Every response we make is determined by what we think we are, and what we want to be is what we think we are. What we want to be, then, must determine every response we make.
I put limitations of the class you describe in the category of delusions. I have a belief in a mutable reality. The lattice of reality is a bit like a web made of springy cables. It seems firm until you start bouncing on it.
There are some things that my will is probably not going to change no matter how much I want it. I can try to stop a locomotive, but I'm going to run into some problems doing this. My desire, no matter how strong, is not going to the limiting factor, it will be the nature of matter.
A good example is the problem of running to your car vs. walking to your car during a rain storm. Which case do you get wetter? If you run, you hit some raindrops that you wouldn't be hit by otherwise, but you spend less time in the rain. If you walk, you don't hit raindrops between you and the car, but you increase your dwell time.
The answer to this problem depends upon numerous factors involving integrals of complex functions. Generally running to your car will keep you drier, but not if the storm is moving in the direction of your car. If you had walked, the edge of the storm will overtake you and even though you spend more time outside, you get less wet.
The point of this analogy is that we live in a complex world and our reality is only as good as our model. The only person in a position to model the impacts of my actions is me. Shrink wrap religion isn't going to fit like a custom suit. |
