HURRICANE KATRINA –
LEARNING OPPORTUNITY THREE:

WHAT IS MY WORLD VIEW?

Do you view the hurricane was a random occurrence?  Do you view it as punishment for sinners in New Orleans?  Do you  view it as a Divine Intervention in human affairs?  Do you view it as the result of meteorological factors that came together at that time and that place?  Do you feel that these events had meaning?  If so, what is the meaning?  If you feel that they have no meaning, examine that as a world view.  In other words, do not assume that these events have no meaning beyond what you can see, and you can see none.  Assume that your understanding that these events have no meaning is not necessarily the case.  It is your world view.  Then ask yourself if you are comfortable with that world view.

However you interpret the events of Katrina, look at your interpretation as your way of understanding events that are larger than you can comprehend.  That is your world view.  Allow your experiences with Katrina and the suffering on the Gulf Coast to illuminate for you the world view that you hold, and whatever it is, consider the possibility that your world view is not necessarily the way the world is.  Therefore, you can choose the world view that is most comfortable to you, and the most healthy that you can imagine, and experiment with it.

ADDED NOTE:  This OPPORTUNITY is not only to identify your world view, but also to examine the impact it has on you once you find it.  Your world view is not what you think about the world, but what you really feel about the world.  It is not as easily changeable as a thought.  Does the way you see the world make you feel relaxed, expanded, safe, valuable, supported, or loved?  Does it make you feel tense, constricted, in danger, insignificant, alone, or unloved?  Does it give you hope or put you into despair once you really see it clearly?  Does it make you feel safe exploring your life or frightened to explore your life?  Does it nurture your unlimited creativity or force it into certain channels?  These questions have no right or wrong answers, but each answer can help you see if your world view is the one you want to keep - even if you are convinced it is obviously “true” and all other world views are imaginary (each world views appears that way to the person who holds it).  If you are frightened to think about seeing the world differently, that is part of your world view, too.  Experiment with beginning to see the world differently, if you chose, by opening to the possibility that your view of it is only that – your view – and you are the one who chooses it.

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With love,

HURRICANE KATRINA - LEARNING OPPORTUNITY THREE:
What is my world view?