Tuesday 2 August 2011

Potential and Possibility

Heading in a general direction and trusting in what we find rather than trying to fit in to what we find sounds a much better idea.

Indeed, according to the saying, “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift, that’s why we call it the present”. We can never know what it is that the birds of our lives are flying into, although we might be able to extrapolate something from our past experiences. Each second of the future unfolds new, and fresh, and full of potential, and we must try to make the most of the abundance which we find there.

I often have trouble filling in forms which require me to describe my life – past and present employment, earnings, interests, and so on, as I find that I just don’t fit into their boxes – their pigeon holes. My life is unique, as are all lives. My beliefs and thought processes can’t be put into narrow boxes – as our good old (or rather new!) “Purple Hymn Book” tells us, “Die Gedanken Sind Frei” – our thoughts are free, they can’t be trapped, or confined by scholars’ wisdom, or forced to bow to those who would dictate what they should be. So, too, our very lives and aspirations, our consciences, and maybe above all our human ability to look at a current situation and see almost infinite possibilities; a glimpse perhaps of the infinite web of life in all its mystery and potential.

I propose that we could think again about our recent reflective topic of “innocence” in that light, as a trusting in our own potential and that of the moment, as seeing each second as a fresh start. Of course, we must try to avoid the trap of being too naïve, of being unaware of dangers and pitfalls, but equally be wary of living our lives in constraints and stale habits. Each action, each thought, should be weighed on its own merits, each moment appraised for itself as we meet it.

We live on a world, in a Universe, full of potential and possibility; how dare we attempt to do less than meet its wonder and challenge!

1 comment:

Louise said...

Hi Jacky, I love the idea of 'the birds of my life' - thanks. Whilst every moment may contain possibility for many, or perhaps all, of us there are things that must be done during those moments.

For me it is about how to find joy where I can - to try to be in a place where what I have to do gives me that joy - and to try to find a balance between the old and the new. Old routines are comforting and often involve less effort than new things. As a bit of a junkie for new things I need to rein in my enthusiasm to make sure that I do many of the older things that really must be done.

But I agree with the sentiment that life should be lived with expectation and delight - which I guess links with innocence. xx