"Life is lived forward, but understood backward. It is not until we are down the road and we stand on the mountain looking back through the valley that we can appreciate the terrain God has allowed us to scale.” Jill Savage

Thursday, April 02, 2009

Do we live as if we know we are going to die?

Sharon Salzberg: 'During difficult times we can learn to be present without feeling shattered.'

There is the story I want to tell you about is by Dr. Adler - it is the story of two men.

One man was a drunk, an alcoholic, he was dirty, and homeless. The other man had a successful career and family.

The homeless man stopped the business man one day and asked him for money. The rich man said, "Ill give you some money if you can tell me how you ended up like this."

The homeless man rolled his eyes and said, "If you knew my story and had lived my life, you'd have ended up like this too! My mother died when I was young. My father beat me. They came and took took all the kids away from him and put us in an orphanage. Then the orphanage burnt down and we all ran our separate ways. I haven't seen my brothers or sisters since."

The rich man said, "That is such a familiar story. Similar things happened to me when I was younger."

Well you can guess that the two men ended up figuring out they were brothers. One ended up successful, one ended homeless and bitter.

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How can two men with the exact same circumstances turn out so differently? Same thing happened to both, but both responded totally differently.

It's some thing to think about. It's about knowing you have the 'key' and being willing to work to use it.
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"A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write if he is ultimately to be at peace with himself. What one can be, one must be." ~ Abraham Maslow psychologist ~ "One can go back toward safety or forward toward growth."

Love,
Chatty

5 comments:

ClassyChassy said...

Great posting here! I have always known it to be true, because both my parents had sad upbringings. Their mothers died when they were infants, and while mom was raised by a step mom who disliked her, dad was raised by strangers who took him in for extra cash. Depression era, of course. They both didn't learn good parenting skills from example. They learned it because they wanted us kids to have what they did not have. They could have become a product of their raising, but they chose to be BETTER! Thanks for the great words today!

^..^Corgidogmama said...

Very good, thoughtful post today.
Food for thought for sure.
Hugs.

Olde Dame Penniwig said...

Now Chatty, here's where we differ. I don't see anything wrong with how the "bum" turned out. I wish for a happier life for him, but I respect his path. Being a "success" as defined by society is meaningless to me. The drunk may well be living his life closer to his true path. I can't judge either man.

Chatty Crone said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Chatty Crone said...

Classy Chassy,

I think you're saying that you admire yourparents for overcoming their parents. I hope some day my kids say that about me!

ODP,

I know what you mean. I agree. We don't all have to be sucessful like the world defines success.

Guess I didin't tell the story exactly right. The homeless man was extremely bitter about his life and what had happened to him. He let his life make him bitter, while his brother who had the same circumstances chose to have a more positive outlook.

I was talking more the condition of the soul.

CDM,
Hugs to you too.

That deleted post was mine - I had to re-do it.