You reap what you sow, or Karma?

[FJRider]

If you're present is "defined" by your past and your future is "defined" by your present, then your future will follow the same path as your past? I would have thought a better "measure" of your present would be where you are in regards to your future, and not your past. Or is it all in the interpretation

I was of the belief ... what is behind is not important (I ride a Yamaha)

I am confused now ...

[rainman]

If you're present is "defined" by your past and your future is "defined" by your present, then your future will follow the same path as your past? I would have thought a better "measure" of your present would be where you are in regards to your future, and not your past. Or is it all in the interpretation

What do you mean by "where you are in regards to your future, and not your past"?

Your present isn't directly, neatly, linearly defined by (only) your past, but past actions do contribute to the present and the future.

[mashman]

I was of the belief ... what is behind is not important (I ride a Yamaha)

... it is if she's falls off

[FJRider]

... it is if she's falls off

Well it would be ... to her ...

[rainman]

What is the point to looking to your past? You can't do anything about it, so just move the heck on, and deal with what you have in the moment.

After all, which side of your head are the eyes?

Nowt to do with the eyes, more the mind. It's called learning. I find you can't do it without thinking about what you did before and whether it went well or not...

Not saying dwell on historical issues - after all, forgiveness is giving up all hope of having a better past - but understand it, and act accordingly.

[mashman]

What do you mean by "where you are in regards to your future, and not your past"?

Your present isn't directly, neatly, linearly defined by (only) your past, but past actions do contribute to the present and the future.

Our present is a single point in time that changes by the millisecond, so I would argue that our present is linear (unless we're gonna head doon the parallel universe road ). What I mean is, if you're looking to your past actions to understand your present, then you are looking at the end of your "path" and not the beginning. We do things out of character all the way through our lives which by definition means that we do things contrary to our past actions and even though they have happened, they don't wholly explain how you got to your current position... we can change our minds irrespective of our past. That change of mind is the start of our future, as you said in the second part of you quote. Our past makes for interesting stories and not much else in my flawed book. Tis hard to explain and likely needs more thought than the lip service I pay to my existence

[mashman]

Well it would be ... to her ...

ha ha ha haaaaaaaa... you're a real man and have the black eyes to prove it

[FJRider]

Nowt to do with the eyes, more the mind. It's called learning. I find you can't do it without thinking about what you did before and whether it went well or not...

Not saying dwell on historical issues - after all, forgiveness is giving up all hope of having a better past - but understand it, and act accordingly.

There is a famous quote (buggered if I can recall who) ... that the one thing man has learned from history ... is that he has NOT.

[Big Dave]

Kulture Klub Vid

. . .

I thought about posting it for a nanosecond, and decided I was far too classy to do it.

[mashman]

There is a famous quote (buggered if I can recall who) ... that the one thing man has learned from history ... is that he has NOT.

I kinda like Einstein's version: "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results"

[FJRider]

I thought about posting it for a nanosecond, and decided I was far too classy to do it.

Funny you should say that ...

I thought about your post for a nanosecond too ... and decided you weren't ...

[rainman]

Our present is a single point in time that changes by the millisecond, so I would argue that our present is linear (unless we're gonna head doon the parallel universe road ). What I mean is, if you're looking to your past actions to understand your present, then you are looking at the end of your "path" and not the beginning. We do things out of character all the way through our lives which by definition means that we do things contrary to our past actions and even though they have happened, they don't wholly explain how you got to your current position... we can change our minds irrespective of our past. That change of mind is the start of our future, as you said in the second part of you quote. Our past makes for interesting stories and not much else in my flawed book. Tis hard to explain and likely needs more thought than the lip service I pay to my existence

Yup, time is a single flow in one direction, or at least that's what it feels like to us, same diffs. I mean the connection between past events and present consequences is not nice, neat, clinical, that kind of linear. It's a tree, not a line, or something.

I need to parse the rest of your response further and can't do that just yet as I had better go indulge in some productive karma or there may be some unpleasant consequences, knowwhaddamean. One observation, we learn by stories, and memory is the tool we use to soften the harsh reality of our history into a nice fairy tale (or horror story) that we can guide our future with. You are what you are because of what you and others have already done. You may become something else tomorrow, that's not my point.

[Big Dave]

Or it's all just a hippy way of evaluating cause and effect.

[Brett]

I don't really buy into the Karma thing. I believe that intelligent hard work, gritty determination and a refusal to give in are the biggest factors to success in ones life. That said, I do believe that a decent dose of good fortune (being in the right place at the right time etc.) does play a part in the success of many people. However, they are generally people who walk around with their eyes open and listen to people. They are also willing to take calculated risks in moving on an opportunity and don't get stuck in analysis paralysis.

I have known some very successful people (from business through to sports people and special ops soldiers) over the last few years, and hard work was a common denominator in 90% of the cases. I also know a few guys who have been very successful in business because they were ultimately very lucky in having an opportunity drop into their lap as opposed to working hard, but I doubt this is a recipe one can rely on...

One other factor is to enjoy what you do. It isn't hard to work like a devil when you love what you do, but it is painful if your pushing a wheel barrow of shit you don't believe in.

[rainman]

Or it's all just a hippy way of evaluating cause and effect.

Actually a bit subtler than that, but a good place to start, yes.

I don't really buy into the Karma thing. I believe that intelligent hard work, gritty determination and a refusal to give in are the biggest factors to success in ones life.

Generally yes, and those are all good. However the problem with all this rugged individualism is it doesn't match reality, where your actions (or karma, it's just a foreign work for "doing stuff" remember, not some cosmic payback system) have an impact not only on your life but on others, and their karma on yours. Sometimes quite a bit after the initial action. Easy really.