The conversations I've had with people that make comments like that that ended with a positive experience for me were few and far between.

Why do you think that is? Too blunt?

I am quite interested in why you think the things you do, and that specifically because it's so clearly wrong to me, but I'm not gonna roll the dice when my experiences in the past have been that it's a losing bet

If there's one thing I can do, it's talk about why I believe things. Ask away.

And I probably know why anyway. Your life experiences have shown you that to be true and then you look for that in the world to confirm your belief. Thats what we all do

Nothing could be further from the truth. Practically my entire life has been an exercise in coping with being wrong over and over and over again -- seemingly without end. I have trouble forgetting and even more trouble ignoring what's right in front of my face. Even though I think of it as a blessing now, it was a painful painful curse for a decade or two.

So please know that when I urge people to look in the mirror and dig inside of themselves, as uncomfortable as it may feel to them, it's child's play compared to the level of self-examination, self-consciousness, and at rare times, self-hate, that I have endured.

Yes, I have taken on a more existentialist philosophy as life has continued. It's a tilt that is hard on the ego but easy on the intellect.