> Vain and Bitter > by zapp > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Introduction: You Are The Child of The Universe. > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all ponies. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive ponies, they are vexations to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time. Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass. Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with Celestia and Luna, whatever you conceive Them to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul. With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy. Live to be happy. Die to be happy. > Prolouge: Dicing my life into portions > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I have never in my life admitted myself being better than other ponies. Either it never happened, or it happened at least once. But, as I drive off into my personal train of thoughts, I dive in a psychological trap, from which I can be released if I answer my own complex question correctly. For example: "Where is our soul?" or "Can knowledge acquire the whole of my psychological activity?". It can range from simple, jokey little questions, to much more complex, difficult and brain-twisting quizes, questions or riddles. I have been into these sort of things since my childhood. I would go to school, maybe somebody would call me "faggot", and so on. It was a usual life, nothing special. My parents were middle-class ponies in Parlem, Manehatten. Although the schools were pretty shit, it still carried through most of my life, or at least the begging. The dull and ignorant neghiboorhood never bothered me that much, but the shouting and screaming at each other just get me to sleep or to do my homework. That is how I started thinking so deeply. So deep, that philosophy could not comprehend the ideals of the thinking I imagined. It would be random topics on my couch, bed or even shower. What bothered me the most, is the idea of how I think, and how I reflect myself through the world. Maybe they needed to know. Thus, I told my parents of what was happening to me. Of course, as every middle class family would respond, they said it is nothing much, and told me to go to bed. At that night, I was sleeping soundly, untill... a thought came up out of nowhere. "Why are we here, and what is our meaning?". It stuck to me for weeks, untill my parents saw the effects the philosophy was doing to me, (sleeping disorders, non-eating habits, etcetera) so they brought me to a psycholigist. "Now, Frost, how do you reflect on your thinking?", he said, stuttering a bit. "Well, comparing to my psychology and philosophy, I would say it is quite nice, yes. Quite nice.", I smiled casualy while facing the ceiling. "How did you learn that you are thinking so deeply?", he asked. "Well, I was sitting doing my homework, untill a really deep thought popped into my head, and I stopped doing it, and started thinking.", I replied. "Did you stop... uh... completely--" "No, I'm just thinking while doing, the uh, homework.", I interrupted him at the end of his sentence. "So, do like thinking in general?", he asked. "What do you think, Mr. Hein?". SIX YEARS LATER I was 18 now, which sort of meant I was free. Unfotunatley, I couldn't find a job anywhere, so I had to stay with my parents. For 3 years. Now I am 21, without a job, a virgin and a thinking tank. Great, what else I can add to my CV? It was really like a sudden misfortune to me and I had a fear of fatigue and loneliness, only to be free of those things. It was now clear. My life was worthless, and that BA? It was just for deep thinking, nothing much. But thinking was my hobby, it was what I did every day and every month and year for fun. Just pure, plain, simple self entairtainment. As taxes went up, and regular ponies started sucking off corparate overlords, Equestria started falling apart slowly. My part-time job buisness got closed down, and know I was with my computer, sitting and looking at the countless amounts of yellow, red, and blue pixels mashed up together. Sure, it was not really fun, and actually boring at some point, it kept me entairtained in some way, and kept me alive, but most of my time I spent reading philosophy novels. Deep thinking got back to me, and I started diving back in philosophical ideas and ideals. It was now clear. I was a part-time philosopher. > Philosophy in a nutshell > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- According to many Equestrian dictionaries, philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with reality, existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy has fundemently helped ponykind in many riddles and even put its best in the goverment. Philosophy originates from ancient days, when the earth ponies started thinking deeply on the impact of non-harmony in the land. At about the same time, unicorns and pegasi have also been beggining to learn new ways to think over major problems.