The truth of the matter is that the
overwhelming majority of people are neutral/ benign towards us. This is a fact.
I am 46 years old. This means I have been on this planet for about 17000 days. I have encountered hundreds of thousands of people from 4 different continents over the course of this time. The fact that I am alive and thriving, is testament to the fact that by far the overwhelming majority of people I have encountered have been neutral/ benign towards me. It would have taken no more than a handful of them to overpower me and take my life. But it hasn't happened.
This is not accidental. The Design that supports life in my body and on earth is the same Design that accounts for this experience.
Not only that -- everything from the air I breathe to the food I eat, to the clothes and shoes I wear, the house I live in, the transport I use to get around -- almost every single thing comes from other than me. My nourishment comes from the earth. All manufactured things and artifacts are made by other than me to serve me. I don't grow my own food and bring it to market. I dont grow the cotton, weave it or sew it to wear. I have not constructed the house I live in or made the car I am driven around in. Without the totality of the other (which includes other people), I cannot exist.
I am 46 years old. This means I have been on this planet for about 17000 days. I have encountered hundreds of thousands of people from 4 different continents over the course of this time. The fact that I am alive and thriving, is testament to the fact that by far the overwhelming majority of people I have encountered have been neutral/ benign towards me. It would have taken no more than a handful of them to overpower me and take my life. But it hasn't happened.
This is not accidental. The Design that supports life in my body and on earth is the same Design that accounts for this experience.
Not only that -- everything from the air I breathe to the food I eat, to the clothes and shoes I wear, the house I live in, the transport I use to get around -- almost every single thing comes from other than me. My nourishment comes from the earth. All manufactured things and artifacts are made by other than me to serve me. I don't grow my own food and bring it to market. I dont grow the cotton, weave it or sew it to wear. I have not constructed the house I live in or made the car I am driven around in. Without the totality of the other (which includes other people), I cannot exist.
I am
because you are. How can you be hostile to or in opposition to me?
In terms of personal trauma and bad experiences -- first of all, if we're alive that means that there was more affirmation than negation. Just factually. Secondly, over time (not immediately) it becomes possible to see how that which appeared initially to be a catastrophe has helped us grow. This is the work we have to do deliberately so we see that even in the apparent curse, there has been and there is blessing.
This doesn't mean that we take stupid risks with ourselves. If I put my hand in the fire, it will burn. If I jump off a cliff, I'll break my bones. This doesn't mean existence is malevolent.
We do the work to apprehend existence correctly.
And why should we do this work?
Because living a life of fear and anxiety makes us miserable and alienated.
image with gratitude via Ozcan Erturn on facebook
In terms of personal trauma and bad experiences -- first of all, if we're alive that means that there was more affirmation than negation. Just factually. Secondly, over time (not immediately) it becomes possible to see how that which appeared initially to be a catastrophe has helped us grow. This is the work we have to do deliberately so we see that even in the apparent curse, there has been and there is blessing.
This doesn't mean that we take stupid risks with ourselves. If I put my hand in the fire, it will burn. If I jump off a cliff, I'll break my bones. This doesn't mean existence is malevolent.
We do the work to apprehend existence correctly.
And why should we do this work?
Because living a life of fear and anxiety makes us miserable and alienated.
image with gratitude via Ozcan Erturn on facebook
