We Experience What We Believe
by Dorothy M. Neddermeyer
You have seen the bumper stickers, ‘Shit Happens.’ A plethora of articles are written and columns are titled—Life Happens. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, provides a definition.
"Shit happens" is a common slang phrase, used as a simple existential observation that life is full of imperfections, or "C'est la vie". The phrase inherits the ambiguity of the word shit itself, which can mean (colloquially) either "bad stuff" or "excrement", but also "stuff" in general. It has become a well-known meme. Because it contains the word "shit", the phrase might be considered profane."
Like many slang phrases, ‘Shit Happens’ may explain what people believe is their fate, but in fact the phrase was coined by someone, who unwittingly avoids taking responsibility for his/her actions or lack of action. While Wikipedia compares the phrase, ‘Shit happens’ to the French expression, “C’est la vie” the comparison is the same as comparing apples to oranges. Yes, both are expressions to connote something, but that is the only comparison.
C’est la vie translates to English as “That is Life.” The meaning and the reason for using the expression is different than ‘Shit Happens.’
Having lived in France and speaking the language, ‘C’est la vie [‘That is Life’] for the French is an expression to accept the now! I am in this situation, I recognize the situation for what it is now—I can and will change my circumstance.
The definition of 'Happen(s)' includes the synonyms: befall, betide, chance, occur. These verbs mean to come about: saw an awful thing happen; predicted that misery will befall humankind; woe that betides the poor soldier; former friends who chanced to meet again; described the accident exactly as it occurred.
“We experience what we believe. If we don’t believe that we experience what we believe, then we don’t, which still means the first statement is true. The real dilemma of existence is deciding what to believe. The majority of us are already deeply patterned and indoctrinated by the time we realize that deciding for ourselves is an option. Deciding is fundamental to creating! What we believe and how we believe determines our reality”—Harry Palmer
If we believe ‘Shit Happens” or Life Happens then we have accepted the indoctrination that continues to create the same reality. Our indoctrination—shit happens—may sustain an existing reality, but it will never create a new one.
Reality is what we believe it to be. Reality may or may not be the same for everyone, thus proving that what we believe is what creates our individual reality.
The unconscious meaning or unwittingly avoiding taking responsibility for one’s actions or lack of action is profound and deeply ingrained in many people’s approach to life and life’s travail. Nothing happens—we create what we experience.
“For a long time people have weighed evidence, analyzed, and taken measurements to answer, “What should I believe?” It’s now clear this was the wrong question. The right question is, “What do I want to believe?”—Harry Palmer
Dorothy M. Neddermeyer, PhD, author, international speaker, inspirational leader specializes in: Mind, Body, Spirit healing and Physical/Sexual Abuse Prevention and Recovery. Dr. Neddermeyer empowers people to view life's challenges as an opportunity for Personal/Professional Growth and Spiritual Awakening.
http://www.drdorothy.net
