 |
|
|
 SEEDLINGS E
One can learn things in and through suffering that can never be learned anywhere else, and likewise with pleasure, but for me, what I learn from suffering far outweighs what pleasure has brought into my life and there has been MUCH of pleasure. The lessons learned are very different, but what suffering teaches speaks to the core of what we are made of, or what we can become, what we know of endurance, of creativity in the face of adversity, of facing our honesty and integrity, of daring to see our inner selves and what lies there. Pleasures cannot bring us to this place- they lift us to the heights of inspiration, laughter at the ridiculous and the absurdities of life, appreciation of true beauty. What pleasure captures for us in the lighter side of life is necessary, methinks, to acquire a balance. As I often say spiritually speaking, I really do not wish to be so heavenly minded I'm no earthly good. So bottom line now that my single little neuron is totally on its last firing wiggle, is that in the gestalt of life - both suffering and pleasure are allowed to bring balance into focus that we not only learn the sober serious lessons in the shadows, but that we also sit a while in sunshine and play. As Minna Antrim wrote: "Experience is a good teacher, but she sends in terrific bills". **************** Observing thousands of screaming, yelling, shouting teenagers at a rock concert the decible level of which almost equalizes that of the music blaring from the platform, the question arises in my mind - what exactly in teenage makeup, chemistry, world view or psychological functioning contributes to the hysterical, mob idolization and uninhibited abandonment at these gatherings ? Is the etiology of this contagious phenomenon isolated in the music, the performing stars, the ambiance of the setting, or is it found cultured only in the composition of teenage blood that their parents do not have their bedrooms wall papered with camera-captured images of long-haired, tattooed,multi-earringed groups, singers and bands their offspring will do nigh any chore suggested if they can attend a concert to see their heartthrobs in person? Or is it the lyrics that touch a core deep in a future adult that somehow resonates with their developmental stage - but if so, what was it they had before, that has now been replaced with hard rock, heavy metal, rap etc.,? Is this a sign of the cycle of society, the mind set of New Age, a change of basic values - what do you think has most influenced the advent of teen trends today? ************************* What do you suppose would happen in the world if no one wore different hats for wherever they might be, or according to with whom they keep company? The question includes then - who would be exposed to the world - in other words, who lies beneath the hats we don and the masks we wear ? If we are honest, and pleasant in general with a modicum of social skills, why do we NEED to change hats at all? Would the world be a better place for our being consistently one person? ************************ Honesty is all about admission, not omission. The truly honest person does not need to be told if they have hurt another's Hurt. Honest examination of ones words, tone, behavior and actions, will, if there is an honest conscience, be realized as failing in the Golden Rule of doing unto others as one would be "done by" - especially if the evaluation of something or someone is based on a judgment call founded in assumption. How often do we first bother to check out the validity of our statements and surmisings before making adamant assertions? It is in this omission that we need the admission of true honesty. I put "true" before honesty because I think there is a false honesty just as there are other false attributes such as false humility, false goodness and false compassion. It might not be too far fetched to say that ALL statements are either true or false? ( is this 'true' or ' false' ? a seedling to water here). The presence of true honesty in us will make itself known by our reaction to what is written above. If there is any feeling of discomfort, resentment, anger or retort, true honesty will admit the possibility of not wanting to take ownership for having perhaps indeed, hurt someone's Hurt. The familiar statement, " I was only being honest", or, " I was giving my honest opinion, if they can't take it or don't like it, that's their stuff not mine" raises the question in my mind as to whose " stuff" it really is? It is so easy to hold up a self-reflecting mirror and see another's face and not our own. It seems that the denial of being DIShonest is merely false pride of false honesty. The louder the assertion of ones honesty, the more it tells me that the speaker "doth protest too much". The seedling thought to water is this : I am speaking to the theme of this Book - You hurt my Hurt and the lack of ownership all of us sometimes seek to justify by defending our integrity under the guise of being honest. Is stating we were being honest in however the Hurt was administered regardless of the effect on the hurt recipient, being truly honest ? - or have we not looked at, for examples, whether we are seeking to prove a point, show our ability in detection, win an argument, retaliate or have some hidden agenda of our own that we have not been honest with ourself about - such as wanting to hurt the other person? OR, is true honesty admitting we are guilty of repeating Hurts and seeking to resolve the issues ? OR, is the being honest necessary ? Where hurt Hurts are concerned should one "leave well alone" and maintain ones "rightness" in the matter or do a little self-examination of ones personal contribution? What is the HONEST thing to do? **************************** What, I wonder, is the most common conversation topic brought up between those who cannot interact below a superficial level. Let us not use the weather, because I am speaking of a longer period than saying ," looks like there's a storm brewing ", or, " Nice to see the sunshine again", blah, blah. However, could the sad thought that there IS a demise of the inquiring mind have resulted in just such brevity of random conversations with ones neighbor or the stranger encountered in travel? It might be an exercise in curiosity to make a list of conversation subjects open-ended in such a manner as to allow for one itnerest to lead into another. Who knows, such a meeting of minds might produce a lifetime friend. ************************** How do you describe a radiant sunset to a person blind from birth or who is colour blind ? Similarly, how do you describe your favorite piece of music to someone deaf from birth ? ***************************** Is there anything, ONE thing, more valuable than peace of heart and mind and soul? ********************   | SEEDLINGS A | SEEDLINGS B | SEEDLINGS C | SEEDLINGS D | SEEDLING E | | THE HEALING PROCESS | DISSOCIATIVE IDENTITY DISORDER | POETRY | Biographical Entries | THE OTHER SIDE OF LIFE | STORIES FOR LITTLES (Pigmus and friends) | SEEDLING THOUGHTS TO WATER | |
||
