Life is what you think.
Really?
It certainly brings to mind a myriad of mind boggling befuddling questions, implications and ramifications.
“The Happiness Hypothesis” by Johathan Haidt made me think, not only on the surface of things but beneath things, deep in the core of things.
Do we create our own experiences? Hmmmmm….
I have to give some more thought to this concept.
Stay with me while I pontificate (sound off)….
I certainly agree to a degree as I can see the merits of this hypothesis as an adult. However, I question its premise as it applies to (children) the child I was who experienced things way beyond my control or thought processes, before I was cognoscente and conscious of being.
I suppose therein lays my resistance as I don’t believe that children in their age of innocence are responsible for what is visited upon them by adults.
Though…. I do agree that….
“What we are today comes from our thoughts of yesterday, and our present thoughts build our life of tomorrow: our life is the creation of our mind.” --Johathan Haidt
Maybe therein is the answer….Our thoughts,
While we may not be responsible for some of what happens to us, how we think of those experiences as it pertains to how we see ourselves, how we feel about ourselves, how we think of ourselves and whether or not we allow those things/experiences to determine our self-worth, our value, to impact our self-esteem that affects the way we love, honor and accept ourselves is the key.
Hmmmmm….
How wonderfully liberating and simultaneously horrendously terrifying the reality of that concept is, how many of you out there believe that to be true?
Are we as a society, as individuals ready or willing to believe, acknowledge, consider or even give voice to the possibility that we are, each of us implicitly responsible for our lives and the challenges, trials & tribulations that inevitable shape it?
Are we willing to embrace that, and if so, then what?
I believe the quote to be true, in a sense. We are definitely who we are because of yesterday, or our thoughts or remembrances of it anyway. I believe that what we will be tomorrow depends very much on what we experience and believe today. Who we are is much of how we experience today. However, our entire life would also be based on the experiences that we encounter during that journey. And they are not always things that we can control that come into our lives. However, what we choose to do with those things is in a sense up to us. There is another quote that says The kind of day you have is determined only 10% by what happens to you, and 90% by what you choose to do with it. I believe this to be true, and in so believing, I also believe that our life is not implicitly up to us, but that we do have a lot to do with it. Therefore, I would have to say that much of our life is determined by our mind. I do believe that the kind of people we become is up to us, and that has an awful lot to do with how our journey through life goes. Thanks for the thoughts to make us use those minds. I popped in here from Richards place. You have an interesting blog. I have enjoyed my visit, and will be back. Have a nice day.
ReplyDeleteJay
hmmmmmmm, very good points of analysis, thank you for your insight. In other words it comes down to choice how we choose to handle what comes our way determines the quality of life we have.
Deletehmmmmmm....
It may be partially true; maybe, it’s completely true. That’s human mind, confused about itself! :)
ReplyDeleteLife’s funny, I only know that.
Abraham Lincoln had once quoted- "Most people are as happy as they make up their minds to be." Now that’s true! And if this is true, then the quote mentioned in this post is also true. :)
Sorry about the loud thinking tht I did here! :)
Cheers,
Divoo
Loved the loud thinking, every point of view has value. \thank you.
Deleteif that were true, who would ever get an incurable disease?
ReplyDeleteAh Marcus, therein lies the rub.
DeleteOne may not choose to get an incurable disease however one can be subjected to another's selfishness/carelessness, now while it was not our choice to get said ID it is as Jay says what you do with said knowledge of affliction that will determine the quality of life one has from that point on.
I believe the quote, in my experience people often base their choices on their past thoughts. How we are brought up has a huge impact on how we react to things.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely, the past can greatly influence our future if we are not cognoscente that things that can be destructive to us and confront and unpack them. If no work is done then we will be operating on the pathology of how we were raised.
DeleteWe might not be responsible for what happens to us, but many times, we can control how the aftermath plays out. I'll say there's a grapple between life as it is and life as we say it is, and the latter matters a whole lot. We are stakeholders and what we say, think and do helps in shaping our reality. And I never ever rule out the God-factor.
ReplyDeleteGreat piece.... And thanks for stopping by my blog.
www.negrifille.blogspot.com
You are so correct Nazzy fantastic perspective,
DeleteIndeed God must always be a factor
Amen
Very thought provoking, as usual. Girrrl, you are so deep. While I agree with this basic premise, I have experienced life challenges and circumstances that were not a result of my thoughts. No matter how positive we are, life will deal us some mighty blows. I find myself constantly re-grouping and finding ways to navigate through this journey called life.
ReplyDeleteLove this post.
Yeah, i hear that, true, so true, sometimes the biggest challenges in life is navigating the sh*t/circumstances of others thoughts, words and deeds.
Deletethanks.
in some ways the it has some merit but I don't believe it is entirely true. Otherwise there are certainly some things individuals could have never conceived ever happening to them.
ReplyDeleteGood point....
Deletethat is part of my perspective as well, i see areas where we are accountable and areas where we are not yet still have to deal with the end result.
Mostly, we do I suppose. But sometimes we dont have choice in what we do. I learned it the hard way.
ReplyDeletehmmmmm.....
DeleteI think we always have a choice although at times we may not always feel equipped to utilize the choices we have yet we have them none the less.