Another Break from Politics

[BonosSaint]

More Nonpolitical Questions (except one)

1. Greatest good you've done.
2. Way you've let yourself down.
3. What ideal do you hold tenaciously onto?
4. What ideal are you saddest about losing?
5. Who or what are you envious of?
6. What's your biggest insecurity?
7. How has your job let you down? How have you let your job
down?
8. What is the key to your happiness? Have you achieved it?
9. With what tenet of the opposite political persuasion do you
(secretly?) agree?

 

[coemgen]

1. Greatest good you've done. "I'm helping my sister in college put on a three-day AIDS awareness thing for DATA. It's been a fun ride. I also organized a benefit concert in college for Amnesty International. I also try to use my position as a reporter to influence the community here in a positive way."
2. Way you've let yourself down.
"By not following big ideas or what I feel is God's calling because of a lack of faith in myself."
3. What ideal do you hold tenaciously onto? "Love is the most powerful and important thing."
4. What ideal are you saddest about losing? "Love is the most powerful and important thing."
5. Who or what are you envious of? "Bono for his ability to change the world."
6. What's your biggest insecurity? "I don't know that I really have any, I'm pretty confident in who I am (not cocky though.)"
7. How has your job let you down? How have you let your job
down? "My job as a reporter is fulfilling in many ways, but the pay and hours are crap."
8. What is the key to your happiness? Have you achieved it? "Serving Christ makes me the happiest. Spending time with my wife, two little boys, friends and other family makes me happy too. Those things, my relationships with God and others, are all I need to be happy."
9. With what tenet of the opposite political persuasion do you
(secretly?) agree? "I don't side with any political persuasion because there's bits of both I agree with and disagree with. I also don't secretly believe in anything, I'm pretty vocal about my beliefs."

 

[Macfistowannabe]

More Nonpolitical Questions (except one)

1. Greatest good you've done.
Has yet to be done. I have only lived a fraction of my life, I don't know. I suppose donating gifts this Christmas has to count for something, right?

2. Way you've let yourself down.
Wishing I had performed better in certain subjects, that I was very capable of doing. From time to time, I let myself down on things that I can't help.

3. What ideal do you hold tenaciously onto?
The love of my life.

4. What ideal are you saddest about losing?
A sense of security would be an awful thing to lose.

5. Who or what are you envious of?
Those who were born into filthy rich families and never have to worry about making it in the real world.

6. What's your biggest insecurity?
Public speaking, long before dying.

7. How has your job let you down?
The types who work there.

How have you let your job down?
I have a pretty good work ethic overall, but I nearly exploded at a manager when he pissed me off about something personal. Maybe I get a negative attitude when things get on my nerves.

8. What is the key to your happiness?
Inner peace, a balance in life.

Have you achieved it?
Balance love and reality the best I can.

9. With what tenet of the opposite political persuasion do you
(secretly?) agree?
Gonzo is scary.

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

1. Greatest good you've done: One thing that springs to mind-senior prom, this friend of mine was having a bad time of it because of her relationship with her dad, which wasn't a very good one. She started spilling all the problems regarding that issue to me, and I just sat and listened to everything she was saying, offering the occasional thought about it all. At the end of the night, she told me that she really appreciated my listening to her talk and get everything out, and she was happy to know that it seemed like I truly understood what she was talking about. Just knowing that I helped her feel a bit better about her situation, just knowing that she got the chance to talk things out and figure out ways to solve her problem, that makes me happy, and I'd say that was certainly a good moment. But, as pointed out by another person in this thread, I've still got a lot of years to do more good things for people.
2. Way you've let yourself down: The times when I knew I could've done better at something, when I knew that I didn't put nearly as much into whatever it was I was doing as I could have, or the times where I didn't jump at the opportunity to get something I wanted-I need to work on being a bit more aggressive.
3. What ideal do you hold tenaciously onto? World peace. I refuse to give up on the idea of that becoming a reality someday. I think the fact that so many people say it isn't possible is already setting us back-as cheesy as this may sound, if we actually thought of it as being possible and worked at it, it could happen.
4. What ideal are you saddest about losing? Hmmm...none, really. I can't think of any ideals I've given up on.
5. Who or what are you envious of? All the people who've done so much with their life-they've gotten to travel the world or started a career they really enjoyed at a young age (like all these musicians I hear about who started when they were in their late childhood/early teen years-here I am, 20 years old, and the most I've done musically was play a recorder in 3rd grade and do a keyboard unit in...4th grade. Whoopee). Thankfully, I'm only 20, so I have a chance to change all that.
6. What's your biggest insecurity? That I'm not smart enough, or that I'm not that great at the things I like to do. I've had doubts on occasion that my writing, which is something I want to make a career out of, is anything special, especially when I read things from other people who are absolutely brilliant writers. And I'll be hanging around some of my friends, who are insanely intelligent people, and I'll feel so stupid next to them, I'll be too scared to say something in case it sounds dumb and I get laughed at.
7. How has your job let you down? How have you let your job
down? Skipping this one, as I don't have a job at this time (not a whole heck of a lot of options here, at least from what I've been checking out thus far).
8. What is the key to your happiness? Have you achieved it? The key to my happiness would be being able to do the one thing for a living that I truly enjoy doing and feeling confident in said job, and being surrounded by people who I can trust and who I love with all my heart and who love me just as much in return. I've achieved that in some respects-I have my family, who I love and who love me. But I have yet to fully achieve everything that would make me happy.
9. With what tenet of the opposite political persuasion do you
(secretly?) agree? I'll ditto coemgen's answer to this one-that pretty much sums it up for me.

Angela

 

[A_Wanderer]

1. Greatest good you've done ~ I would say helping out immediately after my Uncles car crashed in front of us on the freeway leaving Sydney. He's perfectly fine now but that was definitely a good thing to do ~ perhaps the greatest.

2. Way you've let yourself down ~ haven't there are things that I regret but I know that I made other choices, choices and concequences are the only things we live with.

3. What ideal do you hold tenaciously onto? Not too much im afraid, although I do always keep a few Greek coins in my wallet.

4. What ideal are you saddest about losing? Haven't lost any yet, see I had no ideals to loose, I started from the bottom and worked my way up, I almost have a level II honour code.

5. Who or what are you envious of? No need to be envious, I make my own bloody lot in life.

6. What's your biggest insecurity? Vanity I would probably say, but I don't have too much of a problem with that, I am erudite and well versed on many topics so why shouldn't I look my best.

7. How has your job let you down? How have you let your job down? Well I am technically a student, I was let down by mandatory subjects and subjects I just didn't care about ~ okay thats just me but I couldn't get into plant biology or statistics, I will have to work extra hard to get my marks up to par to do honours, still have a while to get that all fixed up; I am really liking my subjects this semester.

8. What is the key to your happiness? Have you achieved it? It always starts with the girl but then being the guy who didn't get the girl does denote not acheiving it. I think that I will get back on this one later.

9. With what tenet of the opposite political persuasion do you
(secretly?) agree? I pick and mix my politics with what I think.

 

[Irvine511]

1. Greatest good you've done.

hard to point to a single thing, but i like to think that i am a very open and accepting person and i have always, always been friends with a wide variety of people -- from the cool to the uncool, from jocks to nerds, from the charming to the socially maladroit. i always make a big effort to include, and value, everyone, especially the most vulnerable among us. love children and old people.

i also rescued someone from drowning in the surf off Long Island when i was 14.

2. Way you've let yourself down.

again, nothing specific, but it usually involves getting way too wrapped up in myself, my thoughts, my feelings, and my life to consider the thoughts and feelings of others before i speak and act. i can get very self-absorbed.

3. What ideal do you hold tenaciously onto?

that everyone has good inside them -- and through communication, we can make a real, lasting connection with even those to whom we appear most different.

4. What ideal are you saddest about losing?

that everyone can be reasoned with.

5. Who or what are you envious of?

i'm envious of those who have passion and discipline in equal doses.

6. What's your biggest insecurity?

the small, but persistent, extra layer of flesh around my middle; the suspicion that i'm not as smart or as capable as i've always been told i was -- that i just might be a fraud, and everyone's just being nice to me to my face.

7. How has your job let you down? How have you let your job
down?

finding out that television, and film, are as much product as anything else in society -- from hammers to Hummers.

i let my job down by spending too much time smoking blue crack.

8. What is the key to your happiness? Have you achieved it?

key to my happiness is to find worth and value and passion in what it is i get up to do everyday.

9. With what tenet of the opposite political persuasion do you
(secretly?) agree?

i secretly believe that American might, if applied correctly, is a force for good in the world.

 

[nbcrusader]

1. Greatest good you've done.
To reduce it to a single event: a few years back, I received a panicked call from a friend. Apparently, her husband had been obtaining money dishonestly from an employer and the employer was threatening civil and criminal action. Turns out, this guy had little real income but maintained the illusion of a modest lifestyle to take care of his wife and two kids. The wife’s greatest fear was that her children would see their father go to jail. We (I had my wife’s support on this) stepped in to help with the legal issues. We also paid off the debt to his employer. It wiped out all the proceeds we had from the sale of our house. But it kept the guy out of jail.

Within 6 months, he left his wife and kids and is nowhere to be found. We continue to help her in different ways today.

2. Way you've let yourself down.
Not reaching my potential. As I look back over my life, I have let years go by wasted. This is really evident as I raise my son. We both have the same disorder (Ausperger’s Syndrome). I work every day so that he doesn’t waste his life.

3. What ideal do you hold tenaciously onto?
That my life may glorify God.

4. What ideal are you saddest about losing?
That my life may glorify God.

5. Who or what are you envious of?
Honestly, nothing. I do fight temptations of envy as we life in a wealthy community. There are people who pay less on a mortgage than we do in rent. That can bring me down at times.

6. What's your biggest insecurity?
That I would become prideful of my children and that they would be taken away from me. For example, my son is growing into a strong water polo player. I fear that some day I become prideful in his abilities and that he somehow loses them (injury, etc.). Some very close friends had their 15-year old water polo playing son get out of a pool and die one day. It was at that point I realized that my children are only on loan to me.

7. How has your job let you down? How have you let your job down?
I love my current job. Earlier, I found private practice frustrating. However, I have found all those frustrating times to help prepare me for my current job.

8. What is the key to your happiness? Have you achieved it?
The love of a family and contentment with the material world. Yes.

9. With what tenet of the opposite political persuasion do you (secretly?) agree?
My political beliefs are not driven by a party’s platform, though I am probably known as the crazy right-winger on FYM. I think the spectrum of civil unions should be thought through and implemented.

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

1. Greatest good you've done.

Can't think of much and I'm thoroughly ashamed of that. I try to do small things to help people out.

2. Way you've let yourself down.

Letting the hurtful cruel things some people have said and done to me define me, not being able to let go of the past.

3. What ideal do you hold tenaciously onto? That God loves me unconditionally and accepts me 100 %

4. What ideal are you saddest about losing? That family loves you unconditionally.

5. Who or what are you envious of? People who are comfortable with who they are, who are confident yet humble.

6. What's your biggest insecurity? Not being accepted and liked for who I am

7. How has your job let you down? How have you let your job
down?

Never being satisfied because I've never known what I really want to do, lacking self-confidence

8. What is the key to your happiness?
Being able to like myself

Have you achieved it? No

9. With what tenet of the opposite political persuasion do you
(secretly?) agree? I'm morally opposed to abortion but the idea of imposing that on others and making certain judgments about that makes me uncomfortable. I hope saying that doesn't open some sort of door, because that's not what this thread is about.

 

[Angela Harlem]

1. Greatest good you've done.
Probably the 2 and a half-3 years I spent working voluntarily and in a paid capacity with intellectually disabled young people. People say it's selfless work, but ashamedly, it isn't entirely. It is very rewarding, though not the reason anyone should do this. Everyone wins though. Respite for people who are in such difficult situations is so important.

2. Way you've let yourself down.
[martyr]Spending too long doing what I've thought I should do instead of what I wanted to do, being a welfare worker aside, working in business and other office environments instead of persuing my art, after my social worker stint burned me out. [/martyr]

3. What ideal do you hold tenaciously onto?
The importance of life, and what you do in this life. Always.

4. What ideal are you saddest about losing?
Selflessness. See above with the welfare biz. Burning out was the end of it. I could have found a way to keep going, or at least I argue with myself ocasionally about it.

5. Who or what are you envious of?
Anyone who has that inner calm and zen thing. Learn me on it! Please!

6. What's your biggest insecurity?
Insecurity itself. I dont deal too well with not feeling like I have control.

7. How has your job let you down? How have you let your job
down?
I've done the half arsed approach before. That says it all.

8. What is the key to your happiness? Have you achieved it?
Letting happiness itself be a goal. Seek it, grab it, promote it, spread it. Doing what you love makes for happy people. Happy people have a flow-on effect. I think I have just about achieved it. It would be selfish to suggest otherwise I think. lol

9. With what tenet of the opposite political persuasion do you
(secretly?) agree?
In the American standard here on this forum I dont fit either. I agree with some and not others etc. Same with Australian politics actually. I have balanced dislike for both the ALP and Liberal parties.



------
nbcrusader that is very admirable how you helped your friend.

 

[BonosSaint]

I'm enjoying your answers. They've been honest and personal.

Greatest good: I'm a good friend. And I challenge what I find
wrong.
Let myself down: Been afraid of too many things, never
got involved passionately in life or art. Too controlled.
Made an illusion of pushing the edge, but never really did.
Ideal I hold onto: Even though I have been disappointed in
humanity in general, I still hold on to the ideal of the worth
and potential of the individual human.
What ideal have I lost: The basic goodness of humanity, the
belief things can change for the better.
Envious? People who live with a passion, people with access,
fearless people.
Biggest insecurity--That if I ever do get the chance, I won't
measure up.
Job let me down? Not much reward for production, basic
contempt of management for labor, the class system,
the rewards given for criteria that have nothing to do with
job performance. I can change jobs, but that system is
everywhere.
My letting my job down: Don't care as much anymore. I don't
go above and beyond anymore.
Happiness: Peace of mind, passion, trust, faith, love,
acknowledgment. Have I achieved it? I'm not unhappy,
but I have not achieved happiness.
Tenet of opposite political persuasion: I have to agree with the
conservative tenet of taking more personal responsibility and
holding people accountable.

 

[Ft. Worth Frog]

1. Greatest good you've done. I'm not sure. I always try to do little things here and there and help people whenever they need or ask for help.

2. Way you've let yourself down. I wish that I had applied myself more to sports in high school. I was the kind that always needed to practice but I was too lazy. I could have been a better athlete (though definitely not good enough to make a living) at baseball, basketball, and football if I had only tried.

3. What ideal do you hold tenaciously onto? That God knows what He is doing and that my life is in his hands.

4. What ideal are you saddest about losing? That every human has goodness inside of them.

5. Who or what are you envious of? Can't think of anyone at the moment.

6. What's your biggest insecurity? I am very young looking and some people automatically think I am some smartass teenager. I am going to start teaching at a community college in the summer and I worry that I may not be taken to seriously.

7. How has your job let you down? How have you let your job
down? I love what I am doing right now. I have never been happier.

8. What is the key to your happiness? Have you achieved it? To be content with wherever God puts me. Also, it makes me happy whenever the Texas Rangers win so I guess I have sort of achieved happiness.
9. With what tenet of the opposite political persuasion do you
(secretly?) agree? I tend to be a little morer open to the idea of socialized medicine than those of my own persuasion.

 

[wizard2c]

reply

Hi!

In reply to questions 1 thru 9.......

Got the World on a string
sitting on a rainbow
got the ring around my finger
what a World
lucky me......
I’m in control.

carol
wizard2c