"Go quietly, Carry little."

Poetry, quotations, personal reflections from a lover of the wilderness, a lover of the silence....


Sunday, May 23, 2010

Pondering....

"The world is a mess. It has always been a mess. We are not going to change it. Our job is to straighten out our own lives."  ~Joseph Campbell
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7 comments:

  1. All respects to Joseph Campbell, but I don't think he's right about us not changing the world. I do agree with him that our job is to straighten out our lives, but I believe that work will lead to a better world.

    The poet, Robert Lax, says that the real challenge in life is to bring out the best in whoever you know, starting with yourself. Somehow, Lax's wording feel less harsh...

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  2. Beth,
    Yep. I don't disagree with you. I did say I was just pondering. Thanks for reading and commenting, friend.

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  3. I agree with Joseph Campbell. But I guess the way I see it is, if *everyone* took his advice and 'straightened out their own lives', *that* would make the world less of a mess. It wouldn't even take everyone, just more of us. But ultimately the only one we can control is ourselves, which I reckon was his point.
    If you take 'straighten out your life' to mean act in the world mindfully and with compassion.
    Just a thought...

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  4. Amy,
    I think you nailed it. I wholeheartedly agree with you.

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  6. So much of the 'mess' is the projection of our unowned shadow energies. This is partly what Campbell is referring to - that we should each address and heal (clean up) our own repressed shadow material and ... and the world will hopefully mirror our change.

    Having picked out a couple of your posts to read, I find myself in agreement with much of your philosophy - especially that of being a lover of nature, silence and a mindful approach to life. After a strict religious upbringing I am now (though I too hate reducing myself into a label) an agnostic. I embrace Taoist philosophy as a very sophisticated psychology and take a fairly existential approach to daily life.

    Love the gentle Harris quote in one of your more recent posts.

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  7. Bonnie,
    Thank you so much for your visit and your comment. And also for some additional explication of the Campbell quotation. I am wondering how you came across my blog. :)
    Peace to you and I hope you'll visit again.

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