Wednesday, October 05, 2005

What We Dislike

Surely this must be true.

We dislike in others
those qualities
we have not accepted
in ourselves.

—me strauss Letting me be

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

Indeed. As social creatures, we tend to desire company whether it be physically or in terms of subscribing to the same principles. Those who are similar to us blend in, those who are different, we tend to shy away from.

"ME" Liz Strauss said...

But Eric that's not what the question is about. The question says we don't like in others what we don't like in ourselves.
Liz

Anonymous said...

Hmmm, I should have refilled my cup of coffee before posting. Ooops :-)

"ME" Liz Strauss said...

But your thoughts were indeed very pithy. :)))

Anonymous said...

Must have been that last drop I had before posting. Thanks :-)

"ME" Liz Strauss said...

What kind of coffee are you drinking?

Anonymous said...

You'll have to join the SSOPCD (Secret Society Of Philosophical Coffee Drinkers) to get the answer to that one ;-)

"ME" Liz Strauss said...

Is there a fee?

Anonymous said...

Not if you know me, there isn't! I work as the bouncer there, asking a deep philosophical question like "how many spoons of sugar do I take in my coffee?", before allowing admission.

[whispered] Just answer 3.14159 spoons and you are in ;-)

"ME" Liz Strauss said...

I'm supposed to put pi in my coffee?

Anonymous said...

Tadaaaaa!! You've succeeded and are now an official member of SSOPCD. Here is your special mug, the extra special coffee, and a shotgun just in case. Welcome!

"ME" Liz Strauss said...

Ah coffee, just in time for me to hit the hay and catch some zzzz

Anonymous said...

I don't think I've ever actually seen this put in words before, but it rings true, and it's one of those funny ones that you don't really consider other people are aware of, but obviously they are.

btw; watch that Eric character; I think he might be trying to put together some sort of posse.

"ME" Liz Strauss said...

Hi Lee,
Yes, I know what you mean. It was in a moment of serious self-reflection that I realized that something someone else did that constantly irritated me was a trait of my own. Now when someone bugs me, I look first for what my version of that behavior might me.

I've heard others who've voiced this same sentiment, so I don't by any means, claim to be the sole keeper of this idea. But I did discover it for me.

As to that Eric guy, I've not decided yet. Do you think he's a ghost in the machine?

Anonymous said...

I used to spend far too much time reflecting on such things, but this is probably a good thing, as it might have taught me some patience. Glass houses and all that.

I haven't made my mind up about Eric yet either. Maybe he's a coffee salesman.

"ME" Liz Strauss said...

I know what you mean, Lee. It's in the nature of writers to be reflective--no mirror puns coming.

On Eric, coffee salesman? From the Restaurant the End of the Universe--that would make sense.

Anonymous said...

Its been awhile since I visted ur blog..I love how you wrote what We Dislike..its really simple but it hit the point

"ME" Liz Strauss said...

Hello lamnasra,
Yes, thank you. I wish the discussion were as short and focused. But as you have seen it was along night last night.
Liz

Anonymous said...

[...sneaks in and silently watches his two next targets, calculating how much coffee dosage to use in turning them into warriors of the SSOPCD...]

"ME" Liz Strauss said...

(He is unaware of Liz's plan for him.)

Anonymous said...

Fun discussion, is the coffee all gone?

I know I'm late. But this is so interesting. I've benn thinking a lot about projection and how we see our dislike of our selves in the dislike by others. That could be a corollary to what you say here.

"ME" Liz Strauss said...

Hey,
There's always more coffee here.
Pull up a chair.
How interesting. . . I'll have to think on that. I know we see what they don't like in themselves by what they don't like in us.

but now you have me thinking.
Time for more coffee.
Liz

"ME" Liz Strauss said...

Did I just say what you just said only in a different way?

I think I did.