...the choice is yours...
I had 2 major moments today that illuminated a philosophy I didn't know I held before.
The first moment was during an EMDR session with my therapist. EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, and is a form of therapy that helps individuals recover from eating disorders, anxiety, depression, PTSD and more earthly delights. I think it is pronounced emmdurrr with an emphasis drawl on the durr like you are talking through Wilford Brimley’s mustache.
I do EMDR with my therapist because I endured years of abuse in various creamy flavors. I am not proud of any of the trauma I have endured but I have no choice but to accept it is sometimes a part of my physical energetic being. It can be a part of me in the present even though the issues happened in the past.
This is that.
In that, this moment is a result of that; that being the actions that happened before I got to this moment.
This is now. This is the one nearer or more immediately under observation or discussion. What you do at this moment and with this opportunity and how you interpret the meaning of this existence at this point.
That is then. That is what this was. That is the one farther away or less immediately under observation or discussion. That is this before this.
So basically THIS is nearer and THERE is further, kind of like Grover creeping up on you with some near far actions.
Or Celine Dion jamming with some Pan Flutes to the same idea…
By seeing this moment, I can see that that moment was then, and only part of this if I so choose it to be.
That is my power. That is so powerful that it can do this.
My second moment of illumination came while hanging out with one of my great friends who is dealing with the potential passing of his father. His father is 94 years old and could pass at any moment any day now. They have a love and appreciation of each other that is settled and deep. But within the walls of their understanding, love and togetherness is the difficulty to accept that this might be the last moments of that.
But only if this doesn’t continue to bring along that with it. This is more powerful than that because it has the capability to forget and move on. That was, and therefore can never not be, while this is and can be part of that if it so chooses.
I think about that like this.
“Every truth has two sides; it is as well to look at both, before we commit ourselves to either.”
-Aesop-
In this life I can live in this or that moment. This moment could be because of that time or action. That moment can exist during this time, if that was important to this. This idea only exists because of that in those situations. So in this life I can also live in this and that moment.
When I mentally step back and notice this or that I empower myself to have this moment on its own as either this or that, or this and that. I can see how that influenced this point in time, and I can decide whether or not that needs to tag along for future thises.
This and that are buddies. They help each other out when needed and influence each other like amigos in a sweet action movie (specifically Point Break).
They can stay together, skydive and rob banks. But if the relationship between them needs to part course, they can also be set free on the beach and surf ambiguously away. That is like my EMDR (...say it with me and Wilford…emmmmdurrrr…). I do that form of therapy to help my thises accept my thats for what they were, and to help this time be different than that time.
I use this moments to set thats free.
So that is the reason I did this.
I wrote this article today because I couldn’t get that idea out of my head. I took that, and made it part of this, but only the parts of that that made this better and more important and hopefully more interesting than this already was. And by doing this I will remember that forever, and at least anytime I come back to this to think about that.
So you can get with this, or you can get with that.
Or you can get with this, and you can get with that.
Spend time with your that during this moment and determine if this still needs that or if this can do without that. When you take the time to determine the best proportion of this and that you are maximizing this opportunity. And this becomes anything you want it to be…
It is a story for another time though…
I loved this. And that's that.
Also THIS 'is'.... like thIS. Th(IS). Can't have this without is. Is is always inside of this. That was, but this (is).
THIS isn't what I expected, but THAT isn't new for reading you.