[at-l] perception and such

[icw at esisnet.com (Clark Wright)]

I'd like to chime in on what jan recently wrote (see below) . . . my two 
favorite, most awesome quotes/thoughts these days are:

1)  "All relationships in our life are eternal;"

and

2)  "Memory is an act of will."

Somehow, I think these two thoughts hold the key to life . . . even in 
the context of my struggle to make/understand/grow my own personal 
religious faith . . .

It has taken me a long time to begin understanding the second one - and 
I damn sure believe it rings truer every day  . . .

The first one is, to me, so mind-blowing that it probably will take me 
the rest of my lifetime (and, hopefully, beyond!) to fully understand 
the (potentially eternal!) power in those seven, simple words . . . come 
to think of it, seven is my favorite number, too! :)

Anyhow, lots of food for thought in these two items . . .

Thru-Thinker


> ------------------------------


> Jan wrote:



> or a discussion would ensue by the "AT Community") (what a joke)...


Not to pick on Roks, because this is a human condition and I need to 
hear this again as much as anybody, but we DO play a role in creating 
our own reality. I'm not particularly religious (tho I respect anyone 
actually living their creed of mercy, and not just mouthing empty 
words), but I have observed that "as ye sow, so shall ye reap" appears 
to be natural law, just as real as gravity.

Our expectations, the "story" we tell ourselves, do/does affect our 
perception of reality. Just look at thruhikers.

If one believes the AT community to be a joke, then all that will be 
observed is failures and inconsistencies. If one believes the community 
to be supportive and life positive, again, so it shall seem.
Perception is selective. Its seems to me, its alot about choice.

Just a good quote (below) to chew on that came across my desk this morning:

"...to make sense of our experience by creating a story is an essential 
human characteristic, and whatever story we tell at a given time 
reflects our level of consciousness. At one point we may tell a story of 
victimhood or revenge, and later one of compassion and empowerment.
It is the exercise, moment to moment, of free will, of doggedly looking 
for beauty, joy, and possibility, that offers us the greatest hope for 
generating stories that will contain the creativity and inspiration we 
need to solve otherwise insurmountable challenges."
 -- Nina Utne, UTNE Reader, May-June 2004, page 6

What story will we tell ourselves today? Hmmm?

ThereWasA"Not-So-Old"LadyWhoLivedInAShoe...





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