Week 2 Comment 2: Chris' Blog

Photo from Microsoft Clip Art

Original Post:

This was a great assignment. I was initially a little turned off because I really was struggling with the writing style. It seemed a little unorganized. I read quite a bit and haven’t struggled like that in a while. But, since I’ve never had a book published I guess I’ll keep opinions to myself.

As I read through the chapters, one thing seemed to keep popping into my mind. The chapters talked about “possibilities” and how “it’s all invented”, but at least for me the one thing lurking behind all the words was “fear”.

While trying to go through life assessing what is illusion and how it affects the way we think, I couldn’t help but try to put the assignment into practice. I started to do the exercises and found that more than anything; my thoughts were motivated by fear.

For example, due to defense cut backs, we have lost a large amount of contracts. This means that I will probably lose my job within the next month or two. I am terrified. So I have immediately begun looking for ANYTHING in the area that will allow me to stay in the area while my girls are in school. I would ultimately like to get a teaching position with Full Sail, but that didn’t even enter into my thoughts. Why? Fear. I am scared and have gone into what the book calls “scarcity thinking”. Time look like they are going to be tough, so my mind has put aside my desires and started to look for anything that will provide for my family. Strange that we would have this reading at such a perfectly timed point in my life.

I hope that I am able to step back and truly try to apply the philosophy of the reading. I want to be able to understand that there are more possibilities out there if I just stay open to them instead of letting circumstances completely dictate my life. It’s more challenging than I thought it might be.
My Comment:

Chris,

I might be in the same boat as you. I just found out today that I am going to be riffed in March. My first reaction was to go into a little bit of panic mode since right now my husband and I are living off of my income and health insurance. Then I read your blog post and started to see the reading in the same way that you did. Fear is something that can really make us think in such a confined place that we aren’t able to see all of the options. I feel very encouraged after reading your blog and re-reading my notes from this reading. I think that if we don’t let fear get the best of us, we will be able to think much more clearly. I also think that by not putting fake boundaries on ourselves we keep many more doors open. Also, we will be the brand new recipients of a Full Sail masters degree. 

I think that we can take this a step further and also remember this notion when we are dealing with people in our lives. I think that my school district only thinks of cutting teachers first because they are afraid of the budget and assume this is the only solution because it has been this way for so long. They are also living within certain boundaries. I am with you in trying to take these ideas and philosophies to heart and put them into action. Easier said then done, but I think that this reading was given at the perfect time to give us something to think about.