Life as a happening
 

Just curious, but does anyone view life as merely a happening.

In that events simply happen, thoughts just pass by. That one is just watching the world and their thoughts pass them by.

For example if someone does something, it's just a happening, an event. If someone wronged me, it was just a passing that occurred, and I don't feel anger towards them, because what they simply happened, an event that came as passed. I suppose it's a view lacking free will, although that's rather arbitrary. It's just seeing your thoughts as things passing by, more than something I create. Even right now, typing this is just a passing event of my body and my fingers moving on the keyboard, and thoughts passing on by.

It's very calming. Does anyone else ever look at this view? Just curious.

My view on life is more of a "The universe is eventually going to end, so why should we give a **** about anything that ever happens, and it's probably best to die early."

I like yours better.

No, I am of the admittedly Judeo-Christian belief that we all have free will, and we all have an effect on what happens on this planet, good or bad, as governed by our actions, born out of our free will.

Merely? :shock:

merely as in, when someone does something that wrongs me, or annoys me, I try to view it as, well the universe started.... stars forming... dinosaurs... humans eventually... this person was born, series of events occurs, puts them in a situation, where the action that wronged me occurred.

Kinda like in a debate between gay marriage, I might have my own opinion, but when seeing the argument it's that such and such events led to these people not wanting gay marriage, such and such events led to these people wanting gay marriage, and it's just a happening of events. I don't mean to deny how amazing the universe, it's just a philosophy to remove yourself.

That's a very Zen philosophy... not an easy one to stick to, especially in the West.

this is not my usual point of view as I see life as cause - action - consequence (which happens to be the cause for the next link in the chain of cause & effect, action & reaction and so on and so forth). When we act (or don't act, or think, or talk) - it's free choice; the rest is what people call 'destiny', in my philosophy life is both: free choice & destiny, life is like a road with many crossings, & in the crossing you make 'free choice' & then keep driving along whatever road you chose (calling it fate or destiny or karma etc.) - untill the next crossing.

But lately I have a feeling that I am just an observer, as if I am on a train simply looking out of the window: cow (gone...) field... (gone...) sea... (gone)... town (stop... gone...) ... ... another day at work (gone...) somebody said a stupid thing (gone...) somebody said a nice thing... (gone...) good weather (gone...) bad weather (gone...)

I am kind of abstract lately, like I couldn't give a flying flick about things that used to bother - or excite me. Weird. It's interesting that you posted it now, Theorist.

I used to feel that way, but I didn't find it calming at all, just felt helpless and depressed that nothing I did mattered.

Well I like yours better :D that's closer to how I am now anyway.

:awesome:

I didn't feel depressed or helpless but rather apathic or indifferent, & I was wondering: someone said: "Happiness is the absence of problems". I didn't/dont' have any serious problems, but neither I seemed to have desires. I wondered if that was Zen already :rolleyes: but I didn't feel particularly happy either. Is indifference happiness? somehow I don't think so.

I guess in the end, I'd stick to Don Juan's Teachings 'live each moment to the full as if it were the last one" & not to wreck one's head about past (that passed already) & the future (that hasn't happened yet). Now I am posting (living this) then going to the local Iknimaya (living that) then cooking maybe (& dedicate full attention to that). Something like this.

I guess you can either feel peaceful or bored sick, depending on if your life is lacking problems or if it's lacking any activity whatsoever.

Going back to the OP - I guess everything is relative, one can feel this or that in this or that moment. Moment passes - and it's 'another happening'. Life flows, nothing is set in stone. If I could change one thing in my life that would be stop worrying about things cos everything gets sorted out, eventually. Another happening.

well at least Theorist is feeling calm & peaceful - so it works for him.

I liked the 'Symphony...' by the way.

i went to pull into my driveway on Friday, and there was a squirrel lying on the concrete. i stopped the car and got out, went and got a dustpan and broom to scoop the poor critter off the driveway. he wasn't squashed by a car or killed by all the cats and dogs in the neighborhood, but had fallen out of the tree above the driveway, while collecting food for the winter. i thought about that while taking him out to the back yard. i buried him in the garden patch, which was overgrown and unproductive this year, since i have been traveling for work so much. i took several pictures on my phone, but don't know if i can get them off my phone to the pc, or is it appropriate to post them.

it's sad the animal died in the middle of a life of purpose in nature, but we don't stay in our purpose of life in the food chain and nature itself, we destroy that purpose as a collective species.

Every culture has roots on its take on how they look at things impacting ones internal perception of reality and ones core relations "bonds" ,, The reflective statement ,, In the reality of many reality's , how we "see" (in Avatar context) what we see effects the "quality" of our reality,, in shaman speak so forth , we have religious perceptions influencing this ,, that often impose an external locus of control and we have spiritual perceptions of reality that come from ones voice within ,, (some call this the voice of the heart or ones core humanity) Avatar strongly reflects on the value of this understanding one holds as a "human being" and it drives Jake to refect upon its place of expression as well ,, I think its one of the reasons the films examples hold such worth in the deeper scope of things, a great deal of the historical wounding that has happened in our very real world history has come about when peoples have allowed our perceptions to be driven by an external locus of control allowing the justification of actions no heart would ever permit .. its these structures that people are questioning and making effort to evolve in our world "today" I find the examples of peoples that have broke out of these conflict loops,, and where able to address them internally in recognition , Like the story of the Haudenosaunee and the Great peace maker , the angles there people took and there life's lesson still astound me as powerful examples of spiritual insight inside the heart a living culture where they once again came to "see" each other again .