I do believe that our minds, or our thought patterns, control our reality (or perception of it). How often we put conditions upon our happiness e.g. I will be happy when I find the man of my dreams, (or) I will be happy when I am successful in my career etc etc. Usually once we attain these conditions, we set new ones. I have long pondered the human condition of perpetual dissatisfaction and wondered why it is that we are constantly looking for more. We climb Kilimanjaro and we look to Everest. Ok ok that was an extreme example but you get my point. I tend to slip into hyperbole to make a point and have used that analogy often. *blush*
If we achieve the desirable state of peace and total acceptance of what is, then perhaps we stop striving. We become complacent and the instead of swimming against the current, we allow ourselves to be carried by the flow without any control over our destination. Is there a middle road or do we need to choose one route or another? It seems to me that the desirable state is not total acceptance or even to always have peace but to strive at times (go against the flow) and at others to go with the flow and to know what choice to make when. Ahh but life is a mystery but isn't it a fascinating one? We have had philosophers and mystics, scientists and scholars all pondering the great question of purpose.
Sometimes the theories sound really good but they often lead to further questions and what we have in the end is a whole bunch of unanswered questions and very few answers. A man I knew once (someone with a brilliant mind but who suffered from the condition commonly known as schizophrenia) once said "If you don't have the answers, first remove the questions" He got me with this one. I gave it a lot of thought but I have a feeling it was just too simple (or was it complex?) for me to process.
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Reviewed by rajiv heer (Reader)
Reviewed on February 17, 2011
05 swimming against the tide or striving to achieve something which is otherwise not possible is just waste of time.best way for living is by hugging the circumstances you got and use your brains to drink the nector of happiness to fullest extent till the circumstance gives way to new circumstance,go on like that and you will be satisfied without harming mind and heart.
Reviewed by Ron Henry (Reader)
Reviewed on January 30, 2005
Questions are what make us grow, and if you ask the right ones you grow the most. We should always be in a questioning mode, not in the sense of doubting everything perpetually, but in the sense of wanting to know the truth more completely, more accurately, more precisely. the intellect is a crude tool for the spirit and we don't always get our questions to the conscious mind. I am sure we are capable of asking and struggling on tillions of thoughts in a second. If we do this there is a good chance some will come to the conscious. And then over a lifetime we will find answers. Not final answers. But answers, which we will upgrade and refine continually even long after we are dead. Participating in life with questions is the essence of really living and growing.
Thanks for this essay. It made my wheels turn. And I must not be too brilliant, because I don't understand what your friend meant.
Written with an empowerment that moves the reader to literally stop and think - this piece is a statement of your truly unique ability to master the written word - excellent!
Robert
Reviewed by Thomas Lanechanger (Reader)
Reviewed on August 12, 2004
Chanti, another extremely well-penned composition. I agree, one must always question the status quo in order to excel or sooner or later we will lose the ability to challenge ourselves and become too complacent. Although sometimes one does have to set aside time to reflect on what has been done, and what needs to be done. Far too often, “people don’t plain to fail, they fail to plain!” I enjoyed reading yet another one of your timeless treasures my friend. Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom and unique talent. Take care and be well.
I am not sure that I'll ever be 'satisfied' because I am one of those that question everything to the nth degree. I remember being a small child and asking my Mother "Where do the trees come from" and she told me all about planting seeds, well where do they come from and so on and so forth. All the way to the beginning of time, lol. My mind runs rampant, full of questions and ideas. Not to mention that I am controlling, go figure. ;) I think and hope that when I leave this life that I will find peace, even though I believe that I will still have things to answer for. Heck, maybe I'll never get it right.
As for the "If you don't have the answer, remove the question" a part of me says it depends on the question and another part of me says that we actually may have the right answer but got it with the wrong question. lol It's over my head today, I'll have to hit the philosophy and theory books to really figure it out. I love brain teasers and it's probably very simple and that's exactly why I don't get it.
Do I roll with the flow? I try to but it's impossible for me in many areas. If I did achieve a real peace now, I'd probably still take another road just to be sure. lol I am making myself tired and weary just thinking tonight. I need some sleep and feel kind of manic. A glass of milk is calling to me and a beloved xanax.
As for me, I believe that as long as I question, I will continue to grow and strive for something more. "Seek and ye shall find." And another... "All you need is deep within you waiting to unfold and reveal itself. All you have to do is be still and take time to seek for what is within, and you will surely find it. (~Eileen Caddy) And now, with these thoughts, I'll begin my day. Thank you for this article, Chanti.
This book consists of a 150 pages of Christian poetry about the end of time and the Second coming of Jesus Christ not as a servant but as a King, the King of kings. To bring righteousness and peace to the earth and restore the government of God! Peac
Thanks for this essay. It made my wheels turn. And I must not be too brilliant, because I don't understand what your friend meant.
Best,
Ron
Written with an empowerment that moves the reader to literally stop and think - this piece is a statement of your truly unique ability to master the written word - excellent!
Robert
"If you don't have the answers, first remove the questions." That is food for thought. Too simple, too complex not to reflect on.
Thanks for the excellent article.
Cynthia
As for the "If you don't have the answer, remove the question" a part of me says it depends on the question and another part of me says that we actually may have the right answer but got it with the wrong question. lol It's over my head today, I'll have to hit the philosophy and theory books to really figure it out. I love brain teasers and it's probably very simple and that's exactly why I don't get it.
Do I roll with the flow? I try to but it's impossible for me in many areas. If I did achieve a real peace now, I'd probably still take another road just to be sure. lol I am making myself tired and weary just thinking tonight. I need some sleep and feel kind of manic. A glass of milk is calling to me and a beloved xanax.
Whew! Love ya, Janny xoxoxo
Hugs...