so quietly,
and darkness settles where there was none.

Ego and Self-improvement

In my limited experience, I find two important problems that disturb human relationships. The first one is ego; the second one is the distorted idea of self-improvement. 

Ego is related to the nourishment of a superior and prideful self - someone who is too inflated to be wrong cannot possibly have a mindset for positive change. To have the courage, humility and honesty to admit errors is crucial for anyone who cares more about healthy relationships than showing-off a pitiful, self-righteous image.

The distorted idea of self-improvement is connected to the idea that "I behave a certain way, sometimes positively and sometimes negatively, and anyone dealing with me should deal with me in both cases". This is only partially true - as I see it, a person has certain positive and negative attitudes, which arise as a mix of both internal and external circunstances. Internal circunstances are mainly dictated by genetic predispositions; external circunstances are deeply related with education and upbringing. Any person should attempt to discover what characteristics, both intrinsic and extrinsic, are harmful and negative, recognizing that these not only affect the self, but also relationships. If I am generally a jealous person, and I realize that this has caused me problems in past relationships, my attitude should not be "I will find someone who can deal with me this way", but rather "this is not good for me nor for others, and I will be a lot happier if I alleviate this condition - this will surely make my relationships more successful as a consequence". To analyze yourself critically and know what characteristics are worth improving for yourself and for others, instead of lazily waiting for someone to accept all the flaws you carry with you, shows true wisdom when it comes to personal and emotional development.

Being right for the wrong reasons

While religion is inherently dogmatic, it is not a requirement for dogmatism. Some very anti-religious people possess a dogmatic nature which is at least as dangerous as holding a religious view. They feel contempt towards religion without really knowing why; they insult religious people with no true knowledge or reason of their own position and they automatically label such people as intellectually inferior. I fail to notice how this is any less dangerous, or different, than the religious people they often criticize -both types of people share a lack of mental elasticity characteristic of dogmatism, which might compromise positive changes. I might hold a similar position as any atheist regarding religion, but if I am going to live in a world where people are right because they know that they are right, then I will debate a dogmatic atheist with as much vehemence as I do any theist. What I try to promote is free thought and skepticism, not dogmatic views of any kind.

Ignorance is a pit.

Ignorance is a pit.

/ Those who are curious, explorers and truth-seeking refuse to accept the darkness; they strive to climb their way out and let the sun wash their face, even if for a moment before another fall.

/ Those who are not, have made themselves comfortable in the pit, which has become their own home. It is no surprise that, when incited to abandon your own home, you vehemently refuse to do it.

Nonetheless, I cannot help but notice that most of the great achievements in human history have depended on the former type of people. I do not know of any stronger weapon against ignorance than curiosity, just as I cannot imagine any way of departing from darkness other than light.

Believing Everything = Believing Contradictory Things

In some discussions, I have often seen people who defend that it is not unreasonable to believe something without good evidence; then they, as a matter of consistency, claim that they will believe anything even if it has not been proven to be true (even though I don't believe that they are being honest most of the times). It is unreasonable and contradictory to accept every claim as true (i.e. believing anything at face value). Take the following claim:

1) Fairies exist.

If you believe everything at face value, you have to accept this proposition as true. Then you also have to believe the following claim as true:

2) Fairies-eating monsters that caused all fairies to be extinct exist.

Both of them are just assertions with no ground for support, but you cannot believe these two propositions at once, since they are contradictory. Therefore, it is impossible for someone to accept every proposition as true, or to hold a belief of every possible claim as true. Do not forget that, however, it may be the case that both 1) and 2) propositions are false.