Wednesday, January 28, 2009

The Moments That Shape Us

Life is an interesting thing. From the moment we are born, events and experiences begin to shape us.

Since I was born at a very young age, I don’t remember much about the first few years although I am sure that this was a time of great change. Then and since, all my experiences have made me what I am today. What I experience today will make me what I am tomorrow.

Every joy, every sorrow, manipulates our brain cells, altering our outlooks and aspirations both for the better or the worse. While we can control to a degree how we choose to look at things, we can not escape the fact that we have changed.

I will be a different person, albeit slightly, when I finish writing this post. You will be a different person by the time you finish reading it. While I do not expect my words to dramatically alter your life, there are no subliminal messages, the simple fact that you are reading this means your brain is processing thoughts through chemical rearrangement.

Most of us can think back to our early years and beyond,remembering our life changing experiences. Traumas, successes, and failures place their indelible marks on our psyche changing each of us as we travel down the path of life.

For us to find peace, we need to leave the past in the past but sometimes it helps if we take a moment to understand how we ended up where we are.

Understanding that some events were not in our control and others were, can illuminate the reality of life allowing us to learn from both our successes and mistakes, helping us to forgive ourselves and others who may have unintentionally hurt us.

Let us understand that we are the product of our past but in no way is this the sum of our future. We can not stop ourselves from changing, only make the best choices we can to make changes for the better.

14 comments:

Julie P said...

I think you're absolutely right. We have to learn to aknowledge what happened in the past then let go of it. Very hard to do sometimes. We are a product of our past; our upbringing;schooling;friendships;disagreements;fights;loves etc. We shouldn't fight against who we are, just accept that we are who we are.

Nicone said...

Yes! As imperfect, fallible beings we will hurt each other and get hurt again and again. In my opinion change IS life. Nice post!

Anonymous said...

"Let us understand that we are the product of our past but in no way is this the sum of our future."

So true. As you said, Each moment, we make the choices that shape our future. We also make the decisions about how to react to our present (which have a role in shaping our future).

Thanks for this great post!

Dixie@dcrelief said...

Thank you for this knowledge.
In peace.

Unknown said...

Excellent Post, with the past what would be the cause and effect of our moving forward to walk toward awareness... each moment as you described since childhood has been a moment of change to create this moment of human element in the right now...There's a flow to life and conflict during this period is a hinderance to the motion stagnanting us... so the cliche ~ 'go with the flow' is so appropriate, cause in that flow is change... Well said! Suzi

The Buddhist Conservative said...

Thank you all for the comments. The choices we make both in our actions and how we decide to view the present makes such a difference related to our suffering or lack thereof.

hazelmarie elliott said...

You are right, Roger. Life is a journey that is filled with events that change and mold us into what we become. We don't know what the future will bring us, or how it will change us. We only know the past and what we have right now. There is no promise of tomorrow. That's a difficult realization to face, too. Acceptance of who we are, and of our own mortality, is very important if we are to ever find happiness.

This was a great post. I really enjoy stopping by to read your thoughts. Great work...

Anonymous said...

Hi Roger

This is a very important point. I think that the more we understand how we got to be where we are, the more we can direct our life going forward

Juliet

Anonymous said...

An interesting post!

I like your last sentence in this post: "We can not stop ourselves from changing, only make the best choices we can to make changes for the better."

ආගන්තුකයා said...

Such a nice Blog......

klahanie said...

Greetings,
An excellent and though provoking blog. In my life I try to maintain positive anticipation rather than negative speculation. Trying to move on from past events and contemplating a more positive future has been an enlightening tonic for me.
Thanks for this blog and thank you for your kind comments on my blog.
I send you peaceful blessings,
klahanie aka Gary.

Pablo Cruz said...

Buddhist your article has inspired me to write a blog on my belief that we are all our own Gods. Each and every action and choice we make are what shapes and forms who, what, where and why we are.

The Buddhist Conservative said...

Thank you all for your comments. I have been a little slow to respond the last few weeks as "work" has raised its ugly head.

I am humbled to be in the company of so many gifted writers!

Namaste

Cindy said...

I've heard interesting theories that we may, in fact, be the product of our future. Think of how different you'd feel if you were about to leave for a 3-week vacation to Hawaii. Nothing in your present has really changed, but you feel different and you probably act different because your future is now different and really exciting! This can be helpful when ridding yourself of negative past energies and using the wonderful possibilities in the future to create a better today:)