Finding our way

The Meeting Place > Health & Wellbeing > Finding our way

4 yrs ago

Most organisms find their way by chance.
The chance sighting of some food, the chance of pheromones entering the sense organs, the chance of rain for germination, the chance of flying before dying. Even the chance on which we are all born form the genes of our parents.
Humans, on the other hand, believe they can remove chance from their existence. Prediction, possibilities, forecasting, future analysis, investment, prognosis; all suggest we can, in some way, know what is coming.
And when we fail we are surprised, shocked, disappointed, even offended by the ignorance of those who could not see the future.
Then we reflect. Where did we go wrong? What can we learn? What do we need to change? What might have been?
There is the lesson. We stand on the path and that’s as far as we can see ahead of us. We can look back and see how we got here. That is a fact. What lies ahead is chance.
Throw the dice now. Tomorrow the result will be different. Walk the path but never be sure of where you will end up. Take the surprise as a gift. That’s all we can do.

11 comments

The dingo

4 yrs ago

I went to a wake last week. A work colleague. He's from the US. He had died some 2 weeks earlier.

I met his mother. She seemed happy that I was there in spite of her not knowing who I was.

She shared with me her reason for Being in Australias. It was purely to attend her son's funeral and sort out his belongings.

"I was happily living my life and this happened", she said. "It interrupted my life and I had to put in on hold".

"Isn't this your life? " I enquired.

She looked at me intently, then said: "I suppose it is. Yes, it is my life, isn't it" and shook my hand softly.

Our life isn't a book written.

If t were compared to a book, who would want to know what was on the next page or chapter before it was reached. And would we tear out the pages we didn't like? Or not finish it because it was too 'real'?

All our lives finish in the same way. Death. It's probably a good idea to live each chapter as it comes.

Daisy

4 yrs ago

Yes live each chapter as it comes. Flow with it all and don’t avoid emotions. But avoid peeping at the last chapter before it comes...it’s the killer!

Daisy

4 yrs ago

PS. Love your contributions Td...:) because you are coming from your original self... not regurgitating info from the net, and seemingly not motivated by ego. You are interesting....

The dingo

4 yrs ago

Thanks, Ny19

i try. The stuff on the internet is already regurgitated for other sources.

Theres enough ideas out here in reality to keep us busy with new stuff. That’s where I go.

i know most of what I say isn’t new in its concept but I endeavour to phrase it in a way that makes sense to me. Being an ordinary bloke I’d expect it might help others with their own thoughts.

i try to keep to the facts. That’s not always possible. Then the truth, my truth, will have to do.

Theres no right way to run a life, except to keep running.

Suze

4 yrs ago

Image result for smiley running animated gif

Tanker

4 yrs ago

I try to follow a path that seems to be the best for me but occasionally something has greatly disturbed that path. At the time it has seemed to be something of a disaster but in reallity turned out to be much better than the path I was trying to follow.

I guess it could be fate that was taking me where I was intended to go even it was against my own intentions. Whatever it was I have in fact lived a life that has been full and very interesting. I don't tend to look back at what might have been but always look to the future and what that will bring. I do still try to have a very loose sort of a plan but then go with the flow.

Suze

4 yrs ago

It is good to see someone so content

Tanker

4 yrs ago

pedro the swift

4 yrs ago

My goodness, all these profound statements. Life don't have to mean a thing!

The dingo

4 yrs ago

So if you don’t give it meaning, Pedro, you might as well not have it.

at least let those that do something meaningful with what they have get on with it without you belittling them.

Leonie

4 yrs ago

I think it can be summed up in that well-known quote. I can't remember who it is attributed to, but it went something like this.

Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery and today is a gift. That's why we call it the present.

Not a bad way to look at life IMO. Our past shapes the person we have become at any given time of our lives, what's ahead is indeed a mystery and certainly, especially at my stage of life, I am just happy to still be around today to enjoy whatever the day brings even if it's only smelling the flowers.

Suze

4 yrs ago

Image result for animated smiley smelling flowers

I read that the quote was a rip-off of an Emily Dickinson poem:

Yesterday is History,
'Tis so far away -
Yesterday is Poetry -
'Tis Philosophy -

Yesterday is mystery -
Where it is Today
While we shrewdly speculate
Flutter both away

Sophie

4 yrs ago

"Finding our way" is a lifelong journey. People talk about finding their way all the time and yet most don’t really know what it means or why it matters..or not. In my humble opinion, there is no "one" way through life. If you have found your way, or think you have, that’s where your adventure ends. What else is there to find out? Being a curious person myself, something instilled in me by my parents, I guess my way is made up of a delightful maze! I don’t even know exactly who I am..on a regular basis I find out something new and I frequently wonder.. where on earth was I that I didn’t discover this before!

One thing though, never underestimate the importance of relationships for they have a big impact on our wellbeing..examine whether you're spending time with people who you value and who value you..whether you’re in the half empty glass crowd or the half full living in the moment group. I personally don’t believe it’s possible to find one’s way in the company of negative individuals.

Psychologist and author Albert Bandura has done a considerable amount of research around what he calls self-efficacy, meaning : a strong sense of self. He makes a specific connection between a weak sense of personal significance and depression. A person without a strong sense of identity tends to suffer from many debilitating illnesses.

I have always taken this thought on board...our true self does not come from our outer-life. It comes from our inner-life. If the inner-life is cherished, then the outer life becomes a breeze.

Shetso1

4 yrs ago

So Sophie what’s this Bandura bloke saying? That some people suffering from debilitating illnesses got them because they haven’t got a strong sense of identity?

Strewth talk about a simplistic solution to a complex problem! Hell there’s even an inference of blame and harsh judgement in such thinking, a sort of ‘pull yourself together and make yourself ‘personally significant’ and just get on with being a self-aggrandising Pollyanna and your motor neurone will go away’! - Given ‘motor neurone disease’ would surely rank by every measure as a debilitating disease? Almost as though debilitating illness can be traced to some sort of inherent character flaw or weakness...

I’m not a doctor but realistically there would have to be many reasons for many debilitating illnesses eg. Parkinson’s, schizophrenia, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, all sorts of cancers and the list goes on and on - genes, lifestyle, environment etc. etc. surely these factors may come into play, and struggle with the generalistic notion that

“A person without a strong sense of identity tends to suffer from many debilitating illnesses”.

Took you 7 hours to write that??? Sophie's gone on her long weekend jaunts, won't be able to reply until next Tuesday. Meantime go out and

Image result for animated smiley smelling flowers (borrowed from Suze)

Shetso1

4 yrs ago

Well no Abe I haven’t been hanging around the Forum for the past 7 hours in fact only looked in for a read about 15 minutes ago.

How strange you would think someone would hang around a forum for 7 hours trying to respond to Sophie’s comment.

Shetso1

4 yrs ago

Still mulling on the ‘Finding my Way’ bizzo.

Four weeks is a long time to "mull" LOLOL

Lucca