The Art of Reinterpretation
TheDeadGuy on everything2.com Tue Jul 13 2004 at 19:52:42
We do not have the power to change the past. We cannot undo something that was done. The move was made. Let the pieces fall as they may. Things that happen stay happened. It is up to you how you will now perceive the events from the perspective of the present moment.
Fear of failure keeps us from jumping. Fear of loss and of death keeps us from taking risks. This is just another level of tests. So is being down and out and living on the streets. Life continues. It just hands us a different test sheet.
Wherever you are, that’s where you are.
You can’t be anywhere other than where you are right now. It is the only place you could possibly be.
The paths not taken don’t exist
Just be in the present tense. Be who you are, where you are, right now. Nothing else is possible. The present always is exactly what it is. It is important to break ourselves of the habit of trying to change the present tense. We’re always trying to figure out what else we could be doing instead of being where we are right now.
One of the leading causes of depression is an obsession with perceived failures of the past coupled with a habit of repeating the same mistakes while sensing you are your mistakes. The inability to deal with loss or unwanted change sends an individual on a self-defeating spiral. The loss has happened. The unwanted change happened, but while that change may have been unwanted, there is other change that can happen that may be more positive.
Reflection through reinterpretation steps beyond harping on failure and loss and changes the perspective. The perspective is simple. I am where I am right now and I cannot change that. What I do from this moment on will shape where I go from here.
We forget that things are temporary. We forget things change. The problem is we wake up every morning and expect everything to continue as it was, except when we are hoping for some kind of positive change to take place. Everything changes. Nothing really ever stays the same. The moment, in and of itself, is personal mythology. A perfect moment is worth ten thousand static lives.
Bask in the moment.
Recall personal mythology
Feel the story within yourself
It is alive within you
Embrace it with passion and a smile
Now that you can feel it you can reinterpret it
Example: Moving on, moving up
Thought: No one can compare to her.
Reinterpretation: No one needs to compare to her. That time has passed. It was a beautiful time worth remembering, but the present is now. That era has come to a close. This is a different era. Create the new era.
Reinterpretation sees no reason for revenge. It is a useless act. If someone commits a wrong against you, it does not need to be avenged. The wrong has happened. It cannot be changed. Moving forward involves learning how to avoid allowing someone to do such wrong again. You learn how not to be the victim.
You are permanent.
Everything else is temporary.
You can be wrong. It isn’t a weakness or a fault. You worked with the information and knowledge you had at the time. You believed your interpretation was correct at the time, but now that interpretation takes its place in your personal mythology. You must reinterpret again in the face of this new information. The new reinterpretation may need to be re-evaluated and changed in the future. New knowledge and information you are not currently aware of may become known at that time. Mistakes are the teacher. If you don’t make any, you don’t learn anything.
You can invest yourself in initial interpretations. You can do this because you know this interpretation may change and you accept this. You can give life to your personal mythology by seeing things in vibrant colors and energy. If they don’t become what you interpret them to be, you can reinterpret. I do this with relative ease these days. The end result is that I’m almost never disappointed. When I am the disappointment rarely lasts longer than one night. A period of mourning is granted for these times of disappointment and loss. It is within the period of mourning that I most often discover the new interpretation. For me, the period of mourning is important, but it is always brief. It is a time to collect energy, reinterpret the event and move forward. Once I process and reinterpret the data, I am energized and ready to move forward.
To be successful, you must accept a wide range of end results to any situation. You must be willing and able to accept whatever course the situation takes. You can walk away. You can stay the course. It may be what you want it to be and take you where you need to go. It might not. As the situation evolves, takes shape and changes you must be willing to reinterpret along the way.
Everything is always what it is in the present tense
The present tense moves into personal mythology very quickly
The anticipated future becomes the present tense
It begins again
Your personal mythology created the present tense
See it for what it is and move forward
bAs Mythology 