Perception and Reality

So many times we use the cliche "perception is reality". Is this is true, then that means that everyone and every view is manifestly correct. Is this is true, then all versions of thought, belief, and ideology are accurate. But how can this be true? How can we say that one version of something is correct while another is wrong? How can it be that hatred of another's actions or belief system exists. If my perception is reality, and I expect to others to accept this, doesn't that mean that I am compelled to accept this axiom in others. But if I accept this for others, then does that then force a sense of acceptance for their beliefs? Or, does the discussion become even more circular - my hatred, my beliefs, my "right" way of perceiving is my reality, as it is for everyone else? Perhaps there is no way to hide behind our perceptions but to embrace some version of reality in order to continue evolving. Such musings probably of no benefit. These are just my perceptions and my reality, yours are probably different.

In Memoriam

There is no way to get over loss. I will always carry it with me. However, I find comfort in the words below.

Memorare Prayer

Remember oh Most Gracious Virgin Mary
That never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection ,
Implored your Help, and sought your intercession was left unaided.
Inspired with this confidence,
I fly to thee O Virgin of Virgins, My Mother !
To you I come, Before you I stand,
Sinful and Sorrowful.
O Mother of the Word Incarnate !
Despise not my petitions but in your Mercy hear and answer me.

The moment I let go it....

"The moment I let go of it was the moment I got more than I could handle."

The song lyric has always impacted me since I first heard it in 1998. Since that time I have really worked to live this comment. For me, it speaks to the habit of trying to force things in life, when the most rewarding things in life happen with an ease and a grace the belies the effort put into it. Most importantly, it reminds me to not waste my time and energy on petty and inconsequential things like worrying about keeping up with others or perceived slights or even hoping to be liked by others. I have learned that letting go of this type of comparison and judgment only enhances my sense of self worth and my actual worth. Learn to reject the traditional trappings and "comparison shopping" and redirect the focus inward. For me.. real happiness, more than I could handle, is the result.
I wish the same for you.

Getting what we want

Is getting what we want really what we want? I am doing some soul searching in order to find what I want. Everything I think I want requires me to do things I don't want to do. Is this the great paradox of adulthood? I am struggling with taking the action steps to get me where I want to go, so in the meantime, I waste time doing what it takes to get by. Oh well, I hope to shake off this cloak of easy but unsatisfying life activities and get to the hard but satisfying life.

Looking back and seeing the future

What a wonderful day spent today with my father. The day was spent looking back and when I did I saw the future. Visiting a grave is always a time for reflection and remembrance. My visit was the first to this grave and done at the request of another. What I did not expect was the glimpse into the future. Seeing it with such clarity was illuminating, disturbing, comforting and inexorable. Studying history helps to predict the future, immersing in the history casts the future. I am not ready for the future.