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[michael_arnold]

Thanks so much to everyone who had something to say about what I posted yesterday. There are so many discussions that I would love to carry forward with in the different threads, and it is reassuring to hear that the sentiments which I gave voice to are shared. Something is definitely "up". The question is - what to do about it

Comments

[thikstache]

I just started reading the posts between you and H and I am profoundly affected. It seems I have been feeling the same way, also and was blown away from reading this. I think tomorrow I will re-read your posts as I am looking for some guidance, also. And I think I need to give H a call tomorrow, so I can work out some time to give him a hug. Just wanted to let you know that you are not alone and I guess none of us are with our concerns on today's life. I am happy that we can share this with each other. Hugs.

[larsen_b]

Donald Shimoda... an old friend that I had all but forgotten. I miss the old Richard Bach.

The Bridge Across Forever helped shape my view of what relationships could/should be. That book gave me hope that one day I might find the real thing. I'll never forget the day he announced his divorce; kinda shattered the soul mate concept for me....

[apparentparadox]

Yep, I've made use of the Messiah's Handbook quite a bit. My favorite is "Live never to be ashamed if anything you do or say is published around the world -- even if what is published is not true."

When I think about giving up, I play the song "The Change" (sung by Garth Brooks, written by Tony Arata and Wayne Tester). The chorus goes like this:

And I hear them saying you'll never change things
And no matter what you do it's still the same thing
But it's not the world that I am changing
I do this so this world will know
That it will not change me

It helps to remind me that the only real failure for me would be if I stopped trying to be the kind of person that I know that I want to be. Maybe I'll never see concrete results of "good things" that I've done. But, I know that I've done them, and that I didn't let the world stop me from doing them. That's enough for me.

[michael_arnold]

Thanks for this. I've always held that the things we do that have the largest impact on the world around us are things we never realize had any impact at all. Sometimes, just living the life can have an amazing influence on society and mankind. Some people call it the Butterfly Effect, others watch "It's a Wonderful Life". The lesson is the same.

[apparentparadox]

For me, it's a little different. I'm not trying to think about whether the world cares about me being around at all. Even if I had incontrovertible proof that my actions would not make a change in anything (other than the way I feel about myself), then I would still feel that it was important to act the way that I do.

In "It's a Wonderful Life", George only considers his life "wonderful" because he thinks that he has made a positive impact on others (i.e. if he hadn't been born, the world would be a worse place). Imagine a different version where George gets shown an "alternate universe" where George Bailey was born, but just didn't care about others. When "our universe" George sees how "alternate universe" George turned out, then "our universe" George would realize that his actions were important -- because if he hadn't done them, then he would have become a person that he doesn't like.

Maybe it's a kind of Zen thing -- the whole world may be an illusion, but the way I feel about my own actions is still important to me.

[michael_arnold]

this is me, with my little, "devil's advocate" horns showing:

If George was shown an "alternate universe" where George Bailey was born, but just didn't care about others, then that wouldn't be George Bailey, and the point of the plot device would be lost. Following this idea further is giving me a headache, so I'm going to drop it.

My point is not to be concerned about whether the world cares if we are around or not, but to understand that our actions DO have an impact, and most often, we do not get to see the impact of the actions which effect the greatest change. Understanding that can help each of us to form opinions about our own actions with greater perspective.