Way of acting

I don't know if this is strictly philosophy or not but I find that many things both here and throughout the world are causing great concern. Of course, I have this tendency to see all of these to be my personal responsibility, and I allow myself to become overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of it all.  Then, I have to fall back on the Stoic philosophy.  It includes three basic steps - first to trim the issue back to the basics, known as the "real" truth without the thoughts and opinions of others.  Thus the issue of the rise of ISIS would boil down to something like this: several leaders of many tribes are fighting about gaining control of more land and more tribes.  How, then, does this "real" truth fit in to my worldview and what if anything can or should I ethically do that would have any effect on that "real" truth?

So the first step is to define the '''real" truth of the situation.  It is necessary to be able to be able to separate that truth from all of the outside clamor.  Remove oneself from the opinions and arguments and pressure of those influences, who may be trying to tell you what you should feel or do about the situation.  It seems that recently, these influences seem to pushing for violent responses to any and all real or imagined threats to our status quo both in our own country and abroad.  The next step. once one has redefined these situations in terms of their "real" truth, is to determine whether any action on our part will help to truly resolve the situation, or, in least. have any impact on the issue.  Having accomplished this, it becomes necessary to examine what action can be taken, based on our own internal moral compass.  It is natural that each person chooses that action or non-action that is supported by their own moral judgement of the what they hope will result from that action.  These results, unfortunately, may be other than what one intended, but they will have been done in a manner that fits in with our personal inner moral code.

Thus, situations will ever remain fluid.  Each person determines their own inner moral code based on what they desire in their life to bring them to a state of inner satisfaction.  The fluidity of life results from the combined results of these inner moral codes.   The problem may be that these practices are not commonly practiced.  It is far more common for people to pursue courses of action based on where they are led by others.

I think that it is this last part that leads me to some concern.  It seems that at at his point in history there are many whose inner moral code is focused on showing their own right to acquire as much as possible or to be in a position to require others to provide everything that they desire.  Any threats to their purposes is to met with whatever is needed.  This may be reflected in the increasing violence we see worldwide both militarily and in everyday affairs.  In all of this, all I can do is follow my own moral code in mu life, and hope that others may choose to follow my lead.

Perception

I'm not sure if this is philosophy or not.  I think it probably is.  I am finding that my perception of people is changing.  I used to observe them as just "there".  But If I knew them, or wanted to speak to them or even remember I saw them, I would perceive them as a person.  I can now perceive them and everything else as "real"(whatever that means).  I can choose to look at someone and think They live somewhere and they think of that place as home or they're busy working or doing everyday things. They have their likes and dislikes.  They may belong to clubs, play sports, go on vacations. They may think deeply, or just enjoy life as it is.  I drive by, looking at houses with a light in them, and think that there are people there watching TV or doing homework or fighting or arguing.  They're living their own lives, unaware of me as a person with my own ideas and going about my everyday life.  We all are different people, each living within our own perceptions of the world around us.    Our thoughts and actions are all based on our own perceptions.   My point is that everyone acts within their own world view until and unless that view is changed by an outside force, they will continue to to think and act the same way.  I guess that my point in all this is that none of us has the right to try to impose their world view on others.  This imposition has been the tinder to light the fire of conflict and war throughout the history of humanity.It appears in many faces - fascism, pogroms, jihadism, dictators, or even the amassing of wealth or political power.  It is behind any "This is my belief, and you must follow its teachings as well".  or " I have the right to amass all this "property, goods, political power and the right to do anything necessary to make it happen".  It is part of my world view we each have the right to our own world view except to the point where it leads us to the point that we act in a way that denies that same right to others.

A wide vlew of ways of living

It seems that most people follow a set of rules defined  by the culture in which they live, often defined by their the dogma of their their religion and it's concept of god (by any name).  Thus, their view is limited by that dogma.  The Christian Lord's Prayer begins with "Our Father who art in Heaven" which indicates that their God is separate from us, living in some undefined place called heaven.  There is, however, a much broader view.  Infinity is a barely understood concept that can be considered to be Deity in the broadest sense.  Infinity and Deity are one and the same.  They are defined as  all that is and all that is not, all that was or was not, and all that will be here and not here.  Time, past, present and future is included,   Most people perceive  their god to be omnipotent without really understanding the meaning of that word.  But, truly, the term means all powerful - all that is good, or positive, and all that is evil, or negative.  People choose the framework of their life based on on a positive god who is good and forgiving  .

It seems that most people follow a set of rules defined  by the culture in which they live, often defined by their the dogma of their their religion and it's concept of god (by any name).  Thus, their view is limited by that dogma.  The Christian Lord's Prayer begins with "Our Father who art in Heaven" which indicates that their God is separate from us, living in some undefined place called heaven.  There is, however, a much broader view.  Infinity is a barely understood concept that can be considered to be Deity in the broadest sense.  Most people perceive  their god to be omnipotent without really understanding the meaning of that word.  But, truly, the term means all powerful - all that is good, or positive, and all that is evil, or negative. It includes the physical and the spiritual.  In includes all moods and feelings and actions.  It includes all forms of energy. The myriad of religions and their dogmas lead their followers according to their version of god - Jehovah, Jesus, Allah, Buddah.Confucious, Great Spirit, or whatever name they choose to represent their god.
But of these are  Deity. Deity is both good or evil - both positive and negative. All such value judgement  are Deity.  Everything that exists is Deity, including each and every one of us, the world we live in, all living creatures, rocks, water, planets and galaxies are Deity.  Any actions that we take are a part of Deity, and it is within this context that we live our physical lives.
                                       (Comments are welcome and appreciated)