Ludwig Wittgenstein

Yes, I enjoyed this writing with the visual of the ladder reaching to the place of no interest. This tells me that everything we need and think we desire, is already inside us, but our stubborness causes us to search outside ourselves climbing to relationships of people, material things, careers, children and even pets for our problems. This writer states when your life doesn't fit into life's shape you must change your life so the problematic disappears. I was told by many older wise people: "if you don't like what is happening then change it up." This is difficult for people because it requires going out of your comfort zone and trusting for the better to come. This will make you feel successful of your decision to change it up or feel failure of a poor decision. This can alter one's self esteem to a healthy state or unhealthy state. I love the visual of a mole and only if he could see, he would see the problem. Some go through life with horse blinders on and just eat and run, eat and run, to be done.
The very last paragraph of this writing is profound, speaking of truth being spoken by one who lives in truth in contrast to someone who lives in untruth and only SOMETIMES reaches for the truth. With the experience of living and speaking the truth is at times painful because I'm sure you have heard the age old saying: "the truth hurts." I beleive this is why the truth can be withheld from one because they don't want to inflict pain. Again the experience of TRUTH proves to be best so people don't have to wear masks pretending to be someone else.
Finally I believe a lot of people need to unfold their ladder and look within and quit the climbing process that leads to no where and just speak the truth with respect to the person who is receiving the information. Done properly this can change the world not how it is but............that it is!

Isaac of Ninevah

I enjoyed reading this writing on TRUST very, very much. As it strated off with a small lamp whose light goes out, I could immediately relate this to a person who consumes all the attention of another, which would in turn snuff the light of the giving person. When an idividual is constantly giving to others it is very important to replenish their own light in order to give again. This is a common problem with motherhood. Mothers constantly give to their husband, their children, maybe a career and they can feel the energy being consumed by all different angles causing a BURN-OUT! This behaviour and neglect of re-fueling is very unhealthy and will eventually affect those loved ones and friends. Similar to the drug addict that hurts their family and friends by consuming the drug of choice.
Secondly, the writer speaks of a stream which dries up when it doesn't rain; this is another example of every individual needs to replinish their own rain system either by a slow drip satisfaction of living water or by a massive gushing of the beautiful sound and feeling of a waterfall falling over one's body to keep the person flowing into others. The more good we take in the more we are able to give out.
This brings me to my third point; "Trusting God with our whole heart." This is the absolute most difficult thing to achieve because it requires letting GO.......and waiting and trusting and waiting and trusting. This writer says we are'nt to think of ourselves when we pray, but we do. It's human of us to pray for ourselves what we want to have and don't want to have.
Summed up with the H-word......Humility, knowing a humble person is a true delight and should be observed with great attention. I do agree with this author in great detail.

Al-Muhasibi

I enjoyed this reading especially when it talks about; when all hindrances are removed they tread the path of friendship with God. This transports that person in a special garden only few find where seeing without eyes you can converse with an unseen friend because that friend is inside of you and always available as the company of the Beloved. The very first sentence in this reading about the path of love and the path of insight lead into the same garden is a reminder to all of us that what we are searching for; is within. Yet we spend so much time and money trying to fulfill what we think we want; only to find it wasn't enough. I believe Ryan spoke of this same thing about having all these cool cars and it didn't make him happy. I also can relate having a successful high paid home business and that money and success did not make me happy. I had several hindracnces removed from my successful life leaving me with less; with the exception of my faith, a college education and my ski boat. I have very little now but live in a garden that is much more beautiful inside me, then the garden I had that could be seen by all others walking past me.
I found these ideas moving and very real because I have heard from many different people how they searched and searched for happiness and found it was closer then they ever could imagine. It lead them into the garden that they already owned but just didn't take the time to cultivate it and fertilize it for the inner beauty to be seen by all others. The hinderances are the weeds in our garden that we must not let get out of control; so weed and feed is necessary to grow. The problem arises when people feed on unhealthy things and don't remove those tough growing weeds. Everyone has to find their own fertilizer that they consider healthy. This shouldn't be forced or guilt driven but truely a peaceful decision so JOY can be grown.

Rilke

I enjoyed this reading because I could relate to the paragraph about the; "ripening like a tree, which doesn't force its sap, and stands confidently in the storms of spring, not afraid that afterward summer may not come." I have been like a tree tossed and blown and nicked with angry carvings dung into my trunk to leave scars and yet that weathering did not force my sap of revenge. It almost destroyed me to be uprooted but with patience and healthy encouraging support of others to carry my great pain of burdens; I am here to say that I am DEVELOPED and not destroyed. This is due to the deep root system that was instilled in me from my parents to exercise my faith when storms of life crash in. I am not afraid of summer heat to damage my exposed roots but fully see the summer heat as another opportunity to trust God in the developing process. When a person comes across a tree with some letters carved in the old trunk they know there is a story behind the letters. They know that this scaring of the tree did not force it to fall and die but continues to stand tall and remain more developed then before. It looked different then all the other trees around because it was chosen!
I agreed with this author and enjoyed the symbolism of our being a larger or smaller room and yet obvious we tend to know only one corner of our room which I believe is one's comfort zone. This author called it the narrow strip in which one walks back and forth for certain security. This little corner almost becomes a person's prison within. I found these ideas moving in my mind causing me to relate my life experiences to similar examples.

Johannes Scotus Erigena

The statements that express God is seen in the rosebush, the dirt, the screaming kids, and even the laundry drying outside tells me that something good can always be found resembling a good God if one looks deep enough. You might ask: what is good about a screaming kid? The answer: the child has a healthy voice and has the physical strength to be exercising it. Also one might wonder: what is good about dirt? The answer: when moistened it feels really good squishing in between your toes. I relate this too stirring up mud in the clear water. Clear water is transparent and stirring it up causes one to wait until the water settles for the clarity to reappear. This symbolises to me don't just believe the first thing you see at your first glance but take the time to wait and see something deeper then the first transparency view.
I thought the authors ideas were a little crazy and sometimes ridiculous. I wanted to grasp something from it relating to my thoughts but this was a real stretch and have come up a little confused. I thought this was just attributes being contrasted to its opposite. So my final thought that I walk away with is: FIND SOMETHING GOOD NO MATTER HOW UGLY IS SEEN!!