rparr

I acknowledged the idea that our experiences and circumstances plays a role in our shaping, it provides us with the things we have to do the shaping with. Although in many ways the unexpected may pop up as circumstances twist and turn and make plans go off-kilter, I firmly believe that who we want to be we will someday be -- with the utmost precision. I alone make decisions regarding who I want to become. I alone make steps towards who I will become. If I want to be dry and it is raining, that is a force making me wet... true. But it is not making any decision about who I will be once I have my way perfectly, which I think happens once our soul is old enough. One day the entire universe is what we will have to do the shaping with, and we will make ourselves as we please (with perhaps a few parameters... I am still not one to believe in the ability to end the universe and all life in it). I continue to believe that we shape ourselves... external forces may only make that act easier or more difficult. The one who wishes to fly will not be bound by gravity when the day comes to fly. We are the dreamers who dream ourselves into new avenues of experience.

That is an interesting theory. Mine is different. If we look at 'who we are' as being similar to -a house-, -a home-, it is like the circumstances we are in provide us with the materials and tools we have to use to build and furnish that house. The experiences we experience provide us with the metaphorical wood, cohesive substance, cordage, ore, flame, hammer, anvil, etc. I think it is perfectly possible for two people to go through two very similar lives and end up two very different people because they took what they had been given and went on to create two very different points of view, attitudes, and values. I do not think life shapes us. It provides us with many possible ideas, but the shaping is our own job.

Hello all. I have been mildly interested in Taoism for a few years now, but I have yet to delve into the study with any zest. I plan to do some reading and perhaps interact here to make an attempt at learning what I can about this intriguing way of life. As for me -- I have a website that I just put up : http://www.butchparrow.com -- and it might do a good job of giving you a good idea concerning who you are dealing with. I write poetry. I have not written anything for a while though. I also enjoy storytelling. I'm writing a fantasy story. I like the idea of ALL (good) creative activity. I would like to learn more crafts, such as pottery and weaving and such. I have, since childhood, had a prominent interest in the ways of indigenous peoples. I think it started with The Ewok Adventure : The Caravan of Courage, which I watched many, many times as a child. I would like to be an instructor of wilderness survival skills someday. I would like to master as many as I can and spend as much time as possible in forested areas doing woodsy things. I used to be a very, very quiet person. Then I was thrust into a few situations where I had to 'shape up or ship out' and although there are times where I have nothing to say I do talk more than I used to. I read a lot of books (perhaps too many... mostly fantasy and science fiction) to sharpen the area of my mind that has to do with making words (and potentially eloquence too.) I want to foster inner peace and find new ways to free myself from bad habits and such. I think learning about Taoism will help. About all I've ever done in this area is read 'The Tao of Pooh' as a teenager. Heh.