“opportunities for a change in direction”
A better characterization of our species as “the animal that reasons” would be “the animal that chooses.”
We choose our attitudes, beliefs, values and our worldview. These choices ultimately determine our identity which in turn drives our behavior. And it is our behavior that must change if we are to create a sustainable community.
What choices are you making? Many today choose to self-medicate with drugs and alcohol, or distract themselves with gambling or video games, or seek material wealth and power, to name a few.
Shifting to Paradigm-A is not an easy choice. As Eckhart Tolle points out, we are sometimes “forced into the kingdom of heaven kicking and screaming. You finally surrender because you can’t stand the pain anymore, but the pain could go on for a long time. … How much more time do you think you will need before you are able to say, ‘I will create no more pain, no more suffering?’ How much more pain do you need before you can make that choice?”[i]
Insight # 79 comes to us from Roy Charles Henry (b. 1938). He is the creator of The Simple Reality Project.
“We all come to many crossroads during our lifetime and these are opportunities for a change in direction if not a shift in paradigm. Enough of these conscious choices, electing a response instead of a reaction, can add up to an awakening, a profound transformation in both our story and our identity.”[ii]
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Additional Reading:
- Choice, The ABC’s of Simple Reality, Vol 1
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[i] Tolle, Eckhart. The Power of Now. Novato, California: New World Library, 1999, p. 188.
[ii] Henry, Roy Charles. “Choosing Compassion.” The Human Community. October 2016, p. 178.
