Comments on: A paradox http://highmountainmuse.com/2010/01/27/a-paradox/ A literary blog on nature, solitude and the search for serenity. Fri, 18 Nov 2011 23:39:34 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Ron http://highmountainmuse.com/2010/01/27/a-paradox/comment-page-1/#comment-1970 Ron Thu, 28 Jan 2010 23:37:44 +0000 http://highmountainmuse.com/?p=2181#comment-1970 Gin, Amazing post! Amazing Comments!!! Love the lines: There is commitment in community. ... There is no community in attachment. After reading it I think, for me, that I see Commitment as all the good, positive, strong, courageous, hardworking, loving, caring, sharing etc. attributes. And attachment as pretty much the opposite of all that. Don, don't take my comment above the wrong way! I don't see you as attached to your wife, Just truly deeply committed. Seems that there are more possibilities and positive outcomes from commitment than attachment. Sorry for the least eloquent response to a great post! Ron Gin,

Amazing post! Amazing Comments!!!

Love the lines: There is commitment in community. … There is no community in attachment.

After reading it I think, for me, that I see Commitment as all the good, positive, strong, courageous, hardworking, loving, caring, sharing etc. attributes. And attachment as pretty much the opposite of all that.

Don, don’t take my comment above the wrong way! I don’t see you as attached to your wife, Just truly deeply committed.

Seems that there are more possibilities and positive outcomes from commitment than attachment.

Sorry for the least eloquent response to a great post!

Ron

]]> By: marvin http://highmountainmuse.com/2010/01/27/a-paradox/comment-page-1/#comment-1969 marvin Thu, 28 Jan 2010 05:39:49 +0000 http://highmountainmuse.com/?p=2181#comment-1969 I have no words, but a tear in my eye, lump in my chest and a wonder of what if? We had no dreams, no hope. No roads to travel or wrong turns to make, no friends to make or bonds to break, no grief to shake for loved ones lost or lonely thoughts for name sake lost. Were is the grace in it all? Does there come a time when we can say all is well all is calm no more fears no not tonight? I have no words, but a tear in my eye, lump in my chest and a wonder of what if? We had no dreams, no hope. No roads to travel or wrong turns to make, no friends to make or bonds to break, no grief to shake for loved ones lost or lonely thoughts for name sake lost. Were is the grace in it all? Does there come a time when we can say all is well all is calm no more fears no not tonight?

]]> By: jRuth Kelly http://highmountainmuse.com/2010/01/27/a-paradox/comment-page-1/#comment-1968 jRuth Kelly Thu, 28 Jan 2010 04:32:23 +0000 http://highmountainmuse.com/?p=2181#comment-1968 i'm not on your mountain but i am. in many ways. i keep coming back to the same place. within. and with those i know are with me now. exhaustion. hope. loss of hope. renewed hope. growth. maturity. dreams. wherever we go, we are. but. some places hold us more sweetly, some hills smile into our souls more deeply, some rivers sink into our bones and nourish us richly. these are what we seek in both attachment and commitment whether we find it by staying put and gaining a new vision where we are or by moving on, to those places (and faces!) that hold us best. i wish you all the richest reaches and liberating sanctuary...and peace in your decision. Oops, should have said good post! Can't wait for the next post! i’m not on your mountain but i am. in many ways. i keep coming back to the same place. within. and with those i know are with me now. exhaustion. hope. loss of hope. renewed hope. growth. maturity. dreams. wherever we go, we are. but. some places hold us more sweetly, some hills smile into our souls more deeply, some rivers sink into our bones and nourish us richly. these are what we seek in both attachment and commitment whether we find it by staying put and gaining a new vision where we are or by moving on, to those places (and faces!) that hold us best. i wish you all the richest reaches and liberating sanctuary…and peace in your decision.
Oops, should have said good post! Can’t wait for the next post!

]]> By: DON BENTLEY http://highmountainmuse.com/2010/01/27/a-paradox/comment-page-1/#comment-1966 DON BENTLEY Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:34:35 +0000 http://highmountainmuse.com/?p=2181#comment-1966 I know about being attached to someone some place or something .In my life I have only been attached to one thing my wife .Now shes gone I am wondering in a wilderness of indecision .You will find you place in life and your home for the rest of your life . Its out there somewhere .I had a uncle in Oregon that had a ranch for over 50 years . He and his wife and two children built a house barns . Dug ponds built fences .It was all there dreams .They raised cattle .when the kids got married they built homes for them on each end of the ranch .They were attached to the land. As my aunt and uncle died the son took the big house and when his son was married he got the house he was raised in .The same for the other when there son got married the all put in and built them a home one the ranch . That is attachment to the land .Thats the kind of comentment it takes to be attached to the land . I will never be that way its to late but you and your family can . I think it is a way off life few know and fewer do . I hope you find such a place . A place that is made for you and you are made for it . If so you will be attached to the land and the way of life . all my prayers are with you Don I know about being attached to someone some place or something .In my life I have only been attached to one thing my wife .Now shes gone I am wondering in a wilderness of indecision .You will find you place in life and your home for the rest of your life . Its out there somewhere .I had a uncle in Oregon that had a ranch for over 50 years . He and his wife and two children built a house barns . Dug ponds built fences .It was all there dreams .They raised cattle .when the kids got married they built homes for them on each end of the ranch .They were attached to the land.
As my aunt and uncle died the son took the big house and when his son was married he got the house he was raised in .The same for the other when there son got married the all put in and built them a home one the ranch . That is attachment to the land .Thats the kind of comentment it takes to be attached to the land . I will never be that way its to late but you and your family can .
I think it is a way off life few know and fewer do .
I hope you find such a place . A place that is made for you and you are made for it . If so you will be attached to the land and the way of life .
all my prayers are with you
Don

]]> By: White Horse Pilgrim http://highmountainmuse.com/2010/01/27/a-paradox/comment-page-1/#comment-1965 White Horse Pilgrim Wed, 27 Jan 2010 20:31:06 +0000 http://highmountainmuse.com/?p=2181#comment-1965 Attachment is a curious concept, a simple emotion yet powerful. At best it is positive, as with attachment to a partner in a healthy relationship. I think that the key is the matter of what one is attached to. You realise this, noting that one was attached, in essence, to the past. Is one attached to something real - or to a construct, dream, myth, straw man....? I found myself attached to a myth that was there in my head, and left when reality diverged so far that I could not sustain the illusion. It was not that I was wrong in the beginning, however the truth around me shifted until my surroundings seemed alien. Perhaps it is the same with you? Reality has changed over time. But also your perception of reality has changed as you grew and learned. Finally an inner reality has altered since the same or similar things produce a different reaction within you. Meanwhile my neighbours remained since they had nowhere else to go, and came to despise the land for its harshness and inability to support them as they wishes. So they cut down the forest as a cash crop, killed the wildlife, threw their rubbish in the river.....and that mirrored their disillusionment. You are attached to good things - your husband and son, values that embody goodness, unspoilt mountain, hard work. Yet it is natural to look for some return for the work, not necessarily financial but in some form or other. There may be a place where you flourish more richly. It is true also that one can be committed to a thing that one does not own. I see that amongst the national park rangers, I see it amongst my colleagues on the railway which existed before us and will continue after we are gone. One way or another, we can find places where we can feel attachment and do good. Attachment is a curious concept, a simple emotion yet powerful. At best it is positive, as with attachment to a partner in a healthy relationship. I think that the key is the matter of what one is attached to. You realise this, noting that one was attached, in essence, to the past. Is one attached to something real – or to a construct, dream, myth, straw man….?

I found myself attached to a myth that was there in my head, and left when reality diverged so far that I could not sustain the illusion. It was not that I was wrong in the beginning, however the truth around me shifted until my surroundings seemed alien.

Perhaps it is the same with you? Reality has changed over time. But also your perception of reality has changed as you grew and learned. Finally an inner reality has altered since the same or similar things produce a different reaction within you.

Meanwhile my neighbours remained since they had nowhere else to go, and came to despise the land for its harshness and inability to support them as they wishes. So they cut down the forest as a cash crop, killed the wildlife, threw their rubbish in the river…..and that mirrored their disillusionment.

You are attached to good things – your husband and son, values that embody goodness, unspoilt mountain, hard work. Yet it is natural to look for some return for the work, not necessarily financial but in some form or other. There may be a place where you flourish more richly.

It is true also that one can be committed to a thing that one does not own. I see that amongst the national park rangers, I see it amongst my colleagues on the railway which existed before us and will continue after we are gone. One way or another, we can find places where we can feel attachment and do good.

]]> By: highmountainmuse http://highmountainmuse.com/2010/01/27/a-paradox/comment-page-1/#comment-1964 highmountainmuse Wed, 27 Jan 2010 19:10:04 +0000 http://highmountainmuse.com/?p=2181#comment-1964 Richard, I adore your comment, it captures a feeling and understanding I have been looking for, yet I have no roots buried here or elsewhere, my family wandered, passed nothing on but the ability to dream and work hard. Therefore, anything is possible. We will find what we seek - we will cultivate it ourselves. And we first must find a land to plant our seeds. A late start, a different path, but a similar journey. I'll think about this more and write more on this later... great thoughts, great images painted in your words... thank you. g Richard, I adore your comment, it captures a feeling and understanding I have been looking for, yet I have no roots buried here or elsewhere, my family wandered, passed nothing on but the ability to dream and work hard. Therefore, anything is possible. We will find what we seek – we will cultivate it ourselves. And we first must find a land to plant our seeds. A late start, a different path, but a similar journey. I’ll think about this more and write more on this later… great thoughts, great images painted in your words… thank you.
g

]]> By: Richard Finney http://highmountainmuse.com/2010/01/27/a-paradox/comment-page-1/#comment-1963 Richard Finney Wed, 27 Jan 2010 16:17:45 +0000 http://highmountainmuse.com/?p=2181#comment-1963 I feel for your struggle inside. I too, have many times wanted to walk away from my ranching endeavors. Cattle too cheap. Too cold, Too hot, Too dry, dead cows, dead marriages, women that could not understand, blood that has been poured out from my body by injury, on the ground. Bad horses. Sweat from the summer sun, building fence. The mind numbing boredom of going round and round sitting on a tractor. I could go on. But, the good always seems to outweigh the bad and tough. Watching the baby calves playing in the spring. The sunrises and the sunsets. Working with my son. My helper who has been with the family for 37 years. I think about my people who have come before me on this ground. What they taught me. Dancing with my wife next to the working chute, on the concrete slab. With a old radio playing. When I was young and handsome. Many simple memories. The Spanish have a saying. Mis Raices Estan Aqui. My roots are buried here. Whatever you decide. I wish you wellness and peace. Regards I feel for your struggle inside. I too, have many times wanted to walk away from my ranching endeavors. Cattle too cheap. Too cold, Too hot, Too dry, dead cows, dead marriages, women that could not understand, blood that has been poured out from my body by injury, on the ground. Bad horses. Sweat from the summer sun, building fence. The mind numbing boredom of going round and round sitting on a tractor. I could go on. But, the good always seems to outweigh the bad and tough. Watching the baby calves playing in the spring. The sunrises and the sunsets. Working with my son. My helper who has been with the family for 37 years. I think about my people who have come before me on this ground. What they taught me. Dancing with my wife next to the working chute, on the concrete slab. With a old radio playing. When I was young and handsome. Many simple memories. The Spanish have a saying. Mis Raices Estan Aqui. My roots are buried here. Whatever you decide. I wish you wellness and peace. Regards

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