tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9075388423619128040.post2206808070897704932..comments2023-12-18T00:42:35.441-05:00Comments on Where's My Plan?: Opportunities for GrowthSherckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15365366144078711301noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9075388423619128040.post-29194074833053377362011-02-04T08:54:00.269-05:002011-02-04T08:54:00.269-05:00"I can never figure out how much of it is me ..."I can never figure out how much of it is me ... versus how much of it are these societal standards that were forced down my throat from a very young age." <br /><br />I hear you! Why do we like what we like and want what we want? It's a difficult knot to untangle, what's been conditioned into us and what we can authentically call our own--and of course, once you get through college, if you haven't done most of that sorting work, who has time in the midst of "real life" and "making a living"? <br /><br />Two side tracks off this question:<br /><br />First, there's an excellent fantasy series that, among the other things it does, builds off this idea: there's a secluded order of monks who strive to make themselves "unconditioned" so that they can follow Logos purely, without the obstacle that most humans face of being conditioned by "the darkness that comes before"--basically all the influences outside ourselves that condition us to be who we are. The first book, by R. Scott Bakker, is The Darkness that Comes Before.<br /><br />And then there's this poem by Rumi, translated by Coleman Barks:<br /><br />Who makes these changes?<br />I shoot an arrow right.<br />It lands left.<br />I ride after deer and find myself<br />chased by a hog.<br />I plot to get what I want<br />and end up in prison.<br />I dig pits to trap others<br />and fall in.<br /><br />I should be suspicious<br />of what I want.Sherckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15365366144078711301noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9075388423619128040.post-45122615229728704112011-02-04T01:30:11.362-05:002011-02-04T01:30:11.362-05:00I spend an inordinate amount of time resenting the...I spend an inordinate amount of time resenting the fact that I often feel as though I'm failing miserably at life and/or that there is something wrong with me because I'm not married and don't have children. I can never figure out how much of it is me - that fact that I want both of those things (I think) but feel at a loss as how to make them happen (okay, I know how to make KIDS happen, but hopefully you know what I mean) versus how much of it are these societal standards that were forced down my throat from a very young age.Hilaryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01777169829014328316noreply@blogger.com