The limitless potential of possibility

The Universe is made of existence and non-existence,
interaction and change.
It cares not for the aspirations of man,
nor of his vanities, nor love of money.

The rules of the Universe provide the potential for utterly limitless creation…
this is the limitless potential of possibility!

The Universe expresses itself through form, radiation, life and constant change,
…and in one form of life, it even has the ability to look back on itself,
and that form once said:
“Life is the means by which the universe understands itself.” – Brian Cox

The importance of remembrance

It is, with mixed feelings, that I join in with the annual two minutes of remembrance for the fallen.
Not mixed as to whether it is something I should or shouldn’t do, but feelings that arise when witnessing during those two minutes, the amount of people that cannot be bothered to inconvenience themselves for just two minutes a year!
If they say that they forgot, then that is simply not acceptable. All it takes is to set an alarm!

However, that aside, the mixed feelings come from the respect I hold for those who gave, and those serving today that have placed themselves in a position where they are willing to give their lives for the protection of our current (mostly) free lifestyles… and the fact that people are forgetting.
It is very good that there are huge numbers that do not forget. But I can’t help but wonder if equally, it is good that it is fading from the collective memory so that many do forget to remember.
By this I mean that the lifestyle we can lead now is partially (maybe more than we realise) as a result of those gave their lives, and because we can forget, means that they were successful in their aim; to fight for the freedom that they wished for their children and grandchildren – us!

Ask yourself a question: if it had been you, would you prefer that they forever remembered that you failed in your task to save the future; or would you prefer that the world they lived in was good enough to be able to forget your sacrifice?

Buckets of gold

Whilst on a recent short holiday with my 7yr old son, we were talking about why I try to be always busy doing things I enjoy. Why I want to try everything, to experience everything.
To attempt to get the message across, I decided to try to paint an analogical picture in his head.
I said “Imagine that you are given the opportunity to go into the greatest gold mine ever. Where the nuggets are so abundant that they are just lying around on the floor. You are given a bucket and told that you are allowed to take as much as you like up to the limit of what you can fit in the bucket.”

I then turned to look him in the eye to say “Wouldn’t it be a shame if you only partially filled that bucket?”
He looked at me, grinned, and with a quizzical look on his face said “I don’t know what you’re talking about…! ”

Ha!  I had to laugh…!  At times I have to remind myself that he is still only 7…

For those who aren’t following… the gold mine is your opportunity to enjoy life, filled with opportunities of true richness (the nuggets of gold), given by whatever creator you believe in.
The bucket is the memories of the good times of your life that you will look back on when lying on your death bed.

Now, I don’t know about you, but when I reach my death bed, I want my bucket to be overflowing!

Lessons in life echoing backwards through time

I am driven by the old man in me,
the old me looking back in time to now,
guiding me every day,
showing me what I should do to become the man I wish to be.

The old man in me is an octogenarian marathon runner,
the oldest rock-climber, and experienced adventure racer,
the one who shows others what is possible, if every day you live to ensure
that you are still capable of doing what you could do yesterday.

The old man in me speaks of fond memories of past accomplishments,
and of the things that he wished he’d done… not regrets; just simply because he didn’t have the time!
He warns me of how short life is, and of how I will never get the time to do everything I dream of.
“Choose your goals well, but never give up on the dream.” he says…

The old man in me speaks of people I’ll lose in life: of how I’ll be witness to the results of poor lifestyles,
and the realisation that a rich lifestyle comes not from wealth, but from living life chasing dreams!
He shows me that to reach my goals, it is me that must look after me… and that I will become what I practice the most.
…hmm, I wish I didn’t practice sitting down in an office so much!

At nearly 40 years old, I look forward in time to my old self, pleased to see what I could become.
Pleased that today, I already fulfil some parts of what I wish to be.
Life is a journey. But it is a journey to becoming old; at the end looking back over the journey to remember the best bits.
Choose your goals well, for the destination of your life’s journey is in the memories of what the old you will look back upon.

When I reach my death bed, I hope that I will be able to smile and say “Wow. What a ride!”

Is forgivness a good thing or not?

‘Forgiveness’ is the most natural of human instincts… or so was said in the film Revenge ‘.

This phrase made me think of the ‘survival’ bandwagon that we each so easily jump on.
Why should we forgive, when in survival terms it means forgetting the reasons we were first in rejection of that which guided us away from harm?
I’m intrigued by this thought, so ‘answers on a postcard’ please !

Discovering the existence of my true inner nature

There is an idea, accepted by some, that says that we are each created for a purpose.

Personally, I entertain a version of this idea in that we are not so much created for a purpose, but that we each have an ideal position / environment / social position (or something of this sort…) that we are each individually best suited to. Note: not created!
(See my version of the Buddhist’s ‘Original Face’.)

On the way to work this morning, I suddenly realised something that supports this idea of mine.
I realised that in looking back on some questions I remember asking my Dad as a child, the questions were coming from the same place as they do today; 30 years later.
They were / are a reflection of a certain type of enquiring mind, but one that as a child was nowhere near finding itself (definition: learning of its own nature).
Over recent years, I have, most definitely, discovered a lot about me; about who I am, and what makes me tick.
I have learned a lot about my strengths and weaknesses, and of how my history has influenced who I am today.
And now, I have just realised that even in following this long path of self-discovery, it is only now that I am discovering that I am still the same person I was when I was asking my Dad certain types of questions all those years ago.

So, I might ask myself:   “What has changed in that time?”
In answer:   “Not a lot!”

But now it seems that the inevitable direction my life was to take, was pre-determined by my make-up; by my core ‘harmonies’ that make me who I am. Like a graphic equalizer running on 1 million channels, its default position was set at the point at which I became me; at the point where I changed from being a little ball of flesh to being a growing human being.
(I wonder… was that before or after the brain started to develop in the womb?)

Granted, I know a lot more. I am able to look after myself in physical, emotional, financial and professional terms.
But my nature hasn’t changed one bit.
I am what I am.
I am only a more mature version today.

The process of self-discovery,
at first directs you away.
In the years that follow, of re-covery,
you will re-find your self one day.

Living for the moment

There is a school of thought that says that we should ‘live for the moment’ or ‘live for now’.
I come from such a place myself, spent over seven years there, but some time after leaving I realised that living in this way, in today’s world, is not the be-all and end-all… and perhaps is actually no longer the right way for today.
The school of thought I used to be such an advocate of was a Martial Art system that would sell itself as a Warrior school. In this, it would not only teach the physical movements of self-defence, but also taught Eastern style philosophical lessons that changed the way a person views the world.
As it was a Japanese based system, it had all the hallmarks, intentionally, of following the Samurai Way – Bushido.

In the age of the Samurai, at its peak, Japan was a seething mass of feuding clans, each led by their respective Shogun’s (leader, king, lord, etc). It was a time when the Warrior ruled, and all other lifestyles were a lesser class.
In such a world a Samurai Warrior would train their minds to understand that death could come at any moment. In fact, they would engender the internal condition of living as if their death had already occurred!
The idea behind this is that if on the battlefield a warrior is trying to perform the task expected of them to the highest ability, and is also trying to stay alive, then there would be a conflict of interests – i.e. how can they possibly best serve their lord if they are in fact thinking of themselves! It was considered the highest honour to die in battle in the name of their lord and clan.
(The book Hagakure is a wonderful reflection of the mindset of this time. Written by a Samurai around 350 years ago in a time of relative peace, it is a collection of thoughts, experiences and incidents over a seven year period.)
In a world such as this it is easy to understand how ‘living for the moment’ could be a very necessary way of dealing with such a life… there was a very real possibility that you may not be alive the next day.

Fast forwarding to the reality of today; for the very large majority of us, the way we live now, and the environment we live in, means that there is a very high chance of being around tomorrow, the next day, next week, next year, and so on right up to a ripe old age (errrmm…unless you, the reader, have already reached that ripe old age… in which case I would suggest starting to think like the Samurai – live for today!).
However, the lessons of ‘living for the moment’ are still as valid as they have always been. It’s just that we live in a more complicated world now, so its application cannot be so all-encompassing.

As a result of this change in mindset, I now say:

‘By all means, live for the moment, enjoy the ‘now’. But don’t forget to plan for tomorrow… you’ll probably still be here!’

Every single day is special

Every single day is special, no matter how unremarkable the events.
Each day, minute, or second, can only be experienced once… never to be repeated.

– July ‘12

Are your beliefs valid…?

To prove one’s beliefs valid, great effort should be put forth into disproving them.

Purpose found

Purpose in life can be found through finding purpose in death.

(By this, I mean that if one finds something that they consider is worth enough, that its ideals are worth dying for, then they will have found their true life’s path.)