inspiredcreativity In reply to MarinaMAMbackup [2019-09-15 23:03:31 +0000 UTC]

Thank you for your kind comment. 

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inspiredcreativity In reply to OfficerMark [2014-12-30 11:06:20 +0000 UTC]

Thank you, it is very kind of you to say so.  Unfortunately my decline is progressive. Still, I refuse to let my life completely revolve around pain and pain management.  Suffering has a good side to it because it helps you appreciate things far more, and this helps me to find a measure of happiness and contentment in life.  I guess you will just have to have enough fun for both of us.  I miss dancing the most of all and all my friends there, as well as rock climbing, canoeing, rafting and hiking. Now I am stuck in the house almost all the time. 

We have no say in what life throws our way, but we do have a lot of choice with what we do with the rest. It is pointless to be depressed or sad about my condition and my impending end, so I focus  on a day at time, trying to get the most out of eat day.

I hope that you live with a good measure of happiness and contentment. There is a million things I would love to do if I had a healthy body, so you darn well better be having fun…

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OfficerMark In reply to inspiredcreativity [2014-12-30 17:00:19 +0000 UTC]

I understand your philosophy about suffering. In Buddhism, the universality of suffering is the First of the Four Noble Truths. So, while I'm referencing Buddhist teaching it is worth repeating the Buddha's instruction: "Do not dwell on the past. Do not worry about the future. Focus, instead, on the present moment."

None of us know how much time we have in this world. I believe the most worthwhile endeavor is to try to bring happiness to others, to fix the world's problems, to speak out against injustice, and to create more beauty around us.

Myself, I have experienced a lot of disappointment and loneliness in my life ... but I'll be damned if I turn into a bitter and cranky old guy.

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inspiredcreativity In reply to OfficerMark [2014-12-31 19:39:53 +0000 UTC]

One of my brothers became a Buddhist monk, so I have some familiarity. Another principle of Buddha I like is on expectations, about how if you have no expectations you will have no disappointments. 

Unfortunately, even if you never dwell in the past, the past carves patterns of neural pathways in your brain that can continue to affect you all your life. The challenge then becomes to create new strong neural pattern of a positive nature in the brain, allowing the other to wither.  This is basically what cognitive and behavioral therapy are about.  I grew up isolated and physically abused, which set negative patterns in my young developing brain. I did not dwell on such things because I could not even remember them, it was so traumatic my past was blank.  It was not easy, but I managed to create new positive patterns for my life.  Many never get a chance to do this.

You may have noticed that as people get older they tend to polarize in one director to the other, either getting more mellow and compassionate, or more bitter and mean — not to overgeneralize, LOL.

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inspiredcreativity In reply to waltb2b [2012-06-04 10:35:06 +0000 UTC]

Do you mean the one in the painting, the actor, or the wildness, LOL (see [link] )?

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waltb2b In reply to inspiredcreativity [2012-06-04 10:40:08 +0000 UTC]

the painting of course.... too bad we all play it in reverse though, isn't it?

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inspiredcreativity In reply to BubbaJoseph [2012-06-04 10:36:57 +0000 UTC]

Have you considered that we all may be in a zoo? We could be a zoo for an alien race, LOL—A zoo and a plaything for the Gods of old.

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inspiredcreativity In reply to kproductions [2010-02-22 17:55:02 +0000 UTC]

Thank you, that is really sweet of you to say. I actually won a Clint Black Look Alike contest once. When I put on my cowboy hat… A Lesbian came in a close second.

I think of my self as being a compassion-based person.

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kproductions In reply to inspiredcreativity [2010-02-22 18:17:39 +0000 UTC]

Oh cool! And you're quite welcome!

I can tell you do

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inspiredcreativity In reply to andshedreamed [2010-02-17 07:26:48 +0000 UTC]

How did you know this was from film? Thank you. The smile is why I used this Photo. Smiles get more rare as I get older and pain becomes worse and life function decreases. SDo there are not so many photos to choose from after this.

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andshedreamed In reply to inspiredcreativity [2010-02-17 13:55:28 +0000 UTC]

Film has a beautiful warmth to it. I love digital photos , but film...is like...I don't know who to explain it. Homely , I guess.

I'm sorry about your pain. I hope there is something you can do about it.

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inspiredcreativity In reply to andshedreamed [2010-02-17 15:10:05 +0000 UTC]

The Arthritis and nerve degeneration is progressive, starting when I was around 12. I have been on continuous morphine and Fentanyl for some17 years. Maybe in around 10 years, I will be tolerant to Fentanyl, and it will be the end of the line for me, as there is nothing else to manage such intense pain. Such is life. Suffering has advantages, it gives you an appreciation you cannot otherwise have, of life, of people, of love, of everything.

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