I'm hoping that one day I end up looking like a junkyard cat. I don't know why, but I think it's pretty cool when someone is pretty banged up.
I'm not a very careful guy, so my hands are all torn up, burns on my arms / legs, old gashes... Each one's got a story but at some point they start to get hard to remember. I've still got two eyeballs, both ears, and all my digits though.
Maybe it's that Hunter S. Thompson quote; “Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming 'Wow! What a Ride!'"
You can preplan too! My first two basal cells were close enough in symmetricallity on my shoulders that I asked the dermatologist to cut me just ever so slightly more on the second one to create a “wings clipped” effect. Now I have a clever response about fallen angels anytime someone asks about them
Maybe I’m weird. I like my scars. I didn’t ask for any of them. Or I unconsciously asked for all of them.
Sometimes the universe makes a mark on you; what you do with that is up to you.
I got a little bold with dear Earth recently and she smacked me pretty hard. I knew what I was doing, knew the risks, and did it anyway. It’s maturing into a decently large scar, and I’m pleased. It’s a nice memory, that kiss.
Maybe I’m weird. Regret minimization, which most people seem to follow as a life strategy, is too boring for me. I always thought I’d die young but after luckily surviving some really stupid decisions in my youth, I’ve gotten much better at measuring risk.
It's a kind of survivor bias. Deadly scars never get such good personal feelings attached to them for obvious reasons. So the scars you have make you feel lucky.
Ironically, it's the things I didn't do that bring me the most regret. The times when I didn't stand up for something or someone, and took the safe route. Those times I have some regret for.
Breaking an arm, scars, etc- They are unpleasant at the time, but zero long term regret. They are like squares on a quilt that tell a story.
In John Sandford's "Prey" series, detective Lucas Davenport looks scary with a cut that goes from his forehead down his cheek. Bad guys know it's from his tough guy image but the reality is he got it from fishing when a hook went wild and ran down the front of his face. But he doesn't tell anyone that.
The concepts such as "appreciating", "beauty" etc are all artificial. You have what you have. There is nothing to appreciate or not appreciate. You. should take care of yourself and your folk. That's pretty there to it.
That doesn't make any sense. What do you mean by 'artificial'?
Humans 'appreciated' 'beauty' for centuries. Obviously, we've evolved the ability to do so and the word 'beauty' carries meaning for people and is an effective way to describe their sensory experience and interpretation.
Attemtping to negate the experience of beauty and appreciation through a poorly-formulated behaviouralist remark is akin to a teenager saying that they can't touch a table because touching is just repelling and we never actually touch anything because it's just repellent forces. In both cases, the new formulation is completely irrelevant and doesn't remove the actual meaning from the word.
I'm guessing that the motivation of your phrasing is rooted in a psychological trick that you're using because you're miserable with the fact that other people are experiencing joy through beauty and you've either not the time or not the inclination to do so. A sad perspective indeed.
So is every other “concept” in the world, doesn’t make them useless. You can “appreciate” yourself and your folk in a way that makes you more likely to take care of yourself and them. Scars can often have very negative effects on self esteem, and are a real mental hurdle for some people, are those feelings invalid?
It's from the wishy-washy everything's-between-your-ears folk. They believe that words have an innate power, or something like that. By calling a scar "beautiful", it should become less of a burden. Never mind that by the same logic, calling ugly things beautiful would make true beauty look drab. One wonders why they didn't think the tumor was beautiful.
It is only your straw-people that propose this kind of relativism. This was about gaining a perspective for appreaciating scars, as they carry memories. It is pointing at the beauty of scars. It is not inverting the meaning of the word, but aiming it at something thus far hidden. The fact that some scars for some people carry heavy trauma does not defeat the point in question.
Also, don't forget that there is no objective criterion for beauty - it is a judgment call. Therefore it is also mediated by language. Even if you correctly see that changing words does not on its own change the world, you are shooting past the target in denying that they have any unique power.
The only scars i like on my body are the ones from the plasma donations i have done. i have about 30 of them by now, with some strong emotions tided up in those pinpoints.
Disagree. Laser scar removal is a billion-dollar business. You seriously don't have to accept them as story accounting if you have "fuck you" money. As the costs come down and the business grows, in several decades it will eventually land on it being part of final wound treatment.
Scars and scratches do tell stories, whether they are on our body or on our bikes. Sometimes the same event gives you scars and also leaves a mark on your bike.
Would I go as far as "appreciating their beauty"? More like accepting that they are there, let them remind us of what happened, and how we prevent something like that from happening again.
For some young folks it may be an opportunity to pause and think about how sometimes people do not recover from their injuries. Most of us eventually become disabled, and we still need to continue living our lives as best as we can with what we have, which is why public transit, walkability and accessibility are important to preserve.
I'm not a very careful guy, so my hands are all torn up, burns on my arms / legs, old gashes... Each one's got a story but at some point they start to get hard to remember. I've still got two eyeballs, both ears, and all my digits though.
Maybe it's that Hunter S. Thompson quote; “Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming 'Wow! What a Ride!'"
I had the same two years ago.
Sometimes the universe makes a mark on you; what you do with that is up to you.
I got a little bold with dear Earth recently and she smacked me pretty hard. I knew what I was doing, knew the risks, and did it anyway. It’s maturing into a decently large scar, and I’m pleased. It’s a nice memory, that kiss.
Maybe I’m weird. Regret minimization, which most people seem to follow as a life strategy, is too boring for me. I always thought I’d die young but after luckily surviving some really stupid decisions in my youth, I’ve gotten much better at measuring risk.
Breaking an arm, scars, etc- They are unpleasant at the time, but zero long term regret. They are like squares on a quilt that tell a story.
Humans 'appreciated' 'beauty' for centuries. Obviously, we've evolved the ability to do so and the word 'beauty' carries meaning for people and is an effective way to describe their sensory experience and interpretation.
Attemtping to negate the experience of beauty and appreciation through a poorly-formulated behaviouralist remark is akin to a teenager saying that they can't touch a table because touching is just repelling and we never actually touch anything because it's just repellent forces. In both cases, the new formulation is completely irrelevant and doesn't remove the actual meaning from the word.
I'm guessing that the motivation of your phrasing is rooted in a psychological trick that you're using because you're miserable with the fact that other people are experiencing joy through beauty and you've either not the time or not the inclination to do so. A sad perspective indeed.
Also, don't forget that there is no objective criterion for beauty - it is a judgment call. Therefore it is also mediated by language. Even if you correctly see that changing words does not on its own change the world, you are shooting past the target in denying that they have any unique power.
Would I go as far as "appreciating their beauty"? More like accepting that they are there, let them remind us of what happened, and how we prevent something like that from happening again.
For some young folks it may be an opportunity to pause and think about how sometimes people do not recover from their injuries. Most of us eventually become disabled, and we still need to continue living our lives as best as we can with what we have, which is why public transit, walkability and accessibility are important to preserve.