Welcome home! Please contact lincoln@icrontic.com if you have any difficulty logging in or using the site. New registrations must be manually approved which may take several days. Can't log in? Try clearing your browser's cookies.
Heavily conflicted
Jakbob
Explorer
Hello everyone, I have a problem I am faced with right now and I would like to know the Buddhist stance on this. I will state both my sides and reasonings for the problem.
I am in the 11th grade high school and I am taking an AP(advanced placement) US History course, that is the equivalent to a college us history course. My options currently stand: To remain in the course, or to drop it for 'honors history'. On a scale of hardness, there is cp1 history(lowest) honors, middle and AP highest.
To drop it: Right now, I am finding that the course is quite a lot of work and academically challenging. I also find it conflicting to learn because it is saddening for me to learn about the horrible misdeeds our country has done to other nations. I do work though not to let it bother me. Because it is painful to learn about, I don't enjoy the course as much and therefor remember less... In addition, it consumes a large portion of my night, where I can't do the things I enjoy doing. Those include practicing cooking(a big interest of mine) studying languages, reading, socializing, and family.
To stay: The course is challenging, but though I have little interest, there's something small in me stating this principle 'hardwork of any kind is going to give me something beneficial in the future and even if it doesn't, it will have provided me something under the surface" I really can't explain it but there's something saying that this work, or even "suffering" if you will is beneficiary and necessary, and that avoiding it is not solving an underlining issue. To drop it would be escaping or a 'cop-out' That issue, I have actually identified. Though it is challenging, I do not manage my time well always, and sometimes put it off instead of spreading it out for an easier work load... This I know is the issue. And even if my interest is low, I still appreciate what I might gain from it, even if it maybe invisible to me now.
Summary: Do I push myself to solve for the challenge sake, to work at an underlining problem, to grow and nourish myself for "life wisdom". (note personally at this moment, I really don't believe in pushing oneself beyond their limits of comfort. I also don't believe in competition, which is essentially the basis of this. Competing for #1, that which I do not desire... yet I feel like society keeps jabbing me with it)
Or drop it for something more flexible, less worrisome to enjoy my interests which could help me grow in my area of interests.
~Namaste~
I am in the 11th grade high school and I am taking an AP(advanced placement) US History course, that is the equivalent to a college us history course. My options currently stand: To remain in the course, or to drop it for 'honors history'. On a scale of hardness, there is cp1 history(lowest) honors, middle and AP highest.
To drop it: Right now, I am finding that the course is quite a lot of work and academically challenging. I also find it conflicting to learn because it is saddening for me to learn about the horrible misdeeds our country has done to other nations. I do work though not to let it bother me. Because it is painful to learn about, I don't enjoy the course as much and therefor remember less... In addition, it consumes a large portion of my night, where I can't do the things I enjoy doing. Those include practicing cooking(a big interest of mine) studying languages, reading, socializing, and family.
To stay: The course is challenging, but though I have little interest, there's something small in me stating this principle 'hardwork of any kind is going to give me something beneficial in the future and even if it doesn't, it will have provided me something under the surface" I really can't explain it but there's something saying that this work, or even "suffering" if you will is beneficiary and necessary, and that avoiding it is not solving an underlining issue. To drop it would be escaping or a 'cop-out' That issue, I have actually identified. Though it is challenging, I do not manage my time well always, and sometimes put it off instead of spreading it out for an easier work load... This I know is the issue. And even if my interest is low, I still appreciate what I might gain from it, even if it maybe invisible to me now.
Summary: Do I push myself to solve for the challenge sake, to work at an underlining problem, to grow and nourish myself for "life wisdom". (note personally at this moment, I really don't believe in pushing oneself beyond their limits of comfort. I also don't believe in competition, which is essentially the basis of this. Competing for #1, that which I do not desire... yet I feel like society keeps jabbing me with it)
Or drop it for something more flexible, less worrisome to enjoy my interests which could help me grow in my area of interests.
~Namaste~
0
Comments
Whichever path you take in life there is always something positive you can do from there. Life is just a series of choices; sometimes we make good ones, sometimes not so good ones. But wherever those choices take us, we will always have plenty more opporunities to make good choices in the future.
Either way, you sound like a smart, reflective person, so I am sure you will be fine.
I took AP US approx. 5 years ago when I was in 11th grade, I don't retain any of the information from that class. History is a bunch of memorization, learning things you'll forget -- BTW I didn't even get AP credit, I had to take it in in college and I got an easy A which was a GPA booster so it worked out.
I've had a lot of trouble myself when making decisions in general and here are a few pointers I got from this cool Buddhist monk Ajahn Brahm
1. Don't involve personal desire.
2. Make sure there isn't any ill-will involved in the decision. Such as making a decision based out of fear, delusion, anger, hate, greed.. etc.
3. Make sure you get all the necessary information so you can make an educated decision.
4. Mix it all with compassion.
Thank you very much for those 4 tips. I have to ask, is compassion for oneself knowing when something is too straining for us? It's quite funny lol, As soon as you add compassion, it completely flips what seems to be the choice, to the opposite. That's what makes it so awesome xD.
My advice is to stay the course and finish the class. The competition aspect of it is only what you allow it to be. If you're in the class to glean as much out of it as you can, even if it doesn't grab your interest totally, then you will get something out of it. Just because you can't necessarily see that today, or ten years from now, someday you will see the benefit of it. I can name a whole list of courses I've taken that seemed utterly irrelevant to life at the time, but which in retrospect have had their uses. Even if it's just to settle an argument over dinner or one small "ah-ha!" moment 30 years from now, you may very well be happy you stuck it out.
I do agree that ultimately you should do what you have a passion for. But education can help lead you to find out what that is, so don't discount anything at your young age. Being well rounded says much about the kind of person you are and that you will mature into. It may seem pointless now, but I think you'll find in years to come that it makes you a better person and a better citizen.
Best of luck with whatever you decide. You're obviously a mature, thinking person, and I know you'll do the right thing...
Peace
PS: Don't confuse compassion for one's self with permission to quit. Not the same thing at all! If you want to quit, then quit for a good reason. You can have compassion for yourself if you do, but don't use it as an excuse to quit.
lol meditate on the decision dude, it's pretty sweet. Stop confusing yourself haha.
ohh Buddha did say that compassion for yourself is important though, cause if you hate yourself no one's gonna feel good around you ha
and my pleasure
I haven't meditated in so long
namaste, with metta!
decisions made with a still and clear mind are usually the best!
glad to hear you're progressing on the path!