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gettinjiggywithit
jiggy
Registered: 07/20/04
Posts: 7,469
Loc: Heart of Laughter
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Choices-Inspirational
#4208078 - 05/22/05 08:59 PM (18 years, 10 months ago) |
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Found this at another forum. It's a good read about choices!
John is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!" He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, John was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.
Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up and asked him, "I don't get it! You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?" He replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or ... you can choose to be in a bad mood. I choose to be in a good mood." Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or...I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or... I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life. "Yeah, right, it's not that easy," I protested. "Yes, it is," he said. "Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live your life." I reflected on what he said. Soon hereafter, I left the Tower Industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.
Several years later, I heard that he was involved in a serious accident, falling some 60 feet from a communications tower. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, he was released from the hospital with rods placed in his back.
I saw him about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied, "If I were any better, I'd be twins Wanna see my scars?" I declined to see his wounds, but I did ask him what had gone through his mind as the accident took place.
"The first thing that went through my mind was the well-being of my soon-to-be born daughter," he replied. "Then, as I lay on the ground, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or...I could choose to die. I chose to live."
"Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" I asked. He continued, "..the paramedics were great.
They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the ER and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read 'he's a dead man.' I knew I needed to take action."
"What did you do?" I asked.
"Well, there was a big burly nurse shouting questions at me," said John. "She asked if I was allergic to anything. 'Yes, I replied.' The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, 'Gravity.'"
Over their laughter, I told them, "I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead." He lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude... I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully.
Attitude, after all, is everything. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." After all today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.<<<<<
-------------------- Ahuwale ka nane huna.
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Zero7a1
Leaving YourWasteland
Registered: 10/23/02
Posts: 3,594
Loc: Passing Cloud
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Pretty good wisdom there. But i have a few problems with it. Life isnt always about making choices, its about accepting things too, knowing that you have no choice in the things that are. How you deal with the things that you can choose to do has a lot of factors.
Many people cant choose to live or die, when they are terminally ill, it is just a fact of science. Many people cant choose to live when they are shot in the chest, nature takes its course.
Its easy to say that some things you can choose to react to, or choose to feel bad when you wake up. But there are some things in life, that no matter how much you want to think you can choose on how you will feel, you will still feel solidly in one way. Which i think is a good thing... you cant be in a good mood all the time, i dont think its healthy.
If we reacted to everything in our life with a good spirit, so many "evil" people would make their way with us.
But what ive come to realize as the hardest thing to do is, is to knwo when i have a choice, and knowing when i dont.
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Icelander
The Minstrel in the Gallery
Registered: 03/15/05
Posts: 95,368
Loc: underbelly
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Re: Choices-Inspirational [Re: Zero7a1]
#4208162 - 05/22/05 09:21 PM (18 years, 10 months ago) |
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Well you always have some kind of choice. It just may not be the choice of your choosing.
-------------------- "Don't believe everything you think". -Anom. " All that lives was born to die"-Anom. With much wisdom comes much sorrow, The more knowledge, the more grief. Ecclesiastes circa 350 BC
Edited by Icelander (05/22/05 09:21 PM)
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gettinjiggywithit
jiggy
Registered: 07/20/04
Posts: 7,469
Loc: Heart of Laughter
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Re: Choices-Inspirational [Re: Zero7a1]
#4208258 - 05/22/05 09:44 PM (18 years, 10 months ago) |
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There it is in action. Yes, you can't choose many things but you can always choose how you respond to them, how you look at them. You can even choose to respond to them from the negative and choose to see virtue in it.
That is how powerful choice is. No one said you had to use it to be positive or look on the bright side all of the time. The real point is that it is there for you to use how ever you want it to serve you. If looking at the dark side serves you, you can choose that. If choosing a dark attitude serves you, you can choose that.
I don't think this guy was saying that his choosing to live allowed for him to live when he was suppose to die. I think all he was choosing was to co-operate with the saving and healing of his life.
I think the world programing has our choosing to look on the dark side programmed into auto pilot. We forget it is a choice and we can choose to see other sides of something any time we want to. We just have to choose to want a different experience first.
Same goes with when I am positive viewing 24/7 I sometimes choose to see the dark side of something just to break it up.
-------------------- Ahuwale ka nane huna.
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Zero7a1
Leaving YourWasteland
Registered: 10/23/02
Posts: 3,594
Loc: Passing Cloud
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I think this point has been brought up before, and what you say I think is a very important factor in ones life and how one can really choose to make things for better, or not. ______ What in the case of a manic depressive, or a psychosphrenic? They cant choose how they react, they just do. Their biological systems have already engrained in them a response due to certain levels of chemicals in the brain. But thats a different topic all together, and ill leave it at that.
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JacquesCousteau
Being.
Registered: 06/10/03
Posts: 7,825
Loc: Everywhere, Everytime.
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Right on. I've had the same conversations with a number of people. The look of bewilderment on their face right before they completely deny that these choices exist is always amusing...
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egghead1
Nakedly Open
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Yes, this is good, we can't always control what manifests, but we where our power lies is in our attitude and reaction toward whatever manifests. This is a very important point that everyone can contemplate and integrate.
-------------------- All you need is Love! Really thats it! Infinite Unconditional Love! Just develop that and all else will fall into place perfectly!
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BlueCoyote
Beyond
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Posts: 6,697
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Re: Choices-Inspirational [Re: egghead1]
#4209755 - 05/23/05 11:36 AM (18 years, 10 months ago) |
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Yeah. I am no person of many words, so I only can say: What or who else has the ability to make choices/decisions more then we here ?
Humans, use your choice !
Every consciousness is a decision-atom in the multiverse !
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Gomp
¡(Bound to·(O))be free!
Registered: 09/11/04
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sweet!
hehe
-------------------- -------------------- Disclaimer!?
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Swami
Eggshell Walker
Registered: 01/18/00
Posts: 15,413
Loc: In the hen house
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He replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or ... you can choose to be in a bad mood.
Maybe, maybe not. Moods have MUCH to do with levels of serotonin and other neuro-transmitters. People are generally known to be more grumpy when sick or tired. Now why is that, if it is all choice?
"My entire family was wiped out by the tsunami? NP. Look at that glorious sunset!"
Uh-huh...
-------------------- The proof is in the pudding.
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BlueCoyote
Beyond
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Re: Choices-Inspirational [Re: Swami]
#4209949 - 05/23/05 12:38 PM (18 years, 10 months ago) |
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It's about internal and external changes and the intercorrelations between them
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SneezingPenis
ACHOOOOOOOOO!!!!!111!
Registered: 01/15/05
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Re: Choices-Inspirational [Re: Swami]
#4209956 - 05/23/05 12:39 PM (18 years, 10 months ago) |
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yeah..... that is just plain dumb swami. We are just a product of chemicals in our brains, I like that.... that way, no one ever has to take responsibility for anything they do.
I was just waiting for your reply, I knew you of all people would have a huge problem with this thread. Your just a pessemist drowning in a half empty tub with the line of logic you have going.
People are grumpy when they are sick or tired because the world at that time doesnt have enough pity for them. Yeah, what if your family was wiped out by a natural disaster, like sitting around being angry is going to do anything? why not look at the sunset and reflect on the positive part , maybe you wont be jolly enough to buy the house a round of drinks, but wallowing in self pity is only gonna get you a lot of tissues and maybe a good pity hand-job.
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Swami
Eggshell Walker
Registered: 01/18/00
Posts: 15,413
Loc: In the hen house
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yeah..... that is just plain dumb swami. Yup, that is me, the Mensa retard.
We are just a product of chemicals in our brains, I like that.... that way, no one ever has to take responsibility for anything they do. Nice dishonest changing of the words to attempt to make a point. But how about this? I will wager my usual $20,000 that sleep deprivation can seriously and negatively affect your mood.
Note to audience: like all the other bluster over the last five years, he will sputter, but refuse to accept the challenge. If I am so in error, why has no one yet picked up the gauntlet?
-------------------- The proof is in the pudding.
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Veritas
Registered: 04/15/05
Posts: 11,089
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Re: Choices-Inspirational [Re: Swami]
#4210416 - 05/23/05 02:25 PM (18 years, 10 months ago) |
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My personal research into neurochemistry confirmed for me what I had suspected--that our brains are highly influenced by chemical changes. However, the question remains: do we create or exacerbate the chemical changes with our habitual reactions to those changes?
For example, when I am sleep-deprived, I will typically have a short fuse. I know this about myself, so I watch my reactions more carefully.
I ask "Is it reasonable to freak out over potato chip crumbs on the sofa? Would I have freaked out yesterday after 8 hours sleep?" Before I learned how much influence I had over my own reactions, I would have flown off the handle and yelled at the potato-chip culprit.
Similarly, when faced with the tsunami disaster, everyone effected had a choice about their response. They could surrender to the reality of the situation, grieve their losses, and start to clean up...or they could curse God and Nature, obsess over how victimized they are, how much life sucks, etc...
We can always choose whether we are going to make a bad situation worse!
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Swami
Eggshell Walker
Registered: 01/18/00
Posts: 15,413
Loc: In the hen house
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Re: Choices-Inspirational [Re: Veritas]
#4210762 - 05/23/05 03:56 PM (18 years, 10 months ago) |
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Similarly, when faced with the tsunami disaster, everyone effected had a choice about their response. They could surrender to the reality of the situation, grieve their losses, and start to clean up...or they could curse God and Nature, obsess over how victimized they are, how much life sucks, etc...
Or...
They could put on some Beach Boys tunes, wax up their surfboards and wait for the next set.
-------------------- The proof is in the pudding.
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Veritas
Registered: 04/15/05
Posts: 11,089
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Re: Choices-Inspirational [Re: Swami]
#4210785 - 05/23/05 03:59 PM (18 years, 10 months ago) |
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Exactly!
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gettinjiggywithit
jiggy
Registered: 07/20/04
Posts: 7,469
Loc: Heart of Laughter
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Re: Choices-Inspirational [Re: Swami]
#4210918 - 05/23/05 04:28 PM (18 years, 10 months ago) |
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Or...
"They could put on some Beach Boys tunes, wax up their surfboards and wait for the next set."
I love this!
After hurricane Marilyn destroyed St. Thomas and we were stuck with the air port trashed and no boats to get to Puerto Rico with for a flight out, I first did Veritas first choice. The first two days I spent getting a grip on what just happened, caring for who I could and helping out where I could.
By the 3rd day and being surrounded by way to many others wrapped up in the negative, hubby and I said "oh fuck that negative sitting around feeling victimized crap and grabbed our windsurf gear and headed for the beach.
The GM of the Resort at that Public Beach, the one I worked at down the hill from my condo was like, "What are you guys doing?" "sacrificing our gear to the hurricane gods, what does it look like?" GM drama King was like, "There are guests still stuck here at the Resort, they can't see you having fun out there because they are all ordered to stay inside for their own safety, this is a tragedy."
We were like, maybe for you buddy, but the reality is, we are alive, and stuck here until help arrives to get flights out and are making the best of it" We went to another beach with our gear.
I didn't see any point in walking around in a shocked daze any longer mumbling to myself about how fucked up everything just became. He refused us access to the public beach when it was a bright sunny day with trades at 15-20.
Sure, the power and phones were out, the island was in shambles, people we knew were dead or had their homes, cars and business destroyed, and technically we were natural disaster refugees, but life goes on, we had our health, gear and the wind.
Some people looked at us like we were nuts, but "why" when you think about it. What were we suppose to be doing, moping around crying acting like victims when we were, in truth, okay.
Anyway, Yes, swami, your option is a valid one and I used it in actuality after a natural disaster.
CHOICES Man....... CHOICES!!!!!!!!
-------------------- Ahuwale ka nane huna.
Edited by gettinjiggywithit (05/23/05 04:41 PM)
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SneezingPenis
ACHOOOOOOOOO!!!!!111!
Registered: 01/15/05
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Re: Choices-Inspirational [Re: Swami]
#4211967 - 05/23/05 09:04 PM (18 years, 10 months ago) |
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Quote:
Swami said: yeah..... that is just plain dumb swami. Yup, that is me, the Mensa retard.
We are just a product of chemicals in our brains, I like that.... that way, no one ever has to take responsibility for anything they do. Nice dishonest changing of the words to attempt to make a point. But how about this? I will wager my usual $20,000 that sleep deprivation can seriously and negatively affect your mood.
Note to audience: like all the other bluster over the last five years, he will sputter, but refuse to accept the challenge. If I am so in error, why has no one yet picked up the gauntlet?
lets up the wager and then just ask Buddhist monks how they can do it for days on end and be perfectly.... un-moody...
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gettinjiggywithit
jiggy
Registered: 07/20/04
Posts: 7,469
Loc: Heart of Laughter
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I warned everyone within hours of his posting that first reply in this thread he was about to puke all over one.
http://www.shroomery.org/forums/showflat...e=0&fpart=2
-------------------- Ahuwale ka nane huna.
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Frog
Warrior
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Posts: 4,284
Loc: The Zero Point Field
Last seen: 11 years, 2 months
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I can imagine that I could be in a place in life where I have an option of living or dying, and I would choosing living. At the same time, I don't mind dying.
Sometimes we get lucky and choose living, and we just so happen to live.
But I don't mind dying, because I'm not afraid of my body being dead.
The story you posted, Jiggy, sort of represents someone who still really wants to live here on planet Earth. Most people want to continue living on planet Earth, because they don't understand what awaits them on the other side (which might be nothing, I realize). These people think that when they die, that is the end of them.
I'm not buying into the story because even though I like living here, I BELIEVE that there is a choice besides door #2. There is also door #3 and door #1. WTF knows???
People whose intelligence is pulled down by gravity are going to choose door #2. Middle of the road.
-------------------- The day will come when, after harnessing the ether, the winds, the tides, gravitation, we shall harness for God the energies of love. And, on that day, for the second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire. -Teilard
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