Thought for the day
You are a child of the Universe, no less than the moon and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the Universe is unfolding as it should.
Ehrmann, Max
Humans are strange creatures. For all our supposed intelligence we spend an awful lot of our time looking back and dwelling on the past, or looking forward and wishing on the future when we really should be looking at the here and now. We cannot change the past so why dwell on it? After all, it defines who we are as we are the sum of our actions and to deny our past is to deny ourselves. Wishing away our lives serves no benefit, you are better served expending the effort in positive action to make the desired outcomes a reality.
Unhappiness come from wishing for unobtainable things: wishing a loved one were not dead; wishing someone would love you; wishing for more money; wishing for some gadget or luxury. Happiness comes from acceptance. Take the good from everything, learn from your experiences. The Universe is unfolding as it should. Don’t fight it.
[Heavy weekend, heavy post but there are a few of you out there who could benefit from it.]
Nah, I don’t buy this. Happiness is fleeting. Acceptance on it’s own is bad, without wanting more or better, we don’t move on. Looking to the past is important so we know we’ve moved on. Or if we haven’t we can learn why.
Without drivers to progress, we just stagnate, in which case we might as well not be here.
The universe won’t care eitherway - it probably hasn’t even noticed we’re here.
Looking to the past is fine, dwelling on it is counterproductive. Striving to improve is fine, idly wishing things will change won’t work. By acceptance I mean accepting what has passed because we no longer have any control over it, you can only learn from it.
According to this, a new universe might have been created in my airing cupboard this morning without me even noticing.
Quite concerning.
So you must not be frightened if a sadness rises up before you larger than any you have ever known, if a restiveness, like light and cloud shadow passes over your hands and over all that you do. You must think that something is happening with you, that life has not forgotten you, that it holds you in its hand; it will not let you fall.
Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926)
Source: Letters to a Young Poet (Vintage)
I’ve read, understood and noted!
Hmm, well two things occur to me, how do we know that the Universe is unfolding as it should? What if the driver is asleep?
But more seriously, it’s all good until the last two sentences. Hearing Universe I’m getting an echo of God, and not fighting him. Do I have to have faith in a greater entity to take the good from everything and learn from my experiences? I think not. In fact, my experience tells me that the universe is a completely messed up place, but really, does that matter so much?
No believing required. Would you tell me to fight my redundancy? No, because there’s no point. No point dwelling on it (why did I loose my job?), no point wishing (Oh, I wish I had a new job, I wish I didn’t have to find a new one), instead concentrate on the here and now, discover my options and take some time off to rest.