Oddly enough, those individuals who insist that you should love THEM unconditionally, come with a boatload of conditions with which YOU must comply before they will dribble a bit of kindness your way.
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Unconditional love is a myth, IMO. For ex., if any of our spouses began torturing our children or pets, most of us would quickly find that we DO have conditions. It's merely a matter of where the lines of condition are drawn.
More great quotes that I need to imprint upon my intellect. I am guilty of being one of those that has tried, and still does to some degree, to meet that boatload of conditions, never realizing the massive resentment that was building inside me until it exploded in such a damaging way. Unfortunately, I catch myself falling into that same pre-A pattern every now and then.
Chrome
"Recollect me darlin, raise me to your lips, two undernourished egos, four rotating hips"
Well, if we are to prevent Taliban-like thinking from being persausive in "land of the free", more people need to get on that soap-box.
Yes, but so many people see religion like a 4-letter word, never to be uttered. No wonder the religious right is picking up so much steam. People fear speaking out, maybe because they don't want to be seen as a heathen. It's crazy. I find it quite worrisome.
After my laughter subsided, I was thinking that wasn't such a bad idea, until I realized that all of the plagues listed in this book would be visited upon you.
You and NOP would make excellent candidates for the part of Good Samaritan.
Chrome
"Recollect me darlin, raise me to your lips, two undernourished egos, four rotating hips"
Yes, but so many people see religion like a 4-letter word, never to be uttered. No wonder the religious right is picking up so much steam. People fear speaking out, maybe because they don't want to be seen as a heathen. It's crazy. I find it quite worrisome.
Well if a Yankee from the big city finds it worrisome, you can imagine what its like down here. I've had people almost hit me when I disagreed with Fox News.
Granted, I love my neighbors here. Many of them are really good people who have never even been out of the county in which they were born, would give you the shirt off their back and drop whatever they were doing to help someone in need. And those of them that do have good M and a nice house out in the country, somehow not having all those "finer things in life" as seen on TV really doesn't matter to them all that much. Sigh.
Chrome
"Recollect me darlin, raise me to your lips, two undernourished egos, four rotating hips"
Oddly enough, those individuals who insist that you should love THEM unconditionally, come with a boatload of conditions with which YOU must comply before they will dribble a bit of kindness your way.
Another quote from July 2005...this time, from honeypot: "What MrsHD wants is unconditional acceptance of her unwillingness to meet Hairy's needs. Or even to try."
Y'all are making me dig through my dark archives. It kinda hurts.
Hey, I don't even believe in unconditional amicability anymore.
I thought the snakes were from the ancient Goddess religion and that is why the legend of St.Patrick chasing the snakes out of Ireland exists. All the old Goddess religions were more sexy than most of the religions promulgated these days. But the thing you gotta like about Jesus was that his girlfriend was a slut.
"Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?" - Mary Oliver
I will throw my hat into the ring on unconditional love.
It is love GIVEN, without condition. Period. It says nothing of the type of love we all would like to HAVE, but the type of LOVE most commonly attributed to God, or Jesus, and which I think most people would very much like to mimic.
Now... just because one LOVES unconditionally does not mean that one accepts all behaviors unconditionally. You can in fact love someone unconditionally and not have them in your life. I'm sure all kinds of parents of mass murderers love their children unconditionally. Doesn't mean any of them condone their childrens' behavior.
And barring the philosophical discussion of what love actually IS... I'll stop here.
And since we are talking about this stuff... I had the very coolest conversation with my oldest son the other night.
We were out on the deck, and somehow we got to talking about God.... and he asked me about God, and who God was, and how do you know that God exists, etc., etc.,
So I did that whole exercise with him... who are you... are you your name? No. Can you feel your body? Yes. Can you hear your mind chatter at you? Yes. Do you feel the difference between the body you feel and the mind you hear? Yes. WHO is feeling and hearing that? He was quiet, but he understood.
He asked me what I meant... we spent some time clarifying... and then he got this little smile on his face... and I said... does there feel like there are three of you? And he said... yes. And then he said it was hurting his head... but then he'd go back to it... and he'd say... now do that again...
And then he asked me why we had never taken him to church. He always felt guilty about that. And I asked him why. And he said... because... I think I should know about God and the Bible and stuff. And I said... do you know how to read? And he said yeah... and I said.. well then, read the Bible if that is what you want to do. And he said... what if I don't know... and I said... well, then, I guess you will ask me, or your Dad or you Nanny... and then you can decide for yourself.
I told him I do not believe in religion, just so you know. But I do have an absolute faith in spirituality and God. He wanted to know the difference, so I explained to him.
I told him... read all Bibles. Study all religions. Question everything. There are four constant truths you will find in all religions. He said.. what are they? And I said... when you study them all, you will know. And he said... how do YOU know? And I said, because I looked. I've asked questions, I've talked with people. I've made up my own mind, followed what has felt right to me. If you don't believe, find out for yourself. If you still don't believe me, that is okay.
And he said... am I allowed to do that? I thought you were supposed to do it all a certain way. And I said... that is exactly why I don't like religion. I don't think church is a bad thing. I think you should go, if that is what you want to do. I think you should try all churches, try all religions, all philosophies, and find the one that is best for you.
That didn't sit too well with him... at first. And then he said... are you sure I can do that? And I said... absolutely. I said... can you feel that feeling behind you, behind your head? And he said yes. And I said... do you know right from wrong... and sometimes do what is wrong, even though you know what is right? And he said yes... and I said... how do you know when that happens... and he said... I feel it. And I said... do you need for me to tell you that? And he said, no. And then i said... well, then read all the Bibles of the Earth, and you'll know, then, won't you?
And he said... why do you do this to me? Why can't you just tell me?
And I said... why indeed. When you have your own children, you can tell me.
I think we hear the term "unconditional love" and each of us has a slightly different idea of what it means.
When I hear it, I envision some longsuffering soul who is biting his/her lip while encountering soul-devastating treatment and never speaking truth, never suggesting to the unconditional love recepient that their behavior or attitude is harmful, etc.
I perceive that as harmful for both the giver and reciever. The love-giver continues to take in damage and continues to keep making themselves vulnerable to be damaged. The love-recepient continues along the path of unchallenged self aggrandizement with little concern of the impact they are having on those around them and never being presented with an opportunity to grow.
