Quote:
Originally Posted by Acting Like Godot  Let's say that today, it has affected them in X way. Well, in 20 years time, it could affect them:
(1) still in X way
(2) in Y way
(3) in Z way
(4) not at all |
Actually there are many more permutations, such as still in X way, AND in Y and Z way, leading to still other possibilities. Out of deference to Maguru's sensibilities I will refer to the original cause as simply "A".
But the fact is, every action has a reaction. X is a response to A. Y and Z will be responses to A, and/or to X, etc.
Let us focus just on X, the response to A. Is X a choice? Or simply the effect of a cause? I would assert, it's the latter.
Now ... it is possible for the impact of the original cause to fade, and X with it. It's also possible for it to get stuck in the hippocampus and orbit around there forever and become magnified, thus strengthening X and/or bringing about worse effects X2 or X3, etc.
You assert, if I'm not mistaken, that there are other effects of A that could be focused on. Call them F, G and H. They might be, "I am stronger", "I have an opportunity to help others who have experienced A", etc.
One could focus on F, G and H and this might (or might not -- who knows?) cause X to weaken or disappear altogether. And I would agree, that would be a generally Good Thing to do. Probably nothing to be lost in trying.
But, it's far from a done deal that F, G and/or H will gain strength and X will weaken. It depends on many things external to the will of the person who has experienced A. And my concern with LOA is that since it's a "law", this is the way the thinking of its adherents tend to run. Pull lever F on the candy machine and you get some result than cancels unwanted result X.
Often, I think that LOA has little sensitivity, mercy and understanding to offer those who are hurting the worst, especially coming from LOA practitioners who have not struggled with A or anything in its league. I don't blame people for feeling minimized or disrespected by the assertion that something horrific is a happy thought away from being neutralized.
(In)actions have consequences. Some of them are very bad. Some people will struggle longer and harder with those consequences than do others, and the variables are myriad and not limited to (for example) one's proclivities toward optimism or pessimism, or the level of intellectual or emotional rigor / discipline the person is capable of.
That brings me to my other concern about LOA. If everything is attracted to you by your thoughts, then why have any distaste or loathing for A or any other evil? Why seek justice, why guard against it, why have compassion, if it's truly generated by the victim?
Like Maguru, my "A" experience has completely changed me and has also at least temporarily diminished and degraded me. It's not all for the good. There are things broken inside me that may or may not ever be made "good as new". I'm not even sure that they should be fixed, or that there is any point in doing so. I have spent 14 months processing my "A" and some aspects of it are resolved and some are not, and some may end up being too big to be digested in my natural lifetime for all I know.
It's just the way it is. ♥♥♥♥ happens. It is true that some responses to A are better than others, and I have some choice in the matter. Emphasizing those choices is intended to help, but it needs to be tempered with compassion and understanding.
I'm not saying you're not compassionate or understanding. I actually think that you are. But I'm just pointing it out. LOA walks a fine line and can be a very elitist, inconsiderate or even mean-spirited tool in unwise hands.
Best,
--Bob