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No more shoulds or imposed morality for me! Monday, Mar. 24, 2003 - 2:33 pm ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Well my "retreat time" was great. I didn't end up doing exactly what I intended, but I think what I did was more important. Most importantly were the two big realizations I had. Both are things I've been aware of for some time, but they seemed really clear suddenly. And I guess they're both related. First, very few things are good or bad in a moral sense. Ex: It is good for me to walk every day, BUT, it does not make me a good person if I walk every day, nor does it make me a bad person if I don't walk. Things mostly just are. Second, and also sort of therefore, there is no reason for me to live in a world of shoulds. There is really nothing I "should" do. There are things I want to do, and certain other things must often be done to make those first things happen. Sometimes a should can be ok in an if-then statement. "If I want to make more friends, then I should be friendly and meet people." That kind of thing is basically ok. But the kind of thing I usually say to myself is "I should walk today," with an implied "because if I don't I'm a bad person." I don't now nor have I ever thought of myself as a bad person, so why on earth am I always telling myself that if I don't do this thing I "should" do, then I'm bad. Whew! No more shoulds or imposed morality for me! Also I just have to say that the movie we rented yesterday, Keeping the Faith, was so very good. Surprisingly good even. I don't know if I've ever seen such positive views of people living religious lives. And in a very contemporary way.
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recent listening: jukebox recent reading: Manifest Your Destiny by Wayne Dyer; Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott; The Highly Sensitive Person's Workbook b recent viewing: Splendor; Better Than Chocolate; Keeping the Faith
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Crummy - Monday, Jul. 12, 2004 Can't Decide - Monday, Jun. 07, 2004 Letting Go - Friday, Jun. 04, 2004 Google 5 - Tuesday, May. 18, 2004 Before Tattoo - Wednesday, May. 12, 2004 older entries random entry profile * sign my guestbook* For a more complete view of my life, read these: live journal ~ gratitude journal DiaryLand |