What gun nuts, Christians, vegans, joggers, and yoga students have in common.

[Binkie The Clown]

Most of us are, as human beings, profoundly afraid of dying. Vegans (like me) need to believe that they can postpone death by healthy eating. Joggers believe that cardio is the answer. Christians tell themselves that dying doesn't matter because they will go to heaven. Yoga students think that by stretching and twisting they will stay young and avoid death. Gun nuts think that if they are well armed they can kill anything that threatens them with death.

Every one of us has some fantasy that we use to protect ourselves from the psychological pain of knowing that we will die. I know a lady who is morbidly obese, and a hoarder on top of it. The way I see it, she is trying to take up as much space in the world as possible, as if to make herself more permanent, or maybe more irreplaceable to the world.

The thing we must all realize, vegan, gun nut, jogger, Christian, hoarder, yogi, meditator, .... etc., is that these are all just lies we tell ourselves to keep ourselves from being paralyzed with fear.

So don't criticize gun nuts and Christians and vegans and joggers too harshly. Without their psychological crutch they would paralyzed by fear. We all need one kind of security blanket or another, so before you so eagerly yank somebody's blankie away from them, be sure your not going to be left with a drooling basket case on your hands when they lose that security blanket.

So the solution to gun nuts is not to take away their guns, but to help them find another, alternative, less harmful way to feel secure. What they need more than anything, is a new helpful delusion to replace their current dangerous delusion.

[Travis_0004]

1. I think you are reading too much into this

I jog, because it keeps me healthy. Its also makes me a better athlete (boxing).

I own a gun becuase I enjoy shooting it. I'm not paralyzed by fear. My gun is locked up in a safe. It would take me a couple minutes to get to it. I live in a safe neighborhood and don't really need it for self defense.

I would assume a lot of people do yoga because they like yoga. Don't read into everything so much.

[olddots]

2. I agree and we all try to buy our way out of fear

which never seems to work out too well ( remember the cold war arms race ? )

[uppityperson]

3. I take care of my health not out of fear of dying but to have a better quality of life while I am

alive.

I know I will die, I accept I will die, I have no clue what if anything will happen to me after I die and am in no way paralyzed by fear and staving it off by exercising and eating well.

I do want to be able to be as active and happy as possible while I am alive, so try to take care of my health.

[KatyMan]

10. Agree with this.

I go to the gym not quite as often as I should but usually at least twice a week, and I strive for 3 times. My idea on it (and I loathe working out) is that somewhere in my genetics (and everyone's) there's something I have no control over that's going to kill me--cancer, heart disease, some weird allergy, whatever--and I'd rather just have that killing me rather than a too sedentary lifestyle, or from a poor diet, etc. There are tons of things we have no control over, but I think eating relatively well and keeping fit goes a long way toward a longer and happier life. You change the oil in your car, rotate the tires, keep the fluids topped up and your car will last: why not do the same for your body?

[Codeine]

4. Nah. I'm a vegan because I like animals.

Not everything corresponds to your worldview.

[countingbluecars]

5. I hate to be rude but

I think this is a ridiculous comparison.

[enough]

6. Nobody does yoga in order to avoid death. You do it because it makes life better.

[Brickbat]

7. This is a sad way of looking at things.

[Shandris]

8. Wow, that's a seriously odd way of looking at things (imo)

I mean, I agree with the final conclusion (that everyone can use better, alternative ways to feel secure), but I hardly think that that handy 'common sense platitude' about 'feeling insecure' has much connection to reality. At least, it has little (I won't say NONE because of this pesky honesty streak I have) connection to reality in the gun owners I know and am familiar with.

Following this argument to its logical conclusion, however, does yield some interesting possibilities.

[cwydro]

9. I'm a runner.

I run "to burn off the crazy" as the t-shirt says.

Aint got nothing to do with dying lol.

[immoderate]

11. Cannabis is the answer.

What's the question?

--imm

[snooper2]

12. How about people addicted to posting on the intertubes?

Let's take their access away for a month and see if they go on any rampages LOL

[leftofcool]

13. I practice yoga for my health. Help with good quality life.

[Matariki]

14. So we don't need gun control if everyone becomes vegan?

or does yoga?

No offence, but:

[Binkie The Clown]

15. So we don't need yoga if everyone becomes a Christian.

Or we don't need golf if everyone becomes a bowler.

No offense taken. Not everyone can be as wise and perceptive as me.

(Half the things I say are in jest. Your job is to figure out which half.)

[nolabels]

16. I think your logic is good

The issue might be that one size never fits all. I have found mostly the reason(s) for a person actions are often multiple and multi-fold. No doubt the issue of the sub-emotion of fear dovetails into that larger element of the unknowing (which triggers fear) is a part of it.

No doubt those activities would be performed at much reduced rate if it were known or perceived none of them would benefit one's quality or length of life

And a few axioms that are known to be obvious are 'you can't heal the world' and 'you can't take it with you'

[maxsolomon]

17. You're talking about The Denial of Death

http://ernestbecker.org/

[Dont call me Shirley]

18. Try EFT, Emotional Freedom Technique. It really does remove chronic or paralyzingly fear.