Neptoon in Pisces and Liz's comment over on the courtship thread got me thinking...

What do people want?  Scrape away all the multi-layered ego tripping, posturing, grasping, grunting, mindfucking, projection, what Mommy and Daddy did to me growing up and in the end...I think people want to BELONG.  To a Tribe, to a Community, to Themselves, to Eachother.  They want to be LOVED and ACCEPTED for who they are, even the ugly bits, even when they don't understand themselves.  We need others to hold up a mirror so we can look at ourselves and *own* our shit (thanks Shannon!).

Sometimes I get tired of dealing with my agent (read: ego) and having it mispresent me.  I also get tired of dealing with everybody else's agent.

Yeah, I got all Buddhist.  But wha'd you expect from this thread? 

I completely agree.

Yep. You'd think it'd be easier too, huh?

I think it's a bit more dynamic, or maybe complex than that.

For example, some people want peace above all, and some crave almost constant excitement. They're never going to be very empathetic to one another

@BP - How do we know, though, that that isn't a result of our upbringing and conditioning, cultural and/or otherwise? 

I guess I was thinking in terms of the concept of the tabula rasa - being a "blank slate" at birth.  Though I don't necessarily believe that we're all blank slates at birth...but you get the idea...maybe?

I think the root of it all is happiness. As humans, we tend to be averse to the unpleasant and want more of the pleasant. Your example, BP, illustrates my point. A pesron who wants peace has a pleasant experience in the mind where there is still and quiet. Others who crave excitement reach the same ends by a different means.

Reminds me of the Taurus-Scorpio axis.

Taurus wants inner peace, Scorpios searches for inner intensity.

I guess what I was trying to say is that if people felt a sense of belonging, love, and support (safety and security not being far behind either) from a very young age, there'd be less dysfunction in the world and in our relating to eachother.

@Jennifer,

people want acceptance, but even with the best childhood or acceptance, there would still be those people that are narrow-thinking or smug who will exclude others, even the people who felt accepted.

So I guess Neptoon took me on a ride through Utopia before dumping me in Reality?  That was quick. 

Oops, didn't mean to pop your Neptune bubble.

I see your vision, Jennifer.

@FieryTaurus.  No worries!  I posted this because I wanted to hear other people's perspectives.  The veil falls, then reattaches for me.  Story of my life. 

Haha this song just came on my iPhone

I just wanna feel real love fill the home that I live in
Cuz I got too much life flowin through my veins to go to waste

Maybe that shoulda gone in the poly thread lol

I saw the title of this and it reminded me of Susan Sarandon in Bull Durham.

Btw Jennifer I'm buying what your Neptoon is selling.

Cake.

Oh wait...we're talking about people, not cats.  Whoops.

I want to be content. I've experienced the highs and lows, as we all have, and I'd be fine right in the middle.  Instead of being on the wave at any amplitude, I'd rather be on the time line, if that makes sense. I'd rather just be, than be something.

Wow, this is all over the place! I like where Jennifer is coming from. Saggy Neptune conj AC, I may have been told I'm too idealistic once or twice in my life (blushes). Rip the veil away, that's OK, I still believe that anything is possible, and in a world where anything is possible, maybe someday humans can attain personal peace amongst themselves. And even do it in a way that isn't at the expense of other beings.

I did a good amount of study of hindu and buddhist beliefs. InTheDark kinda hints at something I learned from that.... There are the highs and lows, and there there is the middle, the gap or equanimity.

http://hinduism.about.com/od/selfdevelopment/a/equanimity.htm

hahahha, what do they want - ask them! Just be prepared for the answers, because they make you go Also, depends when...some are whimsical...

Personally, I want to buy my house already, emigrate to Australia, write a cookbook, do my best to help when I can, and change people's narrow conception of culture.

Honestly, I think this is doable this lifetime.

I don't know what others want, I ask them, but most aren't so sure either...and those that are sure...we'll keep going...

To be acknowledged.