“Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric.” ~Bertrand Russell
Recently I find myself reading the newspaper and coming across stories that just don’t make any sense. Sometimes the stories are so ridiculous I would swear it’s out of a movie. I’ve sometimes thought of writing into a paper and letting them know what I think of their poor coverage of a story or their clearly biased point of view. But I never have. I worry that my opinion will offend people.
Even in everyday life I feel like I may be too opinionated and I wonder if I’m too confrontational, if I should let things go more often. Today I was watching “What Would You Do?”– a hidden camera show that uses actors to set up strange but realistic scenarios and watches how bystanders react. It’s a psychology experiment/reality show and as with many psychology experiments it’s appalling and sometimes shocking how people react to the scenarios (for other examples of such results see Bystander Effectand The Stanford Prison Experiment).
And it reaffirms my need to express my opinions. I share only in the hopes of sharing what little I may know and I am always open to dialogue and an exchange of opinions. I have never been one to shy away from a discussion and have often spent hours talking to friends about politics, religion, philosophy etc. I have many friends with different experiences and therefore different perspectives. Whether you agree with me or not, I enjoy hearing what others have to say. Acknowledging that I don’t know everything helps me keep an open mind so that I’m able to try and understand as many points of view as possible. I find it easy to play the Devil’s Advocate – in fact it’s hard for me not to. Some people may think it’s best to keep their opinion to themselves and avoid potential confrontation. Me, I would rather question things too often rather than not enough. And on those occasions when I have witnessed injustices like the ones set up by “What Would You Do?” I have often interfered where others may have just walked away. Some people think it’s best to mind your own business. I think sometimes it’s necessary not to. But, that’s just my opinion.
“People do not seem to realize that their opinion of the world is also a confession of character.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
*Written September 4th, but I didn't get around to posting it.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Time is an Illusion
“When I was young I was sure of everything; in a few years, having been mistaken a thousand times, I was not half so sure of most things as I was before; at present, I am hardly sure of anything but what God has revealed to me.” ~John Wesley
Everything happens for a reason. It's such a simple thought but something that I didn't understand for the first 27 years or so of my life. Every moment, every thought, every breath, every person, every THING in my life has a reason for existing. There are times when I forget this and when things begin to get complicated again.
But I remind myself that the universe has a plan, God has a plan and I'm too small to see even a portion of that plan. I remind myself that the past doesn't exist - it's over, it's not anywhere except in my mind, in our memories. I remind myself that the future doesn't exist - at any given time there are infinite futures and until the present moment and all it's choices are over, no future is even guaranteed. So the only thing that exists is now. The moment that we are living is the only thing that actually exists.
I want to enjoy the moment. I want to BE IN the moment. So I remind myself to feel it, to breathe (in for 5, hold for 5, out for 5), to BE the moment. And even as I remind myself I see the other me watching - the me that is outside the moment, always thinking, always worrying, always planning, always, always, always.
I hope one day I won't have to remind myself. That I will learn to forget that anything other than now has ever been.
“In rivers, the water that you touch is the last of what has passed and the first of that which comes; so with present time.” ~Leonardo da Vinci
Everything happens for a reason. It's such a simple thought but something that I didn't understand for the first 27 years or so of my life. Every moment, every thought, every breath, every person, every THING in my life has a reason for existing. There are times when I forget this and when things begin to get complicated again.
But I remind myself that the universe has a plan, God has a plan and I'm too small to see even a portion of that plan. I remind myself that the past doesn't exist - it's over, it's not anywhere except in my mind, in our memories. I remind myself that the future doesn't exist - at any given time there are infinite futures and until the present moment and all it's choices are over, no future is even guaranteed. So the only thing that exists is now. The moment that we are living is the only thing that actually exists.
I want to enjoy the moment. I want to BE IN the moment. So I remind myself to feel it, to breathe (in for 5, hold for 5, out for 5), to BE the moment. And even as I remind myself I see the other me watching - the me that is outside the moment, always thinking, always worrying, always planning, always, always, always.
I hope one day I won't have to remind myself. That I will learn to forget that anything other than now has ever been.
“In rivers, the water that you touch is the last of what has passed and the first of that which comes; so with present time.” ~Leonardo da Vinci
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