Ways to uplift your life and help others through the inspiration of Avatar

[auroraglacialis]

Yeah - so many people focus on the depression they got from Avatar, si I think it is good to have something that goes into the positive. Though of course for HNM there is no depression in PAD

An idea can only come to blossom once its time is right. That is what I say about my life in respect of Avatar. Avatar brought upon me the right time to let loose something within me that you may call the wild soul, the fire within, the long lost self. As many others I felt PAD but it opened up something within me - a desire to reach for something, a desire to dream and to live as it was meant to be. A desire for community and for the things we can see around us and for something beyond what the eye can see. It smashed my armor plating of emotional numbness and allowed me to feel sad and happy again. But most of all, it opened the doors within me that held back so much for so long in my life. And once that was free, it was like a waterfall of little peaces coming out, shaping an image of the world as I perceive it. Its like everything started to fall in its place and I changed from within. I looked at things I have done and thought and in that new light it all made sense. I started dreaming again (during sleep and with open eyes as well). I realized how life should be for me. As many of you, I have the wish to be free, to kick that life of workplace, cars, cities, loneliness and careers into the bin and look for something I can turn towards. A life that is natural, fulfilling, connected, spiritual even. A life that rejects oppression, that encompasses rhizome and not hierarchy, that aims for community and values people more than things. Of course this was inspired by the NA'Vi, and of course it was within me as well, as this is what connects me to Avatar - it is that so much of it was in me before. The way of life of the NA'Vi was my hidden desire for a long time (stacks of books on anthropology talk of it), the interconnectedness of life on a planet is part of my profession as an ecologist and even the image of Pandora was within me in some way - so I truely felt at home with all that and connected to so much in the movie and in turn Avatar woke up all of these things that have been buried under work and education and daily routine and the grey dust of the city in the past years.
Now I go out, walk barefoot along a creek in the mountains, pass through the woods without a path, stare at the sky and the beauty of the colorful clouds in the evening with the golden sun. I SEE trees, meaning I also feel them. So many things, its like opening the eyes for the first time, seeing things in a different light. Of course there are downsides too, I get panic when I go into the city and feel distress when using an airplane that destroys a bit of the world I fell in love with. My emotions woke up and they are connected to this world for the good and for the bad.
And I started to act differently. I dont care so much anymore what people think, I got myself a hammock to sleep in and I am learning hangglider flying and I am walking barefoot - screw people who think I have gone nuts - I dont care anymore
And something else, something strange: I can talk or write. Endless, as you can see in this post. Its like all the words that got sucked up in the past decades want to come out at once - so forgive me for the WOT.

So how to uplift your life?
* Start dreaming - nobody can take your dreams, nobody knows your dreams, they are yours only and you are free in them to do anything that you want!
* Do the things you want to do - dont be hindered by people who just want to bug you. If you want to learn hanggliding, do so, if you want to dye your hair or get a tattoo - just do these things - take back your life, free your soul and dreams!
* Seek nature. Feel her embrace you, maybe go in some calm place far from the trails and breathe - listen - feel - touch - look at all the little details that exist there, the little ant that crawls - look at the widest widescreen there is, look at the mountains or the trees - allow yourself to be embraced by all this and recognize you are a part of it all.
* Seek your soul - your spirit - connect it to the world as this is your home - at least for now
* Read about people who live differently - in the past - in the present - be inspired - read about the world (or watch movies on it). Realize that things are possible that you may not have thought to be possible before.
* Create a vision for yourself! Do what you can do to make your vision a reality, do whatever it takes to protect what you love: our mother and the people.

YOU are ONE OF THE PEOPLE of this planet for this time beeing, do what any of the people would be if they would not be stark raving mad and insane - you (hopefully) are cured of the insanity - you can SEE now.

[Human No More]

So true... I may not be able to get home, but I can live for myself here

[Tsyal Makto]

Originally Posted by Human No More

So true... I may not be able to get home, but I can live for myself here

That's the spirit.

[Earthlover18]

Originally Posted by Tsyal Makto

Great idea for a thread, Sempu. I'll tell my story, too. Since some others have done so as well.

Back in the PAD days, I determined that the root cause of my depression was existential. What I most longed for from the Na'vi was not their nature, but their lifestyle. Once I figured that out, I began to contemplate how to deal with these emotions, and take stock of my life. In all my contemplation, I realized just how short life really is, on average pretty much 80 years. I've already burned through 1/5 of my time on this planet, and I sure as hell don't want to spend a fair majority of the rest as a consumer wage slave. Life is simply too short to squander one's time on this planet doing something like that. If you've got dreams, you need to follow them, not waste that time pushing paper for 8 hours a day for 40 years. My dream? To fly, to run, to swim, to build a connection to nature, to come to full spiritual maturity, to live in the wild, and I'm gonna follow it, no ifs, ands, or buts. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, the Na'vi life is completely possible on Earth, even Ikran (though ours are of cloth and aluminum instead of flesh), you just need to be willing to work for it. If you want it bad enough, you can do it.

Dammit people should be free, not living through the dictates of others. Everything that the Na'vi have, we can have on Earth (many things we once did have. Yet those who run the modern world have found it necessary to take these things way from us, to make us "productive" in the eyes of the handful of greedy sociopaths that have control of this planet. Well, I've had enough - my soul called, and it wants it's life back. It's time for all of us to take back what is rightfully ours - our nature, our freedom, our lives. I don't care if I have to travel to hell and back again, I will live my dreams. Nobody dare get in my way.

I can honestly say that I have been born again through Avatar - a soul reborn in the same body. Not only has my inner, care-free child broken through the bull**** that encases the modern world, but also my inner existentialist, who wants to carve his own path in life, not simply follow the one the world has laid out for me. It has awakened my inner dreamer, who dares to dream in ways that push the limits of reality. It has awakened my inner shaman, who seeks to find spiritual maturity and connection to the life energy of the world. It has awaken my inner anarchist, who seeks to be free from the oppressive institutions that control the world. Most importantly, it has awakened my inner warrior, which gives me the strength to act on these emotions. All of these parts of me that I never knew existed, or were horribly supressed by society are bursting forth, and it is only something I can describe as rebirth. I'm a na'vi in a human Avatar.

The things that Avatar has made me see don't always make me happy, there's a lot of ass-backwardry afoot on this planet - war, corruption, greed, pollution, the list goes on and on - that have become much more personal post-Avatar. However, the fact that it has helped me cut through all the bull****, and See the world from the outside in - and all of it's ills - always put's a smile on my face. Avatar has helped me reach a level of enlightenment in 9 months, that some people take years to reach, and this spiritual journey keeps advancing with each passing day. I wouldn't trade the enlightenment Avatar gave me for all the riches of the world. I'll die before I give it up.

Damn it feels good to have passion in your heart. W00T!!

Anyway, being a bit more specific to the title, some good ways to uplift oneself, and help uplift others would probably be:
- Meditation, to help reconnect with the heart and soul.
- Read inspiring literature and watch other inspiring movies - Into the Wild is one of my favorites for both.
- Get out into the natural world, and learn it's rythms.
- Know your dreams, and stand by them. This is one of your best defenses, and sources of inspiration. The world preys on people that don't have something worth fighting for.
- Remember that all ways of life are equally legitimate and admirable, from being a powerful politician to a humble tribesman or survivalist living off the land, and everything in between. The only wrong way to live is to not live by one's dreams.

This is written so perfectly Tsyal, I just can't agree any more.

[Sempu]

Originally Posted by Earthlover18

This is written so perfectly Tsyal, I just can't agree any more.

I agree. It should be posted somewhere under the heading of a Manifesto.

[Tsyal Makto]

Done. Check the sig.

[Stanley_9875]

Originally Posted by Human No More

So true... I may not be able to get home, but I can live for myself here

Its about one of the things I look forward to everyday

[txen]

[quote=Tysal Makto]my soul called, and it wants it's life back[quote]
Tsyal Makto that is one line for the ages. I hope you don't mind if I use it elsewhere. It's perfect. You whole post is excellent. Very well done.


It's great to see people waking up to the true nature of life. I might have that 5 day a week job that many seen to dread, but I spend a lot of time out doing what I was born to do. For me it works. As the saying goes money might not buy happiness, but it does make misery more comfortable. Not that I'm miserable, but for most of us some money is a necessary evil that enables many possibilities. Tysal you lament that you have burned 1/5 of your time here. Heck I'm more like 3/5's and counting. I've done a lot of cool stuff though. Sure I could have done more, but I have no regrets. I'm also hardly done. There are many more things to do. I'm always planning the next adventure.

I've got to say that if I have not been out there doing that soul feeding stuff, I doubt I would have made it this long.


One characteristic of "success" in this life endeavor is get to the point of "if I have to explain you will never understand" with some of the things you do. You see many of those caught up in the rat race just can't appreciate what some others do for feed the soul. It's kind of our birthright as a human. We can do almost anything given time, resources, and proper motivation.

[auroraglacialis]

Originally Posted by txen

Tsyal Makto that is one line for the ages. I hope you don't mind if I use it elsewhere. It's perfect. You whole post is excellent. Very well done.

Indeed GREAT quote! And I completely agree. This describes what has happened.

As the saying goes money might not buy happiness, but it does make misery more comfortable. Not that I'm miserable, but for most of us some money is a necessary evil that enables many possibilities.

It is a balance, I guess. Many things that make us happy do not require much money at all - or actually no money at all. Others hold the promise of more happiness but they are past the point of diminishing returns - the investment in work to get money to buy these things just does not outweigh the gain. To walk out into a forest is free and it gives happiness. Do buy yourself a bus ticket to a national park and camp out costs little and gives high returns. For me investing some money in hanggliding promises to return quite a bit of excitement. But to save up €2000 for a weeks vacation is already beyond my personal point of diminishing returns. It would mean to work a lot more for that short moment - no way I am going to do that now.

The trouble is often, that one gets used to material things that provide happiness. And this leads to the need of a constant increase in these materials and a constant increase in the demand for money. A millionaire has most likely not really more gain in happiness in buying a yacht as I may have in buying a hangglider - but the absolute investment is much higher. It is a lot better to find happiness in ways that do not require money, as these are stable, they cant wear off in the same way.

Tysal you lament that you have burned 1/5 of your time here. Heck I'm more like 3/5's and counting. I've done a lot of cool stuff though.

Ah, same here. 1/5 would still be great. For me it is more like 2/5 - but yeah, I have dome some cool stuff but not as much as I'd like to have done (still more than some people I know). And hell yeah I am not finished yet either

One characteristic of "success" in this life endeavor is get to the point of "if I have to explain you will never understand" with some of the things you do.

Haha - "nobody can teach you how to see" - very true indeed, very true!

Greetings