Demanding...

I watched The Right Stuff tonight, a movie about Chuck Yeager and the Mercury astronauts- the first Americans in space.  Alan Shepard- the first human to ride in the Mercury spacecraft- and his wife were greeted by President Kennedy and Jackie O. upon his return.  However, for whatever reason, Gus Grissom, who took the second seat, received no such welcome home.  His wife became angry, as anyone would.  Suddenly, I pulled back for a moment and looked down at Earth myself.

All I saw were millions of tiny people deciding what they deserved and becoming upset when they didn't receive it.  But the funny thing is it never existed in the first place, so they are grieving over nothing.  In other words, to further my last post, we all live in our own perceptions, which are false about 99% of the time. We constantly intake what is going on around us, comparing our situations to others and assuming that the same or better will- no, should- happen to us.  Those who are in situations worse than ours we simply dismiss.

I find it quite narcissistic of us to assume that we deserve anything at all.  And, more than narcissism, it's just plain self-harm.  The only product of these "demands" is misery for the one who created them in the first place.   

Find dewin.  I've been noticing times lately when I feel pulled into the details of life and away from the greater meaning.  These are generally times when I feel stressed, times when I am not receiving what I "deserve".  Usually I am focusing on work or petty circumstances or money, none of which have any relationship with the meaning that I represent here in this world.  That's why I love state parks, and why I love this photo of me by the Suwannee.  It reminds me of my true place in this world- a significantly insignificant, lucky participant in a wonderland of beauty.