Quote:
Originally Posted by OlderWiser  No, you misunderstand me. I apologise if I was unclear. Let me put it another way.
I DO understand the principle at work here. It's very simple: Set a goal. Figure out how to achieve that goal. Work toward it until you achieve it (or until you give up and go another direction, I suppose). Voila. |
No need for apology. This is a free and open discussion with people who can accept differing views without judgement or criticism.
"S'all good."
But, I will take a second to follow up. I don't think I misunderstood you. I completely get that you feel you understand the cause and effect of hard work, planning, and self-actualization. Cool.
BUT, and this is just and idea, so try it on and see how it fits: What if there's more to it than you are seeing?
Let ME put it another way:
If you were a marionette - or something LIKE a marionette - and had been your entire existence, you would not necessarily recognize that you were such. You would see the strings that held you up as merely "how things were" or "A function of the physical universe, bound within the laws of science and nature". Unless the curtain somehow slipped or parted, and you suddenly saw the Puppet Masters, you could go your entire existence simply thinking the strings were there because they were there.
But if you DID see the curtain slip, what would you do? Probably run around and tell everyone you knew, "Hey... These strings...they're attached to something WAY bigger than us!" Maybe people would believe you, maybe they wouldn't. But in the end, it wouldn't matter, because YOU'D know what you saw.
But what if YOU didn't see the curtain slip? What if someone ELSE saw it? What if they came to you and said, "Hey, these strings...they're connected to something WAY bigger than we are!" Maybe you'd belive them.. maybe you wouldn't. You see, you could still explain everything that happened to you in terms of the world you had created for yourself and it wouldn't NEED to include some "mystical force" holding you up.
Of course, that wouldn't make the mystical force any less real...