Thread: What have you learned from your life?

I think that's hard to answer in that we learn in cycles, and gain depth by going over the same ground multiple times. There probably isn't much I can say that I learned that I won't exhibit ignorance of at some later point, but hopefully the spiral is towards improvement. And probably some of what I think I learned is stuff I already knew instinctively, even though it took a while to become active or apparent. Here's a few things that I might have learned.

You can't overpower desire with desire. Schemes for improvement that don't respect individual freedom are all doomed to fail, whether the relationships are between people or between competing parts of your own personality.

A combination of courage and restraint are necessary when forming judgments. When getting a mental insight on any subject, there's a tendency to over-react and make a fetish out of it. Then you nail yourself to that belief, suffering the consequences of its limitations, while blinding yourself to further insights. Where your knowledge is partial, you don't have to believe in something or disbelieve in it, you can just leave it a little bit open or undefined. Its also necessary to have definite thoughts about things, and to have the strength to follow through on them, because that's how you make progress in difficult areas. But if you become too attached to those thoughts you get stuck.

I had a dream once where I was a duck, following a seasonal migratory pattern. There were other ducks following the same route. By some transcendent time warp, even though they were superficially on the same part of the cycle as me, they were on a different part of an even larger, unseen cycle. So that although they were my kin, and I could see that they were the same as me, there was a kind of gulf between us that I could not bridge. I asked 'why?' And was told 'To teach you not to hate'. I'm not sure that I've learned that lesson very well. But maybe I at least have a better understanding of why it is a lesson that I should learn.

I learned something about how to reconcile the idea of redemption with the idea of natural selection. Although not everybody needs that, the apparent contradiction causes a lot of people to disbelieve in one or the other.

I learned that I can learn a lot of things from other people, just by experiencing a tiny bit of who they are. I've also learned that there are fundamental problems that people do not have the answer to, and that people who claim to have found the solutions can't be trusted.

I'm more aware of who I am, in terms of depths of feeling, and knowledge of things that can't be pictured. Probably I'm also more aware of how ignorant I am, of how tiny and distorted that knowledge is.

I've learned that there is a lot to be grateful or joyful about.

I've learned that if you sell out, eventually you also lose not only what you sold, but also whatever you hoped to gain.

Those are the first things that come to mind.

There's probably also something critically important that I haven't learned, or have failed to learn. I would like to know what that is.

i would ask it to clairify the question

I have a list of lessons:

Not to throw things X 3
Not to run away from your problems
Not to play with fire and explosives
Love is personal
Always check what's in the box
Not to smoke

Each of those are not made up by me or anyone else. These are the lessons that I received in a very special way of perception I cannot deny their importance.

I "listen" to what life is teaching me and some experiences become especially selected and imprinted in my mind and they glow in meaning and lesson. They are not philosophical or deep but they are my personal lessons and unlike my subjective thoughts on the meaning of life and what not I can know they are true.

that every single event, the good bad and the ugly, all happen for a purpose
every that happens, every single day and moment that goes by, is for a reason, it has led up to who i am today.
if one event was different, i wouldn't be the same

People think things are serious that are pointless. Listen to your heart and trust your feelings. You are perfect. Everything is perfect. everything is a dream. Everything is real. Don't take it to seriously because its only a dream. But you have to take it seriously because its reality. follow your inner guide. flow with the spirit. take a deep breathe. Live with yourself. be yourself. Don't hide from yourself. Live to be a source of light. Fight for what you feel is right. Stopp caring. care about others. care about yourself. Stop caring about pointless little things and getting offended. All is beautiful. You are beautiful. Get lost in the beauty. Love everything, the good and the bad. Love everyone, the hateful and the loving. let life take you where you need to go. don't worry. You never need to worry. You are going where you need to go. You never need to worry. You only need to be there. be exactly where you need to be. You are always exactly where you are supposed to be. So love this place. Make the best of it. be a source of love and healing for those around you and for yourself.

i would ask it to clairify the question

I mean what is your conclusion about life? imagine life like a movie... after you die, someone asks you "what was that all about? what is important in life?" this kind of things. good lessons your life thought. Clear?

have a bat to hit someone over the head with at the right time.