Wow again, Shiv. Thanks for sharing the humanity of our mortality. Our conscious minds are programmed to keep us alive at all costs. We may experience a deep level of integration with our subconscious and all that entails, but we are mortals too with fears of death and destruction. There is no "happily ever after" promise in life and all are susceptible to being brought to our knees by the full specter of life's force.
I appreciate your connection of fate and faith. Yes, faith can be used as a spiritual bypass to acceptance of our fate, but it also can be the 'Rosetta Stone' translating the conversation between body and spirit. It is neither the fate or faith that is important but the dialog between the two.
Peace to you brother during this solstice celebration of faith and rebirth. Your gift to us is much appreciated.
The tragedy you experienced with your family members had me in absolute shock. I can’t even begin to imagine the trauma. And then the miraculous recovery of your sister! This adds such depth and context to your persona and writing, it’s truly inspiring!
I am so sorry you had to experience those horrors, but like you said, you wouldn’t change a thing.
Your story also helps puts my problems into perspective. My step-brothers have kicked a fuss over what my father has written in his will, and as his executor, I have to be the one to answer everyone’s questions. It has caused divide and bitterness in me towards them. But I am taking this in stride, and I am seeing every tragedy as an opportunity for me to evolve. Thank you for sharing your story.
Thank you for sharing these Experiences. I hope the deep Feeling" all is well", inspite of the tragedies of Life, will be my constant compagnion. Greetings from Germany, merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.
thank you for sharing as always. i'm so sorry for the suffering your family experienced. and i'm grateful for your memories, your stories, and the clarity with which you share them.
these passages a particularly beautiful to me:
"I have experienced many such traumas in my life. I do not wish for any of them to have happened differently. Although I miss my loved ones dearly, I do not wish them returned to me. For, life in this moment feels perfect and whole just as it is. And I am as I am because of all the joys and miseries I have enjoyed and endured. The inevitability of it all is stark and unshakeable to me."
and
"I have come to realize that the words ‘fate’ and ‘faith’ are synonymous. For, a person who learns to love their fate is quintessentially a person of faith. This faith is not the outcome of some religious belief or spiritual dictum, but rather the result of the profound resonance one feels within one’s being - that even in the midst of the greatest catastrophe comprehensible to the human mind, the spirit within remains at peace. A peace that surpasses all understanding."
this reminds me of byron katie's "loving what is," a book (and concept) that i find meaningful.
I find things like that fascinating, if your relations had just stopped for gas and food, or if they had gotten a flat tyre, all the millions of permutations that could have conspired to NOT lead them to that collision, the man who was drunk, what caused him to get drunk, did his wife leave him, did he lose his job, if only a patrol car had stopped him, an astronomical amount of decisions lead to that one in a million collision. It’s crazy. We can never know the millions of things that could have happened had this or that happened / not happened.
This is about as wise, insightful, and frankly beautiful a statement on such things as I could imagine or hope for. Thank you, Shiv.
Thank you for those kind words Matt
Wow again, Shiv. Thanks for sharing the humanity of our mortality. Our conscious minds are programmed to keep us alive at all costs. We may experience a deep level of integration with our subconscious and all that entails, but we are mortals too with fears of death and destruction. There is no "happily ever after" promise in life and all are susceptible to being brought to our knees by the full specter of life's force.
I appreciate your connection of fate and faith. Yes, faith can be used as a spiritual bypass to acceptance of our fate, but it also can be the 'Rosetta Stone' translating the conversation between body and spirit. It is neither the fate or faith that is important but the dialog between the two.
Peace to you brother during this solstice celebration of faith and rebirth. Your gift to us is much appreciated.
Life (the muse), writer and reader are all gifts to each other, John. Each influences and inspires the other. Be well, my friend
The tragedy you experienced with your family members had me in absolute shock. I can’t even begin to imagine the trauma. And then the miraculous recovery of your sister! This adds such depth and context to your persona and writing, it’s truly inspiring!
I am so sorry you had to experience those horrors, but like you said, you wouldn’t change a thing.
Your story also helps puts my problems into perspective. My step-brothers have kicked a fuss over what my father has written in his will, and as his executor, I have to be the one to answer everyone’s questions. It has caused divide and bitterness in me towards them. But I am taking this in stride, and I am seeing every tragedy as an opportunity for me to evolve. Thank you for sharing your story.
Picture's credits : Brian Ingram. "Abigail" (the photographer's niece) https://www.behance.net/gallery/13130023/Abigail
Brought me to tears, ty.
Relatable, beautiful.
Beautiful, Shiv. ❤️
Thanks Joan ❤️
Thank you for sharing these Experiences. I hope the deep Feeling" all is well", inspite of the tragedies of Life, will be my constant compagnion. Greetings from Germany, merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.
Wish you all the best as well
LOVE your fate..faith and fate-SAME..the sheer
Rightness of Just This!!💝🙏
Thank you for your sharing Shiv.
Thank you Shiv.
dear shiv,
thank you for sharing as always. i'm so sorry for the suffering your family experienced. and i'm grateful for your memories, your stories, and the clarity with which you share them.
these passages a particularly beautiful to me:
"I have experienced many such traumas in my life. I do not wish for any of them to have happened differently. Although I miss my loved ones dearly, I do not wish them returned to me. For, life in this moment feels perfect and whole just as it is. And I am as I am because of all the joys and miseries I have enjoyed and endured. The inevitability of it all is stark and unshakeable to me."
and
"I have come to realize that the words ‘fate’ and ‘faith’ are synonymous. For, a person who learns to love their fate is quintessentially a person of faith. This faith is not the outcome of some religious belief or spiritual dictum, but rather the result of the profound resonance one feels within one’s being - that even in the midst of the greatest catastrophe comprehensible to the human mind, the spirit within remains at peace. A peace that surpasses all understanding."
this reminds me of byron katie's "loving what is," a book (and concept) that i find meaningful.
have you engaged much with her work?
thank you for sharing.
much love to you and yours and all,
myq
I find things like that fascinating, if your relations had just stopped for gas and food, or if they had gotten a flat tyre, all the millions of permutations that could have conspired to NOT lead them to that collision, the man who was drunk, what caused him to get drunk, did his wife leave him, did he lose his job, if only a patrol car had stopped him, an astronomical amount of decisions lead to that one in a million collision. It’s crazy. We can never know the millions of things that could have happened had this or that happened / not happened.