Welcome to Pizzaonia! Reflections from a different perspective --- Diverti Mento, John Frank Giovanni, Frank John Franco, Vera V. Veronica and all of the Pizza digogo DiVinci family invite you to join us - We discuss and share ideas that are relevant to our new emerging world. http://giovanniandfranco.com A division of the Pizzaonian Newsertainment Network
Today was about performing a routine service for someone else.
It occurred to me near the end of the afternoon that an erroneous presumption we often make is that when performing a mundane service for others, it can seem like we are wasting our gift by not doing the specific work we believe we were meant to do for this day.
When in fact the service we performed, no matter how seemingly insignificant to us, may in the long run be the most important thing we can do this day when seen from the eyes of the recipient.
I guess that’s what they mean when the say “leave it up to God to decide.” Think about it the next time you grow impatient while doing a routine service for someone else.
Conjectures of a recovering dilettante traveling the road to Utopia
In our emerging, evolving world no one wants to grow older – that is until they consider the alternative
What is the one thing necessary for your mind and body to sustain itself so you may grow older gracefully?
For some, it is love and that one person that makes life worth the process. For others, it is their work. Work can be defined in many ways, but for this discussion, work is about a life time goal. It is accomplishing what you were meant to do. It is the substance that allows your life to flourish and mature, making everything worth the effort.
For some, it is business. For others, it is art. But, regardless of what it is – it consumes you and must be done. Is it a compulsion? For many, it is, however, they would not see it that way. For them, it is meaning. It is what life is meant to be. It is their purpose for being and defines everything they experience.
One has to ask: If this is that important to them can they share their lives with anyone since their work is all consuming?
There was a time when I would have said yes. However, I am no longer sure. If your work is about meeting your personal responsibilities, and those responsibilities include loved ones who depend on you for their support, then your life is about relationships.
Thank God, this is where most people find themselves. Because of them, life and communities are allowed to continue and sustain themselves.
But what about other types of endeavors that can be defined as a life’s work?
This type of activity by its very nature and intent replaces family and friends. It becomes, in and of itself, what gives meaning to life.
Entrepreneurs and artists often find themselves in this position - what they need to accomplish becomes more important than any other thing they encounter in life, including successful personal relationships.
How do you know where you fit within this definition of work and life?
How do you know where you belong? Perhaps the answer is to be found only in your actions. By this, I mean your work or art takes precedence over everything else in your life. If this is so, you are more than likely this type of person.
So what if you find yourself conflicted over this?
Some would say the very conflict means your work may be a means to an end and not necessarily a life’s cause for being. It is also possible that you could have both positions happening to your life at different times in your journey through this mortal coil.
Obsession and compulsion can be very good for the right reasons.
Obsession and compulsion are almost always present when you believe you have a destiny to fulfill. This is one sign. For this person, they continue when no one else would. Success may elude them, but they always work through disappointment and failure.
They never give up. At the core of their belief is what they are doing is meant to be and defines them.
Stay the course
So to those who find themselves in this position – embrace it, never run from it, and let know one persuade you to abandon what defines your life. Beware of those who do. Nothing is more detrimental to the artist or entrepreneur than being in an environment that ignores and is indifferent to your life’s purpose.
When you are faced with the clear and uncompromising truth that your religious convictions cannot be rationally proven you are confronted with the existential dilemma to continue to believe or not believe.
I suspect that much of the defensive, vocal fervor you hear from people of faith when confronted by the reality of what faith is derived from the fact that the irrationality of what they believe has never been consciously faced
If so, they have never experienced the wonder of what faith can be. No one can experience the fullness of their faith until the reality of its irrationality has been resolved. This might explain why so few believers are able to create the effect on the world that their religious traditions demand from them. In fact, the consequences of their actions are often more negative than positive.
How do you resolve this dilemma? Can you base a life directing decision on intuitive deduction? First, you have to find a rational, empirical method of deduction that will satisfy you. Moreover, you have to accept the reality that the method that may satisfy - you may not satisfy anyone else.
Key to this process is the reasonable assumption that many things exist which cannot be proven with our current level of knowledge. We know what we accept today as scientific proof was originally theoretical assumption.
With that as a given, we can continue to explore the basis for why we accept our faith as a belief system.
At the heart of every day, here in Pizzaonia, is the belief that you will continue your journey. Each day brings a new place to explore – some better than others, but each day brings a distinct learning experience that contributes to your life’s journey.
Faith is always the key – and faith is always your prerogative -to believe or not believe? This choice determines what is to be. To realize that nothing is written except what you choose to write is the key to your personal freedom.
Four walls may enclose your physical body, but nothing can contain your mind if you will it to be free. The choice is yours.
Today is unlike any time in the recent past. We live in a time when all institutions are in a state of flux. Our institutions be they church, education, business or government are in such a state of confusion, they no longer are able to define themselves. As a result, everyone with an opinion is defining what they are for them.
What adds to the frustration is that these institutions have to project a sense of confidence that they are in control. Unfortunately, no one believes what they are selling and this creates a formula for chaos.
The chicken and the egg question raises its ugly head here. Are institutions merely a reflection of the people they supposedly serve, or do they lead the way and shape what the people are?
I have suspected for some time our institutions are a reflection of the people. If our institution’s values are failing, then our values as a people have already failed. This at least puts the responsibility where it belongs.
What a novel idea -- to accept as a people the notion that we are responsible for what happens to us. Probably will never catch on.