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| Author: Posted: Nov. 17, 2002 | This Page Viewed: 3,835,734 |
Question of the Week: 85 - 11/17/2002 What’s Your Motivation? What motivates you? What is the guiding principle(s) by which you steer your course? The Rede? Freedom and Justice for All? Honor? Kindness? Truth? Have you ever had to wrestle with conflicting impulses or actions that may be contrary to what you hold to be your guide? How did you resolve it? Is there a quotation (or quotations) that best sums up the ideals that you try to live up to or that is your inspiration? Please share it! |
| Reponses: There are 97 responses posted to this question. | Reverse Sort |
| Getting Back To Where We Once Belonged... | Nov 24th. at 8:49:44 pm EST |
| Lance Reid (Silverdrake) (Nashville, Tennessee) | Age: 54 - Email |
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I live my life using ideas as my map (thank you Bob Dylan). The ideas which motivate me may be found in the book "Sacred Pleasure" by Rianne Eisler. I feel that the human race did not evolve to this place by trying to wipe each other out. I believe that the worship of the Great Goddess was part of our natural evolution. Our sense of the sacred was much different than most mainstream cultures today. We valued cooperation, healing, nurturing, love and pleasure. The Dominator Patriarchy evolved out of environmental and social stresses five or six thousand years ago. They value competition, fear, pain, power, ownership and victory over each other and nature. Their institutions remain in power through the threat of pain and physical violence. I am very out of place in this system. I realize that I cannot bring it down by myself, but must live my life to bring some light to my little corner of the world. The values of the Dominator Patriarchy have brought us to a dead end. We can now destroy our species and many others in the process. We made a wrong turn. Bringing back the worship of the Goddess is essential to the survival of the human race. |
| PLEASE FIGHT FOR ALL LIFE AND FOR OUR MOTHER EARTH!! | Nov 24th. at 7:19:26 pm EST |
| inanna (california) | Age: 33 - Email |
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"there's never a wrong time to do the right thing." ~ unknown "the most important thing in life is to live your life for something more important than your life." ~ william james and in regards to these quotes i have something more to say: Now more than ever, every single soul on earth who values life and the planet that sustains this life, needs to take a stand, to be a participant in an effectual movement towards peace and tolerance within humanity. To aid in the prevention of never-ending war and unspeakable human rights violations, we need to be willing to put forth any effort. Right now we ALL have a choice to make - either we decide that four billion years of life was all for nothing, and give our Creator the finger, telling him that we didn't really care for his gift anyway; or we realize that life is what we choose, and take the power back from those who would forceably choose for us. Because there are no shades of grey here, it is either one or the other, and time is a luxury we no longer have. The course of action chosen now will have no certain way from which to return. The world that the leaders of the globe are creating is nothing short of hell. Whether one aids in its creation or not is a choice one makes not just for oneself, but for every living, breathing thing on this planet and those yet to come. Care to let them down? Because no man, woman, child, or animal should ever have to fear the world that they live in - and this world is their only option. At any time humanity could choose to live in peace, yet we choose to perpetuate hell. There are more intelligent ways of dealing with overpopulation than war. --it doesn't have to be this way. DON'T LET THE US GOVN'T SCARE YOU INTO GIVING UP YOUR RIGHTS!!! |
| L:ife Changes | Nov 24th. at 4:42:33 pm EST |
| Thomas (Moscow ID) | Age: 22 - Email |
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Well, I have just gone through a massive purge, leaving behind the detruis of life and moving forward, in a sense, healing. I found the power of the craft, and the power of the mind, brought me into this change (kicking and screaming(; and worked me through it. I shed my old skin and cringed as my new shell began to harden. I was vulnerable for a time, just as many of us are during these things, but the Dvine and those I loved protected me. In a way my motivation for years, wether I knew it or not, has been to heal. BB |
| What Motivates Me... | Nov 24th. at 2:53:06 pm EST |
| PaganDeva2000 (New York) | Age: 38 - Email |
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My motivation is observing the beauty of my spirituality. The Pagan spirituality is as individual as each person is, and we can adapt and change it as we see fit, like shedding off new skin when the old is run down, old and outdated. I have fashioned my life behind "The Four Agreements" by Miguel Ruiz, and that was my breakthrough. The Four Agreements are: 1. Be impeccable with your word, 2. Do not take anything personally, 3. Do not assume, and 4. Always do your best. This liberated me because I see that everyone lives in a different reality, therefore, I have no reason to have to adapt to someone else's. If it does not fit between me and another, I move on, and that is it. When I added these things to my way of thought and action, it liberated me, and I began to accept myself, and enjoy my life more. |
| What's My Motivation? | Nov 24th. at 2:13:48 pm EST |
| Tina Schadeberg (Chicago,IL) | Age: 44 - Email |
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I try to live by a very simple rule: I take responsibilty for my own actions/reactions. That's it. If someone says/does something I don't like, it is TOTALLY up to me to respond (or not). Whether I "flip-off" a bad driver, turn and walk away from an insult or go full tilt Arnold Schwartzenegger on someone. How I handle the situation is MY RESPONSIBILTY. This is harder than you might imagine. Someone is always trying to find an excuse, someone else to blame. Society, parents, schools, churches, drugs, sex, pornography, the Devil...it's always someone (or thing) else. And well-intentioned people will try to give you these outs...well, you WERE raised by a single parent; your parents let you play violent video games; your religion repressed your sexuality. On and on. I will always attempt to live in accordance with the laws of the country I am in, but if I cannot, I will not blame anyone else for my choice OR the aftermath of that choice. Pure and simple. I made the decision to do whatever (the old adage of not deciding is also a decision comes to mind)period. And if I am called to meet my God/dess at ANY time I can honestly say I have done the very best I could with the life I lived. Who can ask for more? |
| Taking Care Of Things | Nov 24th. at 2:10:16 pm EST |
| Sphinxring (Snoqualmie, WA) | Age: 50 - Email |
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Hard to explain just how it came to me, but I was given a sense of the pattern of life. When I clear my mind and meditate on what moves with this living pattern best I get insights of how to weigh one course of action against another. What benefits the whole the most is generally the best direction. This sounds long and complicated, but really it's like an instinct that guides me. Like reacting to currents when swimming in a fast river, finding solid footing that leaves no trace while running though the forest, or sensing the winds while sailing. Of course it doesn't always work that easy, some things are more like trouble. Trouble takes longer. Generally trouble comes from people. That sort of thought could make you a recluse, but love changes that. Somehow my love comes from helping others. I take care of a lot of people. Most of my close friends are taking care of people too. Watching over them, keeping them out of trouble, aiming them in the right direction. So taking care of the world around me both nature and people is my motivation. |
| Karma - You Can Run But You Can't Hide. | Nov 24th. at 1:06:28 pm EST |
| Aleesha Stephenson (Agassiz, BC) | Age: 39 - Email - Web |
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For me, this statement embodies my 'control' over negativity. Situations, people or actions towards me or another. I don't need to do the job of The Goddess, it's Her job to decide who needs a 'rap on the knuckles' and who doesn't. How do I know whether or not I'm getting a karmic payback myself? Do I really want to perpetuate the karma and negativity by re-acting to a negativity? I teach my children that if they refuse to send back negative energy when it is sent to them, then they have an opportunity to stop the cycle. Others may continue to be negative, as we can't control what others do, but we can control how we act and re-act to others. Focus on ourselves and let The Goddess, in Her wisdom take care of the rest. in light, Aleesha Stephenson |
| OOPS!!! | Nov 24th. at 12:24:00 pm EST |
| Stephanie Stanton (New Orleans, LA) | Age: 47 - Email |
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That was meant to read "treasonous to the Crown"! |
| Our Founding Fathers | Nov 24th. at 12:22:20 pm EST |
| Stephanie Stanton (New Orleans, LA) | Age: 47 - Email |
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I know it sounds corny, but it's true for me. Their courage and brilliance and willingness to be reasonous to the Crown in order to found this nation so that freedom and the pursuit of happiness would be the top priority amazes me. Susan B. Anthony, Sojourner Truth, Frederick Douglas, Abe Lincoln and Elizabeth Cady Stanton motivate me for the same reasons. All of these Patriots risked all for a greater way of life for others as well as themselves. Gerald Gardner is in there as well for me, in working and seeing the Witchcraft Laws repealed so that we may live out of the broom closet. I admire the folks who worked all of their lives to make change, knowing full well they probably wouldn't see the changes within their lifetimes, yet never giving up the fight. "It is Winter we are sowing, and hands other than ours will harvest"...Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Elizabeth knew that was the case and never gave up. And that reminds me of a Yoruban proverb that Luisah Teish says often..."I stand tall because I stand on the shoulders of my ancestors". I will continue to stand on those shoulders and let their passion and motivation continue to motivate me. |
| Why I Follow The Path Of Paganism. | Nov 24th. at 7:47:22 am EST |
| K.T (England) | Age: 14 - Email |
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Why do I follow the path of Paganism? That is a difficult question to answer. There are many reasons. a) I believe that people have the right to choocse what they believe in, whether they want to be pagan, christian, budhist or atheist. Everyone has the right to choose their religion and noone has the right to stop them. b)I find that Wicca's beliefs are the ones which most closely match my own, and that Wicca is right for me. c)Why not? because people think I am a child of the devil and worship the moon? blessed Be, K.T (P.S to all the pagans and wiccans out there: you are not alone!) |
| "Live Simply So Other May Simply Live" | Nov 24th. at 7:24:39 am EST |
| Morning Dove (Salisbury, MD) | Age: 25 - Email |
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Another Good Moto is "The Best Things In Life Aren't Things!" Materialism and Greed are the greatests "evils" in this word, and I feel that if we all practed an ounce of Buddhism we would be much happier. There is no need to partake in this "disposable world" or to "Keep up with the Jonses". Living Simply is about being gentle on the environment and not spending beyond your means. You don't have to have a new car every year, you don't need to collect all the merchandise from "insert favorite TV show here" to prove your a real fan, and you don't need to buy everything brand new or to throw everything away... Give to Goodwill and buy from it too. Abundance can be a burden, so don't bring it home... When you shop, ask yourself, "Do I REALY NEED this?" or "Will I realy enjoy this for a long time?" Just Say NO to Capitalism! Peace Morning Dove |
| Motivations... | Nov 24th. at 12:09:07 am EST |
| Noelle (Ohio) | Age: 23 - Email |
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My motivation comes from Christ and my conscience. There's something so simple about "love thy neighbor as thyself" that sums up just about everything one needs to know ethically. I also have a strong sense of justice. It is very difficult for me to restrain myself from action and patiently await the fullness of time for their just desserts. I try to keep my books balanced so if necessary, the backlash of my actions are contained. |
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