Sandra Dodd

Flustered moms of very young children can just pass this by, no
problem. Those with time on their hands and an interest in history
or philosophy might want to look.


http://thevanitypress.blogspot.com/2007/10/fair-game.html

This can be applied to thoughts of unschooling and who can and should
do it and how fair and right the outcome should be, and guarantees of
any sort.

It could also be considered off topic, or offsides, and while at the
edges it's too political for my regular tastes, in the middle of this
article is some really great history of the western civilizations
ideas about how and whether the world is fair.

I found the link by visiting the history blog of a friend of mine,
Steve Muhlberger, whose blog is linked at
http://sandradodd.com/history in case you want to look again
someday, but is here:

http://www.nipissingu.ca/department/history/muhlberger/blog.htm

The story of how and why I came across this and why I was excited
would be longer than the article, so let it be part of your own
tapestry of connections, or not; either's fine.

Sandra

jenstarc4

I've never really liked either of those comparisons of the world view.

Isn't the idea of a "just world" a bit like trying to create natural
consequences arbitrarily? The "wheel of fortune" attempts to tip the
balance, by saying bad and good things happen, but not necessarily
because one is bad or good.

Life seems to be more a little of both. But maybe it's that way
because enough people believe it to be. It's not all up to chance or
will and intent.

However, the idea of settling with a duel would make life a bit more
interesting, especially if you could carry around big swords.

Sandra Dodd

-=-I've never really liked either of those comparisons of the world
view.

-=-Isn't the idea of a "just world" a bit like trying to create natural
consequences arbitrarily? The "wheel of fortune" attempts to tip the
balance, by saying bad and good things happen, but not necessarily
because one is bad or good.-=-

I've never tried to like one or the other. It does help me to know
there are people who have in the past, and still, acted on them as
immutable truths.

Bad and good things do happen, and not necessarily because one is bad
or good. How can that be doubted? On top of that, though, there
are things we can affect.

When a baby is born, he's strong or not, whole or not, and assuming
he gets nourishment and isn't damaged, will develop talents in
various ways or not. Some parents love to think a strong, bright
baby is because they were good (one way or another).

The Buddhist idea of non-attachment has come up a couple of time in
my life this week. I would've been better off if I hadn't visualized
some things the way I wanted them to be and then gotten excited about
and invested in those visions. Yet there are people who advise *JUST
THAT*: visualize and plan on something you don't have, and if you
believe it and want it it will happen.

People give them money to say that. And for everyone who has
"success," the speakers are justified. And for each person who
doesn't, it's their fault.

That can't be true. Not everyone can be an Olympic medalist or a
lottery winner.

Sometimes I think people want unschooling to be like that. They read
and they imagine and they dream, but they're not with their kids
*doing.*

Sandra

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

jenstarc4

>
> When a baby is born, he's strong or not, whole or not, and
assuming
> he gets nourishment and isn't damaged, will develop talents in
> various ways or not. Some parents love to think a strong, bright
> baby is because they were good (one way or another).

I just had a conversation about this with someone today, about how
many parents attatch themselves to their children's successes and
failures and feel somehow that it is a reflection of them as the
parents.

I love to effect positive things onto my kids! I love love love it
when I do something for or with my kids that they love. It feels
wonderful to be able to have that kind of effect on them. However, I
don't do it for that reason, I do it to enrich their world, and I
just get blessed in the process.

>
> The Buddhist idea of non-attachment has come up a couple of time
in
> my life this week. I would've been better off if I hadn't
visualized
> some things the way I wanted them to be and then gotten excited
about
> and invested in those visions. Yet there are people who advise
*JUST
> THAT*: visualize and plan on something you don't have, and if you
> believe it and want it it will happen.
>
> People give them money to say that. And for everyone who has
> "success," the speakers are justified. And for each person who
> doesn't, it's their fault.
>


Sounds a bit like school actually and we do pay a lot of money for
that.

I've done that though, the whole visualization/make it happen thing,
and I've found that it works in its own beautiful way. Perhaps it
can be chalked up to focusing on it so much that your life starts to
move in that direction.

Or maybe it's that when focusing on positive outcomes, you attract
positives into your life. I've experienced that to. I think it's an
interesting concept to play with ones destiny, in a way, or the
concept of one having a destiny, or not, to begin with is fascinating
all on its own.