TWI never told me to NEVER think about the past. Some people are either too lazy or too fearful to move forward and get past something and they use their past as an excuse to not go forward, but introspection and learning from the past are perfectly OK. Hard not to do that one.
The book of Deuteronomy is almost all introspection: first Moses recaps every place they ever camped since the exodus and the highs and lows of the past 40 years. Interesting that the next big thing Israel did after that was...uh, go into the PROMISED LAND!!!! So introspection must play a very crucial role in our lives.
I think a smart way to reflect on my past is twofold: be aware of where I am now and know what direction I want to go. It’s viewing life as a journey. It’s not re-writing my history…maybe a little of re-interpreting it through different eyes…getting my bearings, making course adjustments.
I liked the translation Excathedra referred to:
Philippians 3:12-14 The Message
12-14I'm not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don't get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I'm off and running, and I'm not turning back.
I like this translation because I get that idea of a journey – Paul is running – like a long distance runner – life’s journey. Paul is focused on a goal. He knows the direction he wants to head toward – and will not head back to where he came from.
I was a Christian before I got involved with TWI. Being in my late teens, I believed…or hoped there was some meaning to life. I don’t think I saw it that clearly back then – but I was definitely on a spiritual journey - I was searching. I looked into Eastern Religions, astral projection, and ESP. The reason I took PFAL was for the one claim on the Green Card: Makes Life Meaningful….
Guess some of this would sort of fit on the A Few Big Things I learned Taking PFAL thread….Back in TWI daze - I think I was looking in the right place [the Bible] but looking at it the wrong way – thinking the secret of life was in a book – that it was the end of my search. I now view the Bible as a means of connecting with God. A relationship with Him – and not a book – has brought meaning to my life. My journey isn’t over yet….I’ll tell you a big thing I got out of PFAL – not being afraid to read the Bible. And a really big thing I enjoy now after leaving TWI is not being afraid to think when I read the Bible.
Anyone who brings up that horrid Jethro Tull song gets stabbed in the thigh with a ball point pen.
Just so you know........
Oh CID, you are just being thick headed. As Thick, As A Brick.....
And when I said "Yes." I was just being obstinate. But, Rascal, you did say "Dwelling" on the past. Which of course can be taken any number of ways. I could dwell on how happy I was to catch that 19 pound King salmon on my fly rod two days ago, and that would be fine and dandy. I am still doing it. :)
Or, I could be like Robin Williams in the movie "The Best Of Times" with Kurt Russell where he (Robin Williams) missed the touchdown pass in the State Final game, and then dwell on it for twenty years, three times weekly reviewing the game film where the ball danced on his finger tips as he plowed across the muddy field for twenty yards towards the end zone but finally dropped it as he crossed the line. Yeah, funny movie! Ya gotta watch it if you haven't. And, Robin Williams was consumed with his failure to catch that ball. He even visited a prostitute from time to time, but not for sex. Only so that he could talk with her about That Game and how he alone had brought shame and defeat to his entire town. OMG that was funny...
And so, I guess there is "dwelling on positive issues" and "dwelling on negative issues". I choose to dwell on positive things of the past from time to time, because it entertains me in a good way. I also dwell on positive lessons learned, to keep them fresh in my mind for current or future use. I try not to "pine" for those things to happen again if "it isn't happening now". Yeah, I like to think back on the time when my best friend Steve and I hung sheetrock in a huge custom home for twenty seven hours straight (with coffee, donuts and smoke breaks in between of course) in order to keep our word to the builder on a deadline that turned out to be unrealistic. Ah, but we kept our WORD, and it was so fine. We even ended up being that General Contractor's new Drywall Subcontractor because we had done such an amazing job. He had thought that to do the whole thing in the alotted time, that I would hire at least three more guys. But instead, my Partner and I kicked it out in grand fashion. One for the books no doubt. I ought to write that one out for my kids and their kids. Anyway, I certainly do NOT pine for a re-run of that scenario! But I am proud of things like that, and have no problem looking back on it. But other things I do NOT want to look back on.
Once, on ice and snow, I slipped and fell next to an open 87 foot deep missile silo I was working at (but didn't fall in but came close), and even though I had my harness and safety lanyard clipped on to a "D" ring, I shudder every time I think about it. Because there were sometimes I wasn't clipped in because I was in the process of walking up to clip myself in. And, when I think about it, it spooks me bad. And as soon as I begin to think about it, I change my mind and think about something else. I just don't want to go there.
And that is the way I try to deal with negative things that happened in The Way. I can only move forward. I have already looked back, reviewed, and now it's over. And that's me. Maybe not some of you, but that's me. And so, I am not trying to convince anyone or everyone here to do as I believe. That would be your own business of course. I submit to you that it is a good idea and worth trying, but we all have our own time tables, and levels of experiences. But ultimately, whenever it is right for you, I think that dumping the past when it comes to negs is the only way to go. That's my opinion and I'm stickin' to it! :)
Yes Rascal, I read T-Bone's post back on that other thread, as well as here.
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johniam
TWI never told me to NEVER think about the past. Some people are either too lazy or too fearful to move forward and get past something and they use their past as an excuse to not go forward, but introspection and learning from the past are perfectly OK. Hard not to do that one.
The book of Deuteronomy is almost all introspection: first Moses recaps every place they ever camped since the exodus and the highs and lows of the past 40 years. Interesting that the next big thing Israel did after that was...uh, go into the PROMISED LAND!!!! So introspection must play a very crucial role in our lives.
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T-Bone
I think a smart way to reflect on my past is twofold: be aware of where I am now and know what direction I want to go. It’s viewing life as a journey. It’s not re-writing my history…maybe a little of re-interpreting it through different eyes…getting my bearings, making course adjustments.
I liked the translation Excathedra referred to:
Philippians 3:12-14 The Message
12-14I'm not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don't get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I'm off and running, and I'm not turning back.
I like this translation because I get that idea of a journey – Paul is running – like a long distance runner – life’s journey. Paul is focused on a goal. He knows the direction he wants to head toward – and will not head back to where he came from.
I was a Christian before I got involved with TWI. Being in my late teens, I believed…or hoped there was some meaning to life. I don’t think I saw it that clearly back then – but I was definitely on a spiritual journey - I was searching. I looked into Eastern Religions, astral projection, and ESP. The reason I took PFAL was for the one claim on the Green Card: Makes Life Meaningful….
Guess some of this would sort of fit on the A Few Big Things I learned Taking PFAL thread….Back in TWI daze - I think I was looking in the right place [the Bible] but looking at it the wrong way – thinking the secret of life was in a book – that it was the end of my search. I now view the Bible as a means of connecting with God. A relationship with Him – and not a book – has brought meaning to my life. My journey isn’t over yet….I’ll tell you a big thing I got out of PFAL – not being afraid to read the Bible. And a really big thing I enjoy now after leaving TWI is not being afraid to think when I read the Bible.
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J0nny Ling0
Oh CID, you are just being thick headed. As Thick, As A Brick.....
And when I said "Yes." I was just being obstinate. But, Rascal, you did say "Dwelling" on the past. Which of course can be taken any number of ways. I could dwell on how happy I was to catch that 19 pound King salmon on my fly rod two days ago, and that would be fine and dandy. I am still doing it. :)
Or, I could be like Robin Williams in the movie "The Best Of Times" with Kurt Russell where he (Robin Williams) missed the touchdown pass in the State Final game, and then dwell on it for twenty years, three times weekly reviewing the game film where the ball danced on his finger tips as he plowed across the muddy field for twenty yards towards the end zone but finally dropped it as he crossed the line. Yeah, funny movie! Ya gotta watch it if you haven't. And, Robin Williams was consumed with his failure to catch that ball. He even visited a prostitute from time to time, but not for sex. Only so that he could talk with her about That Game and how he alone had brought shame and defeat to his entire town. OMG that was funny...
And so, I guess there is "dwelling on positive issues" and "dwelling on negative issues". I choose to dwell on positive things of the past from time to time, because it entertains me in a good way. I also dwell on positive lessons learned, to keep them fresh in my mind for current or future use. I try not to "pine" for those things to happen again if "it isn't happening now". Yeah, I like to think back on the time when my best friend Steve and I hung sheetrock in a huge custom home for twenty seven hours straight (with coffee, donuts and smoke breaks in between of course) in order to keep our word to the builder on a deadline that turned out to be unrealistic. Ah, but we kept our WORD, and it was so fine. We even ended up being that General Contractor's new Drywall Subcontractor because we had done such an amazing job. He had thought that to do the whole thing in the alotted time, that I would hire at least three more guys. But instead, my Partner and I kicked it out in grand fashion. One for the books no doubt. I ought to write that one out for my kids and their kids. Anyway, I certainly do NOT pine for a re-run of that scenario! But I am proud of things like that, and have no problem looking back on it. But other things I do NOT want to look back on.
Once, on ice and snow, I slipped and fell next to an open 87 foot deep missile silo I was working at (but didn't fall in but came close), and even though I had my harness and safety lanyard clipped on to a "D" ring, I shudder every time I think about it. Because there were sometimes I wasn't clipped in because I was in the process of walking up to clip myself in. And, when I think about it, it spooks me bad. And as soon as I begin to think about it, I change my mind and think about something else. I just don't want to go there.
And that is the way I try to deal with negative things that happened in The Way. I can only move forward. I have already looked back, reviewed, and now it's over. And that's me. Maybe not some of you, but that's me. And so, I am not trying to convince anyone or everyone here to do as I believe. That would be your own business of course. I submit to you that it is a good idea and worth trying, but we all have our own time tables, and levels of experiences. But ultimately, whenever it is right for you, I think that dumping the past when it comes to negs is the only way to go. That's my opinion and I'm stickin' to it! :)
Yes Rascal, I read T-Bone's post back on that other thread, as well as here.
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Bumpy
Watch Out for the SHARKS!! They don't want to hear too much of that!
Jonny, they have big teeth, so make sure you come with more than a fly rod! 
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J0nny Ling0
Aye lad! I'd best bring me harpoon!
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