Yo Str8up,
I wasn't addressing you directly
before-----I was actually responding to the post directly above mine
(mainly offering an answer to TheDeparted's question). My response, specifically, was in answer to "what it takes" to be successful in a relationship should you ever choose to decide on ONE woman.
I have found that all healthy, mutually satisfying, successful relationships require
at bare minimum, a definition, a recognition, and a continuous DEFENSE of the line of RESPECT between the people involved.
Next time, maybe I'll try to remember to quote the specific person I'm addressing before I post. Because somehow posting something that would annoy you was not my intention.
So with my respect for you being what it is, I will take the time to address your comments and questions.
On the subject of Absolutes.
I have found that life is indeed filled with very few nondebatable absolutes. Like,
"if your ass will live...then your ass will die". Of course there
are some others, but those are a few that I think most people can agree on.
Now, what some people call "absolutes", really are what other people just call hard core, resolute DECISIONS that they make to protect his or her personal space or situation-specific boundaries. Many men who shy away from making these quality decisions
(decisions they feel strongly about) and sticking to them are ones that have an inability or an unwillingness to do so.
Maybe it's out of fear.
Maybe it's out of political correctness.
Or maybe it's out of a unceasing desire to take in more and more information. But I have found that there's always a law of diminishing return at work for those who don't step up and choose sides, or develop and hold fast to a strong opinion on something.
What I've seen happen in real life and on internet
message boards is that these particular types become ensnared in a trap of their OWN making-----it's called ANALYSIS PARALYSIS.
These men are stuck. And the longer they STAY stuck, their quest for knowledge turns into confusion. Then their confusion metamorphasizes either into bitterness, apathy, or unneccessarily and unhealthily LOWERED expectations-----in
whatever area of life that they happen to be focused.
Of course the cowards and the ass-kissing PC crowd get what
they deserve for being gutless. But it's the guys who overthink themselves to stagnancy and unhappiness that concern me. Because they usually can eventually snap out of it----and make their lives better BY making choices.
So again, words like "all", "never", and "cannot" are words used mostly by men who understand that they themselves are the ones who DECIDE the "absolutes" of their own lives.
Not society, culture, other people's beliefs, etc.
So, even if the day comes when they deem it advantageous to change their views on some things, it is STILL these men
themselves who will DECIDE what the "rules of engagement" are for
their particular lives. A man is only as "ON PURPOSELY" successful in his life as a result of the tough decisions he's willing to make.
Also, a man is only
as powerful as his sphere of influence
is large. And the size of a man's sphere of influence, in the very beginning, is drawn and measured by simply DECIDING what is acceptable to him and what is not.
So, acceptable behavior from women, he ALLOWS to remain within his presence--------while behavior from women that is NOT acceptable----he keeps, or THROWS OUT of his personal perimeter.
Now, some would call this concept acting "nobly" in an attempt to maybe diminish it. But the truth of the matter is that protecting your sphere of influence
(also known as respecting YOURSELF) is not a noble act-----it's an act of necessity for ANY man who wants to continue to live FREE from the inconsiderate behavior, frequent mood swings, and the flagrantly aggressive disrespect of other people.
A boy is male by birth. But as he grows, he becomes a MAN by choice.
A man SHOULD always seek to understand more and more about the world around him, and he SHOULD take into account many different views and opinions before he makes quality decisions for his life. But what a man does NOT do is bow his Knee to situations, circumstances, or people
(WOMEN, specifically) who seek to fill his life with DRAMA instead of PEACE.
A fuller, more internally peaceful life is the reward for most men who realize that they shouldn't waste their energy seeking to control women. But rather, instead, their energy is put to far better use by learning to know and love themselves FIRST-----then, vetting all the women that they engage to determine if they are good
enough candidates to be "elected" into their lives.
Where
I come from...this is what men do.
Where
I come from, men tend to be MADE from this "sterner" type of stuff.
And where I come from, those who aren't "born" with it, but eventually REALIZE that they
don't have it, make a conscious DECISION to build within themselves this type of steely resolve.
THIS, is the type of man
I am.
Soldier on. :yes: