Gratitude
As I was driving I was listing to the radio and heard part of an interview with someone on the subject of gratitude. I appreciated the fact that the person being interview had a profound appreciation for the role luck or fate plays in the lives of all of us. Just a few minutes prior to hearing that interview I had a call from my nephew telling me his mother had suddenly fallen down some stairs and died. He did not have any more detains. I am sure that she had walked down steps many times in recent days and weeks without any mishaps. I am equally sure that she had lived her life yesterday not having any conscious idea that it was her last day of this life journey.
Daily, I am reminded of how much luck or fate plays a role in the trajectory of this life journey. I happened to be formed or created by the introduction of a particular sperm with a particular egg. Either the egg donor or the sperm donor could easily have met and fell in love or lust with someone else. If that had had happened I would not have been. There might have been another human who arose out of the joining of a different sperm or egg, but the end result would not have been me. All of the events which followed were determined by the ensuing decisions of my parents. The ancestors who contributed to the history of codes which created me were particular to my birth parents. Many of the opportunities which were presented as I traveled this life journey were a direct or indirect result of the early decisions of my parents which were influenced by the decisions of their ancestors. The people I encountered in school and other public places crossed my path because of many people and factors leading up to that moment.
One could do a sociogram of all the people, events and other factors which brought me to be sitting in this place typing at this moment in time. Genetics, health habits, cultural influences and many other factors contributed. Is there really such a thing as free will? Certainly, there are elements of what appears to be free will. In the hour prior to my next scheduled time with a client I chose to do some writing or it certainly seems as if I have a choice from the many items on me to do list. Yet the fact I have a safe and warm home, a laptop upon which is write, and the ability to write has largely been determined by a series of events over which I limited choice at best.
Clearly, given the above, I have little choice but to be humble and grateful. I can take very little credit for enjoying such a relatively luxurious life. The fact that I had the health and the passion to continue working well past age 65 is a blessing. While it is true, even today, I have make decisions to exercise and eat healthy my brain had to be working at a certain level to be able to do that. Brain tumors, dementia, thyroid conditions, unitary tract infections and a variety of other conditions could prevent my brain from being able to approximate a shared reality.
Conversely, I am hardly in a position to be critical of those whose brain does not allow them to have a shared reality or to make decisions to take care of themselves. I just talked to someone who is attempting to help someone recovering from meth amphetamine addiction. A lot of the time he is not able to approximate a shared reality. He sees and hears “monsters” who are out to destroy him and which are experienced by others around him. His current mental illness diagnosis is schizophrenia which may or may not be accurate given his drug abuse history but, at this point in time, he is not able to function because his reality is so dangerous. He may have made a decision to experiment with certain recreational drugs but he did not make a decision to get addicted. Many people experiment with drugs and do not get addicted.
It seems to me if, in fact, we were able to practice humility and gratitude more consistently we could create a more just, realistic and workable community. We would no longer punish those unable to have a shared reality or whose lives were not primarily determined by positive decisions of fate.
Written February 23, 2021
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org
As I was driving I was listing to the radio and heard part of an interview with someone on the subject of gratitude. I appreciated the fact that the person being interview had a profound appreciation for the role luck or fate plays in the lives of all of us. Just a few minutes prior to hearing that interview I had a call from my nephew telling me his mother had suddenly fallen down some stairs and died. He did not have any more detains. I am sure that she had walked down steps many times in recent days and weeks without any mishaps. I am equally sure that she had lived her life yesterday not having any conscious idea that it was her last day of this life journey.
Daily, I am reminded of how much luck or fate plays a role in the trajectory of this life journey. I happened to be formed or created by the introduction of a particular sperm with a particular egg. Either the egg donor or the sperm donor could easily have met and fell in love or lust with someone else. If that had had happened I would not have been. There might have been another human who arose out of the joining of a different sperm or egg, but the end result would not have been me. All of the events which followed were determined by the ensuing decisions of my parents. The ancestors who contributed to the history of codes which created me were particular to my birth parents. Many of the opportunities which were presented as I traveled this life journey were a direct or indirect result of the early decisions of my parents which were influenced by the decisions of their ancestors. The people I encountered in school and other public places crossed my path because of many people and factors leading up to that moment.
One could do a sociogram of all the people, events and other factors which brought me to be sitting in this place typing at this moment in time. Genetics, health habits, cultural influences and many other factors contributed. Is there really such a thing as free will? Certainly, there are elements of what appears to be free will. In the hour prior to my next scheduled time with a client I chose to do some writing or it certainly seems as if I have a choice from the many items on me to do list. Yet the fact I have a safe and warm home, a laptop upon which is write, and the ability to write has largely been determined by a series of events over which I limited choice at best.
Clearly, given the above, I have little choice but to be humble and grateful. I can take very little credit for enjoying such a relatively luxurious life. The fact that I had the health and the passion to continue working well past age 65 is a blessing. While it is true, even today, I have make decisions to exercise and eat healthy my brain had to be working at a certain level to be able to do that. Brain tumors, dementia, thyroid conditions, unitary tract infections and a variety of other conditions could prevent my brain from being able to approximate a shared reality.
Conversely, I am hardly in a position to be critical of those whose brain does not allow them to have a shared reality or to make decisions to take care of themselves. I just talked to someone who is attempting to help someone recovering from meth amphetamine addiction. A lot of the time he is not able to approximate a shared reality. He sees and hears “monsters” who are out to destroy him and which are experienced by others around him. His current mental illness diagnosis is schizophrenia which may or may not be accurate given his drug abuse history but, at this point in time, he is not able to function because his reality is so dangerous. He may have made a decision to experiment with certain recreational drugs but he did not make a decision to get addicted. Many people experiment with drugs and do not get addicted.
It seems to me if, in fact, we were able to practice humility and gratitude more consistently we could create a more just, realistic and workable community. We would no longer punish those unable to have a shared reality or whose lives were not primarily determined by positive decisions of fate.
Written February 23, 2021
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org
RSS Feed