[Poll] Pick your blessing!

Discussion in 'General Chat' started by lychee, Jan 2, 2020.

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Which blessing would you choose?

  1. I'm male - Peace

    1 vote(s)
    1.7%
  2. I'm male - Happiness

    4 vote(s)
    6.8%
  3. I'm male - Love

    3 vote(s)
    5.1%
  4. I'm male - Courage

    1 vote(s)
    1.7%
  5. I'm male - Tranquility

    1 vote(s)
    1.7%
  6. I'm male - Wisdom

    23 vote(s)
    39.0%
  7. I'm male - I refuse to pick, and I'll take a random curse

    4 vote(s)
    6.8%
  8. I'm male - I'm unsure

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  9. I'm female - Peace

    2 vote(s)
    3.4%
  10. I'm female - Happiness

    2 vote(s)
    3.4%
  11. I'm female - Love

    2 vote(s)
    3.4%
  12. I'm female - Courage

    2 vote(s)
    3.4%
  13. I'm female - Tranquility

    4 vote(s)
    6.8%
  14. I'm female - Wisdom

    8 vote(s)
    13.6%
  15. I'm female - I refuse to pick, and I'll take a random curse

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  16. I'm female - I'm unsure

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  17. I do not wish to respond

    2 vote(s)
    3.4%
  1. lychee

    lychee [- slightly morbid fruit -] ❀[ 恋爱? ]❀

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    :blobangel::blobangel::blobangel: I was in a Buddhist temple today (yes, in Arizona, of all places) and I saw this cool multi-color flag thing with multiple different words. I've copied them here!

    It is the New Year, and the Magical Girl of Blessings and Curses approaches you because she wishes to give you a blessing. There are six blessings to choose from:

    PEACE: To bring peace to the earth, strive to make your own life peaceful.

    HAPPINESS: When one's spiritual needs are met by an untroubled inner life. Happiness comes when your work and words are of benefit to yourself and others.

    LOVE: An inspired form of giving, love breaths life into the heart and brings grace to the soul.

    COURAGE: Not the absence of fear or despair, but the strength to conquer them.

    TRANQUILITY: The peace that comes when energies are in harmony, relationships are in balance.

    WISDOM: Knowledge, intuition, and experience combine to guide us in thought and in deed.
    If you refuse to receive a blessing, the Magical Girl will get angry and randomly give you a curse (the opposite of one of the blessings). As a result, you should probably choose a blessing at least for the heck of it.
    1. Which blessing would you choose and why?

    2. What is your opinion of these "definitions"? Are there some you like or dislike? How would you define these terms differently?

    3. Suppose that the Magical Girl is able to give you any blessing that can be contained in a single word (e.g. prosperity, health, fortune). What blessing would you ask for?

    4. Do you believe in blessings and/or prayer for the well-being of others?

    5. If you had to pick a single word that is the most important objective/aspiration for your life, what would it be? (e.g. Happiness? Accomplishment? Family? Fulfillment?)
     
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  2. 0000000

    0000000 I B SMILING!

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    Where is fortune or money?
     
  3. Deleted member 79325

    Deleted member 79325 Guest

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    It's a Buddhist thing so those choices are very unlikely to happen.
     
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  4. Scholar Occult Cauldron

    Scholar Occult Cauldron Bonk Maestro | Ascended

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    1. Wisdom, since it appears to be the most versatile and usable in any situation. Practicality banzai!
    2. Nah, maybe the kind of energy Tranquility will balance or whether Love impacts how others will feel towards me.
    3. Perfection, where everything will occur the exact way I want it to. Control might be a good substitute.
    4. It's one of those things you can only hope for, not really tangible. I wish we could actually see the effects of a blessing and proof that it is due to those blessings certain events occur to us.
    5. Regretless (not sure if it's a real word though). I want to die without any regrets. Different than fulfillment, I could feel as though I hadn't accomplished something but still not regret my actions since I had done what I could.
     
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  5. 0000000

    0000000 I B SMILING!

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    ...then the tibetan buddhist temple I went to before might be odd, cuz they have a buddha for fortune and wealth.
     
  6. Harry

    Harry Now you see me

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    Early year and we already having a poll??? Is this poll year? For the rest of this year more poll will coming and it's number beyond what you can imagine
     
  7. PaladinWolf

    PaladinWolf Well-Known Member

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    Wisdom because it is the key to all these things and more
     
  8. darkchocolatesan

    darkchocolatesan Well-Known Member

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    What is the difference between peace and tranquility here? What word would encompass staying away from drama? Anyways, I feel like either one is important to have and everything else (happiness, courage, etc.) follows from it.
     
  9. Deleted member 79325

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    I personally would say tranquillity best encompasses not being involved in drama.
     
  10. Loni4ever

    Loni4ever The Fluffy White Wolf

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    1. Which blessing would you choose and why?
    I'd pick wisdom. As for why, it was kinda by elimination: peace & tranquility are similar and I'm more or less good at maintaining inner peace already, so don't need them. Happiness is good and all but this seems like kind of an artificial way to get it, so pass. I'm not very interested in love and courage for some reason. I just love as much as I do and I'm as courageous as I am, and I don't have the wish to increase either rn. So wisdom. Seems like a lot of benefits will come of acting wisely~

    2. What is your opinion of these "definitions"? Are there some you like or dislike? How would you define these terms differently?
    I think the definition for "happiness" would fit "fulfillment" better. Happiness for me is more a momentary feeling while fulfillment is a more constant state that you reach by living a worthwhile meaningful life. I'm also kinda confused by the definition for "love"... it doesn't really convey anything to me? :hmm:
    And I'm not sure what to think of the "tranquility" definition. "Stability" sounds like a better fit for that definition xD. I'd define "tranquility" as a state of calmness, with no significant waves to upset the stillness of your emotion ocean xD. Kinda like a simple life, no drama, lots of silence, steadiness.


    3. Suppose that the Magical Girl is able to give you any blessing that can be contained in a single word (e.g. prosperity, health, fortune). What blessing would you ask for?
    Does "truth" count? There's several things I'm unsure about and you can never really trust what other people tell you. I'd like to be able to find out the truth more easily.

    4. Do you believe in blessings and/or prayer for the well-being of others?
    Not sure... kinda on the fence xD

    5. If you had to pick a single word that is the most important objective/aspiration for your life, what would it be? (e.g. Happiness? Accomplishment? Family? Fulfillment?)
    Appreciation. As long as I appreciate my life and the stuff in it, it'll be worthwhile.
    Another important one would be Understanding. I'd like to be able to empathize and come to understand lots of people and different mental/emotional states you I can be in.
     
  11. Doutei-Sama

    Doutei-Sama Active Member

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    Wisdom can help you with that.
     
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  12. 0000000

    0000000 I B SMILING!

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    Yes, but I am a lazy fuck, I just want a bag of gold to drop on my head for me to spend.
     
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  13. Deleted member 79325

    Deleted member 79325 Guest

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    If it drops on your head I hope to be around :whistle:
    As you get knocked unconscious I will grab it and run. :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:
     
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  14. Lurking

    Lurking Do the dead suffer, or is it a sweet release?

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    1. Which blessing would you choose and why?
    LOVE: An inspired form of giving, love breaths life into the heart and brings grace to the soul.

    seems interesting and fun and less work than happiness

    2. What is your opinion of these "definitions"? Are there some you like or dislike? How would you define these terms differently?

    eh. everyone has their own definition.
    3. Suppose that the Magical Girl is able to give you any blessing that can be contained in a single word (e.g. prosperity, health, fortune). What blessing would you ask for?
    magic
    4. Do you believe in blessings and/or prayer for the well-being of others?
    *headtilt*
    5. If you had to pick a single word that is the most important objective/aspiration for your life, what would it be? (e.g. Happiness? Accomplishment? Family? Fulfillment?)
    duuuuuuno
     
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  15. Miserys_End

    Miserys_End 「Lv1 Pretend Person」I'm the preson i pretend to be

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    1. Which blessing would you choose and why?

    Wisdom, because knowing what you need to do, and the knowledge to see it through is a invaluable ability to have.

    2. What is your opinion of these "definitions"? Are there some you like or dislike? How would you define these terms differently?

    Indifferent really. Everyone has a right to their own notion about the intangible. There is no right or wrong answer, unless it's an intentional contradiction.

    3. Suppose that the Magical Girl is able to give you any blessing that can be contained in a single word (e.g. prosperity, health, fortune). What blessing would you ask for?

    Self-sufficient

    4. Do you believe in blessings and/or prayer for the well-being of others?

    After spending 40ish years contemplating such things, no I dont believe our current world works in such a manner. Karma may be a thing, but if so it only takes account of your previous lives and takes affect as you are conceived. From then on till your death, you're on your own.

    5. If you had to pick a single word that is the most important objective/aspiration for your life, what would it be? (e.g. Happiness? Accomplishment? Family? Fulfillment?)

    Release.
     
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  16. VBS

    VBS Well-Known Member

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    1. Which blessing would you choose and why?
    Wisdom. Knowledge is power.

    2. What is your opinion of these "definitions"? Are there some you like or dislike? How would you define these terms differently?

    They're all shitty, except Wisdom.

    3. Suppose that the Magical Girl is able to give you any blessing that can be contained in a single word (e.g. prosperity, health, fortune). What blessing would you ask for?

    Immortality. Imagine what I could accomplish if my time wasn't limited.

    4. Do you believe in blessings and/or prayer for the well-being of others?

    Sure, but I sometimes wonder if it's even worthwhile in this shitty world.

    5. If you had to pick a single word that is the most important objective/aspiration for your life, what would it be? (e.g. Happiness? Accomplishment? Family? Fulfillment?)

    Fun. The most important thing is to enjoy life.
    Secondary objective: Knowledge. I want to spend my life learning all sorts of interesting things.
     
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  17. Diametric

    Diametric Waifu Connoisseur

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    1) Definitely happiness, no question about it. In my eyes, happiness is the ultimate goal and everything else is just a means to that end.

    What use to you are the other blessings if you aren't happy?

    2)
    This is pretty circular: peace is peace? What does that mean?

    I'd say peace is something like a lack of conflict that would otherwise lead to suffering.

    I like the first sentence, but I don't necessarily agree with the second one. If I were to define happiness I would say it is fulfilment and content, with a lack of suffering.
    The word love in the English language covers a lot of different feelings: romantic love, familial love, platonic love between friends, love to people in general, etc.

    Each of these things are very different but also quite similar. I think you've done a good job of giving a meaningful blanket term that gets to the essence of all these feelings.
    I agree with these completely and couldn't word them better myself if I tried.

    3) Even if I could choose any other word, I would still choose happiness

    4) I don't believe them, since I am a believer in the scientific process and all that jazz. However, I don't necessarily think that it definitely doesn't exist, since there is always the chance that our current understanding of the world is very wrong.

    I have family members who believe in this kind of thing, but I never berate them or try to convince them otherwise since no-one is being harmed by their belief in this and they might just be right.

    5) I think definitely happiness. Most other things people strive for are just a tool to achieve the end goal of being happy.

    What use are wealth, love, skills, friends, if you are not happy?

    I think an alternate answer could be to fulfil responsibility. If you have a family or a lot of power then dedicating your life to that responsibility is something else to strive for than happiness.

    I think both answers would be very valid, it just depends on which one you pick. You could even swap from one to another halfway through your life if you wanted, or even pursue both.
     
    Last edited: Jan 3, 2020
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  18. Loni4ever

    Loni4ever The Fluffy White Wolf

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    Don't you think it might get boring if you're guaranteed to always get the things you want? Sometimes life is interesting and enjoyable precisely because unexpected things that you could've never imagined occur.

    What is it you'd wanna accomplish? :blobpopcorn:
    Also, do you think you'd be able to handle living forever without psychologically becoming drastically different from the average human, and if yes/no, why?

    This kinda reminds me of this thread https://forum.novelupdates.com/threads/poll-what-is-the-cost-of-happiness.97446/
    Similarity is the question: If you had the chance to always be happy, would you take it?
    Of course that's the ultimate goal of everything humans do. How to say though... it seems kinda boring, and fake. It's kinda amusing. I can't speak for other people but personally, even though I generally pursue happiness and avoid suffering, I wouldn't answer "yes" to the above question. It's a bit difficult to put into words what I mean :hmm: compared to the one feeling of "happiness", I appreciate the variety of feelings more, they're interesting... so you could say that rather than "happiness" being the ultimate goal behind all my actions, it's a kind of feeling that comes from experiencing sth interesting? Dang, I don't think I worded that accurately but it's so hard to express it XD maybe it's just a thing of definitions though haha
    So, well, I'm curious: doesn't that seem kinda boring to you, being happy all the time?
     
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  19. VBS

    VBS Well-Known Member

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    I'm not seeking any one major form of greatness, but rather the time and opportunity to do everything; experience everything.
    Life is too short to do absolutely everything I want to do, see every place I want to see, read every novel I want to read, etc.
    I would love the opportunity to gain more knowledge, wisdom, and experiences than can be had in a single human lifetime.

    I don't expect to stay the same forever. We're all always changing as we learn more and grow more. I don't believe I'll become drastically different psychologically from humans, but small changes are inevitable. My sense of self and my values will stay with me.
    I'll just be a better, smarter version of who I am now.
     
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  20. imK

    imK Artful Dodger

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    1. Which blessing would you choose and why?
    Wisdom. Can never have too much of it.

    2. What is your opinion of these "definitions"? Are there some you like or dislike? How would you define these terms differently?

    Not worried about it. They're good enough definitions for me.

    3. Suppose that the Magical Girl is able to give you any blessing that can be contained in a single word (e.g. prosperity, health, fortune). What blessing would you ask for?

    Peace.

    4. Do you believe in blessings and/or prayer for the well-being of others?

    In the religious sense, no. It doesn't hurt to think well or do well towards others who need it though.

    5. If you had to pick a single word that is the most important objective/aspiration for your life, what would it be? (e.g. Happiness? Accomplishment? Family? Fulfillment?)

    Evolution.
     
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