The Healthy Management of Reality - Stanford University
The Healthy Management of Reality - Stanford University
The Healthy Management of Reality - Stanford University
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patience it must have taken to complete each mountain's sculpting. Moreastonishingly, the ability <strong>of</strong> the Andean communities to keep the terraces alive andfruitful from prehistoric times to the twenty-first century speaks to the way inwhich material reality, once shaped by a human idea, itself can shape the internalworld <strong>of</strong> human beings far into the future. It has been said that a mind oncestretched by an idea, never regains its original shape.For several years now, I have been attracted to a similar process: thesculpting <strong>of</strong> personal reality. I am intrigued by the way human beings mold ourlives, starting with our selves, moving on to our family, our work settings, ourcommunities, and beyond. <strong>The</strong>re seem to be infinite possibilities <strong>of</strong> living life,even when individuals start out in very similar situations. And some <strong>of</strong> those resultin fulfillment, while others lead to pain.For example, some individuals who live alone have found peace andtranquility in their life style, while others feel constantly lonely, anxious, anddistraught. Some feel that until they can find someone with whom to build arelationship, they cannot be happy. Others, already in a relationship, feel that aslong as they remain in it they cannot be happy. <strong>The</strong>re are parents who feel thattheir children have wrecked their lives, while others feel that unless they havechildren, their lives will not be complete. Obviously, living alone or with others,or being a parent or not having children can each lead to satisfaction or distress.HMOR.July2005.Muñoz.doc 10