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Thursday, June 18, 2009

Live Your Own Life

There are many people in this world who won't act -- yea or nay -- until they've consulted the good book. Depending upon their religious or philosophical moorings, the "good book" may mean the Koran, Bible, Torah, Tao Te Ching or numerous other texts. Such people ask themselves, "What would Jesus, Moses, Muhammad, Buddha, Lao Tzu, etc. do in this particular situation?"

My response to this type of question is: Who the hell cares? You are not Jesus and I'm not Lao Tzu! What they did and thought may have been right for them in a particular situation, but each individual AND individual situation is different. So, what may be a proper act for one scenario may be altogether different for a current scenario.

There is nothing wrong with seeking out guidance, whether it be from Aunt Zelda or the words of the Buddha. People who don't learn from the experiences and thoughts of others are apt to run smack dab into brick walls over and over again. But guidance should not be understood to be a blueprint or road map. All guidance can do for a person is help GUIDE them in a general way. The specifics are up to each of us to determine.

When I read the Tao Te Ching or the book of Chuang Tzu, I often find that the words of these legendary sages helps me to gain new insight into the facets of my own reality. I often times feel inspired to look at any given situation anew. But how I behave or act is up to me.

We each need to live our own lives and take responsibility for the actions we've wrought.

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