Tuesday, May 3, 2022

Some Things I Have Learned - Excerpt

 In my book “The Divine Intention For Our Human Life” (ISBN# 978-0-9895428-6-9), the perspective is offered that the Purpose of our human life is to Learn. Learn as much as can be possible within one lifetime about all that makes up this miracle of Creation within which we exist … So it is worthwhile to periodically stop in the chaos and frenzy of our everyday life, look back on what we have seen, what we have experienced, and then examine more fully What We Have Learned on a broader, more general perspective … To that end, the following narrative identifies some of the Lessons I have been fortunate to learn over my current lifetime …

I – A Lifetime Journey

#1. Each of us walks a path that defines the spiritual journey of our life. Over time, we move from one stepping stone to the next, a series of adventures and milestones that constitute our life adventures. It is a path unique to each if us, though we likely encounter many companions along the way who appropriately fade in and out of our shared travels.

#2. Most of the stepping stones we walk seem to be haphazardly arranged, a series of disconnected, accidental, unexpected turns. Yet in fact the next stone in our sequence is the cumulative result of the many stones we walked before … If we take the time to map out the links and circumstances that have facilitated our journey to date, that map will reveal a far more connected and purposeful life than we might have assumed.

II – The Structures Of Human Life

#5. Every physical form that is, also exists in different variations within that form … This multitude of forms and their variations is purposefully meant to continually illustrate to us the vastness of all Creation, while demonstrating that life takes many forms, each acceptable in its own right …

#7. Conflict is an inherent part of life … Conflict challenges us to look beyond easy answers, but rather to look deeper into the source and impact of a given conflict, and then to reach deeper into our creativity and accumulated knowledge for how to resolve that conflict … This is to deepen our knowledge, notwithstanding the personal pain we may experience.

#8. We are formed by the union of a mother and a father. The result is that we are created both “male” and “female.” Each of us manifests our dual female/male characteristics in varying ways … Yet the male/female separation is simply for functional reasons, typically to facilitate some of how we will function in this lifetime, some of the roles we will play, and some of our life Lessons to be learned …

#9. We cannot change what has already happened. We can only learn from it, build upon it in our future actions. There is no backtracking, no undoing, no wiping the slate clean. There is only starting over from a new place, newly informed. We are best served by cutting our attachments to our past, but only after its Lessons have been learned.

12. We are given a full range of emotions to experience in our learning, arriving in sets of matched opposites. Love/hate … happiness/sadness; success/failure … joy/sorrow; confidence/fear … etc. Each partner in the match works together with the other so that we know both the context and depth of each, by which we ultimately come to appreciate the unity of the match itself.

III – The Search For Truths

#13. There is much for us to learn as human beings, over a vast subject matter we call “Life.” In one lifetime, we can only know and absorb a limited portion of all there is in Creation. Our “knowledge” … should be continually humbled by respecting how much we do not know.

#14. True wisdom is knowledge (facts) gained by observation, which generates thoughts (opinions) which are tested by experience, which are truly understood by reflection, which then becomes the basis for new observations. It is a never-ending, repeating cycle.

#16. A Truth is unending. The more we learn, more doors open for us as we revisit our Lessons and learn them even more deeply. We pursue Truth to learn “The Truth,” but our learning is never satisfied with a false completion. We would like to see Truth as a singular “final” outcome, but such outcomes are only temporary milestones of Wisdom. The pursuit of Truths continues.

IV – The Decisions We Make

#21. Our decisions often seem random and disconnected with each other. But if we trace them back, we are very likely to find a connected thread that ties them together. One decision leads to an action, which leads to another decision needing to be made, which leads to another action, which leads to another decision to be made, which … Our life is not lived in a straight line, but proceeds instead in a series of starts and stops, constantly changing direction.

#24. Decisions have an expiration date. A decision at a past point in time is not necessarily still an appropriate decision for today … We need to learn when to “cut bait” on a decision that once served us well, but no longer does so; when to let go of a prior decision and its resulting actions so that we can move on to our next awaiting adventure …

#27. Our resistance to Change is often overcome more easily when the topic becomes personal and directly relevant to us. When seeking change in others, sometimes we have to help the topic become personal and directly relevant to them in order to help motivate those individuals to join in the Change effort.

V – Living Our Life

#29. Our inherent inclination is to Love, but we are predominately driven in our actions by our Fears … Our fears come from the mental and physical pain we experience … in interacting with the overwhelming vastness and seeming superiority of all Creation.

#30. … Each human life reflects the sum total of one’s experiences, thoughts, opinions, interactions, and decisions, made over time, occurring within a particular geographical and community / cultural setting(s), synthesized in a mix unique to that individual.

#32. Our greatest opportunities in life usually lie outside of our current view. We can only see them when we open up to their possibility.

#35. I cannot save the world. I cannot “correct” all that I perceive is wrong in this world. Nor can I ease all of the pain and suffering I see in this world. But I can make a difference in some small part of the world, in some manner that is available to me … I should try.

VI - Relationships

#37. Treat others as you would want your son or daughter to be treated. Ill-treatments run on a circular track back to its perpetrator.

#39. …Very little of whatever success we have in our life is due solely and entirely on our singular efforts. … The “self-made man/woman” should be applauded for his/her accomplishments, but there are many fingerprints on their trophy.

#40. Every human being deserves our best thoughts, our compassion for what they are going through, whether or not their circumstances are visible to us. But their personal struggles do not give them permission to act in unilateral ways to the inappropriate detriment of others.

#42. Forgiving a person who has wronged us can be hard, but it is warranted for our own peace. Ultimately, their ill-considered actions toward us are best consigned to our past, lest we remain a prisoner locked within their deeds.

#44. Do what you say you will do. Keep your word. Be reliable. Those traits define character, and are foundational for successful human relationships.

#47. A well-stated message, to the right person, at the right moment, in a right context, free of any expectations, is often the best-said message.

#49. We cannot substitute our life and journey into another’s life. Each person must follow their own unique journey.

#51. To get, one must give. To be heard, one must listen.

*****

Some of the many Lessons learned. Yet so much still not fully understood. So many Lessons still to be learned from experiences had and to be had. The process continues.

“Nothing ever goes away until it has taught us what we need to know.”
Pema Chödrön, Buddhist Teacher

©   2022   Randy Bell                         https://OurSpiritualWay.blogspot.com