parenting

What Living In The U.S.S.R. As A Kid Taught Me About Parenting

"It certainly taught me that parenting is not only about protecting and sheltering, but also about teaching children how to take risks, how to trust themselves, and how embracing a moment of discomfort can lead to a wonderful experience, or at least to a hell of a good story."

reminds me of erikson's second stage of development: autonomy vs shame.

rewards

what i really like about hinduism/buddhism is that you don't have to believe in it for it to happen anyway. like, you'll be reincarnated even if you don't believe you will. that's super fair and somehow, to me, that makes it seem more factual. like, you don't have to believe in a round planet, but it's spherical anyway. you don't have to believe in global warming, but weather/climate is gonna get whack anyway. basically, facts are facts. regardless of your belief. tho, i guess no matter if you believe in it or, you're going to hell anyway (assuming you don't accept christ and all that).

plus

1. you can't command belief. you either believe something or you don't. you can't *make* yourself believe. and therefore, there's no reward (the way christianity has) for belief. 

2. belief in the religion isn't the point. the point is that you should be a good person doing good things and you'll be rewarded with a higher level of reincarnation. christianity rewards you for belief and nothing else really. that's unfair as fuck. especially since you can't make yourself believe anything anyway!