Disillusionment
If you think that happiness is a choice…
are naturally rewarded… that the good guys always win, and the bad guys always lose… that sincere prayers are always answered… that love conquers all… and that no one’s cross is ever too much to bear…
prepare yourself for a lifetime of disappointment.
The day will come… when you realize that bad things do happen to good people.
The day will come… when the horrors of reality become personal.
THIS is the real test of faith…
THIS is when the real choosing begins.
Existentialism Religion courage existentialism faith nirvana reality principle Religion suffering
Frank J Peter View All →
A uniquely burdened and blessed citizen of the world thinking and acting out loud!
Got a long time personal saying to go along with your meditation: “Expect the worst, you’ll never be disappointed.” Works for me!
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Thanks for sharing. Sadly, there is no shortage of reasons to be cynical and pessimistic, nihilistic even. For me, what happens between total resignation and living in a pollyannaish bubble is where life really happens and really matters.
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Even that may not be enough, as there can be something worse than the worst that we expect. Perhaps we should expect nothing?!
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To expect nothing I think is what I’d call impossible, at least as long as we remain a living part of life. I think all living things, one way or the other, live in expectation. Could we seek if we did not expect? Maybe it’s semantics, my personal understanding of the term, expect. When I use the word, I don’t mean entitlement, I mean finding the means to stay alive, and perhaps to better that life. If i have no expectation then how would I define being alive?
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Thank you, Sha’Tara. Perhaps an alternative is to expect the unexpected or to expect that the unexpected will invariably happen. Otherwise, or in addition, we can genuinely endeavour to understand what living (in the present or otherwise) means, and aspire to what such understanding and living entails, as I profoundly discovered and attempted a very thorough, multipronged and multidisciplinary investigation at https://soundeagle.wordpress.com/2013/03/18/soundeagle-in-best-moment-award-from-moment-matters/
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Jumping off!! It is hard to escape the misery we’ve often accepted as “just the way it is”. The difference between staying or leaving is a mere decision of beautiful consequence. Thanks Frank.
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Thanks for possessing the depth and sensitivity to get the point here, Jim. Your words are a perfect setup for the next meditation… coming soon. Thanks and peace, man.
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I like short and to the point. You do it very well. I like the intellectual stimulation but very short in time these days. Long posts are tough although I like them when my life isn’t so busy. Nice work.
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Thanks for digging my delivery, Jim. I do my best (and sometimes succeed) to distill pages into paragraphs, paragraphs into sentences, sentences into words, and words into silence… out of respect for my reader’s time, but especially out of respect for their intelligence… knowing that the people I really want to connect with… those rare and precious souls who “get it” will do more than just read. They will introspect, extend, and do. That’s for getting it, brother.
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