Ark~Magic wrote:I'm almost finished with my transition from forum member -> Non-forum member, but I want to wait for a few responses in these other threads.
We are all different individuals with the ability to make choices within certain limits. As adults, our choices are said to be our own responsibility.
Joining and leaving a forum are individual choices for which there is no compulsion either way... not unless a person offends against the rules of the forum and the forum moderators must act in the interests of all members. But within the rules, coming and going are an individual's own responsibility.
Likewise, how one feels about others who post to a forum is also a matter of choice. Many people have difficulty with this idea, believing wrongly that others are responsible for their feelings. By holding on to such a belief they give away their own power to others. They say in effect "you can make me feel bad, you can make me feel good, I am at your mercy".
Is that really the case? Can you, for example, make me fall in love with you? Ask any rejected lover and I think he will, from the pain of his experience, tell you that trying to make someone feel a certain way simply did not work for him.
Ark~Magic, you want to be empowered.
You have the power in you already, but you say that others are making you feel a certain way... they are hurting you, they are failing your expectations and you are suffering.
You say we are hurting you.
Take back your own power by claiming responsibility for yourself.
You may not like this message, but regardless of your reaction to it, I know for myself that I am speaking it in love - no, not the silly soppy emotional sort of "love", but the caring and concern I have for fellow humans and the pain suffered needlessly when they see themselves as injured by others.
You cannot make me hate you, or love you, or accept you, or reject you, or anything else. I do not give you my responsibility for you to do so. I will choose my own reaction, just as you will choose yours.
Likewise, I cannot make you respect me, listen to me, believe me, convince you, or anything else... including making you stay or leave.
That is your own responsibility, not mine, as I don't have the power to do those things.
If I did, I'd tell you to leave and you would, or tell you to stay and you would, or tell you to post only in words of one syllable and you would, or to use only swear words and you would.
So Ark~Magic, it is completely over to you.
As I see it, you are very welcome to stay and join in the discussions as you choose... and to leave if and when you want to.
Not all discussions will likely appeal to you, nor all responses, and that is perfectly normal since we are all different.
We all make our own choices just as you do. We can join in the nonsense stuff, or choose to ignore it. We can add to sensible debate, or choose to ignore it and stick with the silly stuff.
It's over to you.
You are already one of us by virtue of posting here.
Everyone has the choice to change his mind.
