Quote Originally Posted by Ganj
I realize now why I don't get many replies. My rigid belief system doesn't apply to many people, and also doesn't allow for many to speculate on my issues. You either agree or disagree, right? It isn't open for discussion. I'll try to be considerate of that in future posts. Then again, I'm hardly ever in the position to take advice from anyone, for my beliefs are firm, so I generally know what direction I should take. I wonder if I'm even capable of reaching people? I don't want to be admired, if it means that no one will challenge me. Is there someone out there similar to me who has succeeded in overcoming their social stigma by means other than preaching?
I don't know, there is a lot to tackle in this thread. Part of me wants to tell you to get some sleep, and feel better in the morning, but the depth in which you've probed the situation makes it seem to me that this is one of the first things that come to mind when you wake up. I think you're overthinking things.

I think your "major malfunction" might be that you don't really know who you are and what you want, as invision said. It took six months of isolation, without any distractions or any of my old so-called friends to back me up or talk to, in order to figure out who I was and what I wanted. I did have some help from some wonderful, wise and experienced co-workers (all women who have been there and done that so to speak) and I learned not from experience but from observation, slowly unravelling admirable qualities and actions from their stories and behavior. I was lucky in this regard - not a lot of people will be subject to this specific set of limitations and options.

I believe that to deny emotion is to deny life. Love, happiness, anger, despair, fear, hope - these are the suns that illuminate the world of our soul. They're part of the experience of living.

I think that any two people can come together and have a successful relationship. They just need to want to work at it. From what I've learned, compromise and generosity are the most important things to have. If a relationship doesn't work out, it's likely one person or the other is missing one of these things.

Probably one of the most important things I've ever been told was from a much older mentor of mine. She told me that people come into our lives for a reason, and when they've done what they're supposed to do, they fade out of the picture. So many people try to hold onto friendships they had in school or ex-lovers, when it's really kind of pointless - they impacted your life, now both of you should move on as you have very little left to give them at this point. You can only learn so much from one person.

Thinking like this, you're never really choosing the "wrong people". You choose the right people, learn and experience with them, and then move on. I'm a firm believer in monogamy, but I also doubt that any relationships I have will last longer than a few years - it's inevitable that the conversation will stagnate, the interest will wane, and the sex will become boring. However, I'd love to be proven wrong. :thumbsup:

Hopefully I've given you something to think about - I have the feeling I just kind of rambled off on my own tangent though. Ah well. Stay mellow, and don't worry about it. Life will happen already. :thumbsup: