[MD] Boromir's Journey

[Steve Peterson]

Hi Matt,

> ... i tend to think
> that, just like leibniz trying to fit evil into the truism of the
> perfection of god, i tend to think it's best to stand aside
> from thinking of anything as a "perfection," as opposed to a
> "perfecting," a good sense which can be--but is not the
> only--sense to be attached to "betterness" being "perfection."


This on-going "perfecting" that we can participate in is what I mean  
when I say that the world is perfect. From the dynamic perspective,  
the world is always already perfect, or rather, perfectingness. It is  
more perfect than anyone's static conception of perfection. It is not  
the world that needs to change, it is "small self," my static  
patterns, that needs to change. The prospective of faith is  
identifying with "Big Self" or dynamic quality. This perspective  
helps me realize that it is "small self" that needs to change. "Small  
self" has hope that things can get better--that "small self" and all  
things are evolving toward "Big Self." "Small self" can tell a story  
about the evolution of value patterns to give evidence that the world  
already has gotten better than it once was which gives me hope for  
the future, but for "Big Self" there is always only now in all its  
perfect perfectingness.

These two perspectives of faith and hope, while contradictory, can be  
held simultaneously. For example, a mother cries with a smile on her  
face as she consoles her daughter who has just had her heart broken  
for the first time. Everything is wrong in the world, but will get  
better. Everything always is exactly as it should be.

Best,
Steve