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Date Posted: 09:24:28 03/18/10 Thu
Author: SS
Subject: Re: ******************MarenInterview*****************
In reply to: SS 's message, "******************MarenInterview*****************" on 00:00:05 03/18/10 Thu

Shifting From Fear to Curiosity

I've always long believed what Oscar Wilde ventilated years ago; that the so-called "real lives" that we lead are ever so often the lives that we do not lead. If anything, most of the definitive moments in our existence, of civilization, came into fruition thanks to the faculty of the human imagination, not through the rigidity and inexorability of social structures and order..........for art has always been, historically, a harbinger and catalyst for both personal, social and cultural transformation and evolution, as well as encourages every one of us to see ourselves and the world in unexpected, frequently rewarding, ways.............something which we just can't count on an ordered system or chain of command to guarantee.

That said, I used to be driven by fear incessantly. Before, I wasn't courageously surrendering to each moment, I was restrained by the artificial constructions such as "What If?" at each fork of the road and junction. I was shrugging off opportunities and depicting them as tollways in my mind, where just traversing them for good measure and seeing where they took me wasn't worth the miniscule admission: chance. Now that I reflect back on my history to date, just the thought of not embracing opportunity where it arises, for the simple reason that I didn't want to pay chance forward and chose instead to shunpike, is mind-numbing to the most inenubilable extent. After all, the revenue collected at toll booths goes toward road maintenance and the updating and sinewing of our infrastructure. I now like to think of paying the toll fee in the spiritual sense as financing our accessibility to epiphanies, blessings and manna that suffuse existence.

Indeed I read, as a child, this popular "children's book" by Norton Juster called "The Phantom Tollbooth". For those of you unfamiliar with this book, it is about a young man named Milo who, upon returning home from school one afternoon, is blutterbunged to find a miniature toll booth construction kit having been anonymously gifted to him, coupled with this map to "Lands Beyond". Curious as he is, he follows the instructions in constructing the tollbooth then, grasping the map in his hands, rides through the toll booth in his car and suddenly finds himself in what seems like a parallel universe, on the freeway of Expectations. Ever fascinated by this realm he's foreign to, he doesn't pay attention following the map route and thus ends up in the Doldrums: a place where thinking and laughing are forbidden. It is there he is rescued by a "watchdog" named Tock (he has the chest of an alarm clock, thus the ingenious pun) and, after finding their way to Dictionpolis (one of the two capital cities of Wisdom, the other being Digitopolis) are arrested. From then on Milo learns about the history of Wisdom and why chaos is presently abound in its kingdom (because the two young sisters King Azaz the Unabridged and the Mathemagician adopted, named Rhyme and Reason, argued that letters and numbers were equally important, and that didn't resonate well with them, thus was imprisoned to the "Castle In The Air") and feels compelled to rescue the princesses with the help of Tock and a few other companions he makes along the way...........braving the Mountains of Ignorance and other challenging realms, relying on the gifts of Wisdom he receives along the way to carry him through, until he finally rescues the princesses, the kingdom makes amends and Milo is celebrated as a hero, who then drives back through the tollbooth, returns home, is ecstatic the next day to make another adventure through the tollbooth but only finds a note reading "For Milo, Who Now Knows The Way".............and though he is sad seeing the tollbooth has vanished, is nonetheless grateful for how much more colorful and beautiful life, even at its most seemingly bromidic, truly is.

I identify myself with Milo. I think we can all relate universally to Milo's experience. I've befriended others in the volunteering and conscious living communities this year who also brought to light that this year was transformative for them in many ways as well, and others who still cope with adversities and setbacks heading into the new decade but nonetheless feel a thoroughgoing ambience of comfort, and gratitude for all the gifts of Wisdom they have received through their hardships and heartaches and how it is, and will, make all the difference in promising their most fulfilling, conscious, joyous days ahead.

Looking For Silver Linings in Every Setback



Gratitude, Gratitude, GRATITUDE!!!



Eliminating “Should” From My Vocabulary and Mind



Moving From Judgment to Observation



Doing Whatever Really Works For Me, Regardless If I Think It Is "Normal" Or "Acceptable" Or Not



Saying "Yes!" To What I Want, Setting Intentions & Letting Go of Expectations



Assume the Best, Not the Worst



Finding Community Around Anything I Love

The late renowned soldier Peyton Conway March said himself: "There is a wonderful mythical law of nature that the three things we crave most in life -- happiness, freedom, and peace of mind -- are always attained by giving them to someone else."



Keeping a Journal And Talking to Others When I Need to Get Things Off My Chest

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