Rotten Tomato:
Jasmine Marie Engler:
I understand the sentiment but is what it says the best thing to do ? ie, making more calls, pushing the body till they cry out and more fruitful. Are these good goals to have? Or is there an alternate kind of lifestyle that one is trying to achieve? You get my drift, I hope.
Rotten Tomato;
I believe I do. I was mostly gathering the full image of the speech, rather than the parts of it. He was saying, with all that stuff, that he would give HIS all to HIS life. "Making more calls" meant calling his family more often, and, as far as the "pushing the body til they cry out" you must realise that I work in the physical therapy field. I believe that one should condition their body with the same intensity that one conditions their mind, or, just as with the mind, it will begin to break down. But, in this context, for HIM, for the lifestyle that he must maintain for his job, the ability to be physically strong is a necessity. Or people die. Or he himself gets injured. In other words, his aspiration is to put himself, one-hundred-ten percent, in every moment of his life, to give more of himself to others, and to try harder at life, for no reason other than that each moment is precious. But, when it is picked apart piece by piece, we are analyzing "Christopher" and "Christopher's life", rather than the truth that he is trying to portray. Thankyou for your response, though.
On the other hand, if you are speaking of the "nonchalance" that it seems many, especially some AFers, feel accompanies enlightenment, then I believe we are at a faux pas, as I disagree with this interpretation. I believe that we will become MORE of everything compassionate, giving, and motivated; we will simply stop seeing it as a personal level, as an "us" item. I think the difference will be that it won't be "Oh, good job, Jazzi- you helped the little girl cross the street"; if someone were enlightened, I think that they would consider this to be as ridiculous as applauding your own two feet for having crossed the street, as you claim no more ownership of them than of the little girl. As Jan Frazier suggests, doing what is best will feel intrinsic.
The one thing that disturbs me about the concept of enlightenment that I hear of around here so often, is that it seems to be a great deal more about the mind than the body for many. If we are focused on changing the mind, and have already acknowledged it as a duality created by ourselves for whatever reason, then what is it that is real? What is it that matters? I know that, as my body functions under the control of my mind (really, the brain, but I'm trying to make a point, so I don't know if technicality matters), so, too, does the mind focus under the control of the body. For instance, as there is a receptor in my brain saying, "Move that arm," and I willfully move that arm, then there are receptors on the fingertips that say, "Ouch! Hot stove- move that hand!" back to the brain. In other words, the five physical "sense doors", if you will, are controlled first by the body. And the body is very fragile. If one allows oneself to be lazy, or a couch potato, or, worse, never works on their proprioceptive-neuro-fascilitation, then the muscles' receptors become lazy, as well. They stop listening to the brain. If you have an injury and don't rehab it properly, these muscles shut off. Well, from the scientific world, your body considers a lack of physical stamina to be a form of injury. Muscles start the process of atrophy within three hours of lack of use. It comes back almost as soon as one moves again, but still. Imagine 48 hours of sitting, with low nutritional intake. My body is not made to function in such a way. My job will not allow me to function in such a way, anyway, and my job is more important than my selfishness at this point. I need to be able to fit certain standards, and I do. I can drag three hundred pounds of man over one hundred yards without stopping. This is necessary for me. Is it necessary for everyone? No. But every person asks things of their body every day, and why shouldn't we maintain it? If we become enlightened, will I stop brushing my teeth, or taking showers, simply because "I" don't claim ownership of this body? I should hope not. Exercise is another way to maintain the overall health of the structure that needs maintainance. Would we cross the road? Would we help the child? Well, simply because we see MORE, should not be cause to ignore that which we saw before. I hope this helps clarify both Christopher's writing, through my poor interpretation, based on what I know of him, as well as any personal beliefs of mine you may have been asking about. If you disagree, I heartily welcome the chance to hear new ideas, and hope only to learn new things from you. :-)
Love and Happiness,
Jazzi
