(Revised on 29 April 2012)
I believe I contradict myself. Ok then, I contradict myself. (Thank you, Walt Whitman.)
"I believe that no one is spared
the darkness,
and no one gets all of it."
~Michael Blumenthal
I believe that all meanings, purposes, and "truths" are a construction of the human mind. What is my purpose? What is the meaning of life? They are what I choose them to be. I spent (wait, wasted) far too many years of my life looking for meaning and purpose outside of myself.
I believe that all life can ultimately be explained in Darwinian evolutionary ways. That is not to say that we possess all explanations or that we ever will. Of course not. But it is to say that all the explanations were we able to access them, would be evolutionary in nature. I believe all human behavior and motivations, and even all the myriad developed sophistications of human (the most sophisticated of animals) societies have at their origin an evolutionary adaptation.
I believe the human species is doomed, and probably sooner than later. I have little confidence in my fellow humans. We will be the architects of our own extinction, and even now, we are doing this as we continue an unabated destruction of our home, this planet earth. I have little hope. I will not say that I have no hope. But it is little.
I believe that:
I am of the nature to get sick; I cannot escape illness.
I am of the nature to get old; I cannot escape aging.
I am of the nature to die; I cannot escape death.
All that I love and all that I hold dear will one day be taken from me; I cannot escape loss.
I am the owner and heir of my actions.
[Note: The preceding five are a version of the Buddha's "Five Remembrances."
And finally, I offer two more remembrances and two more things I believe. I believe that:
--Love is ultimately all that matters in this world, and
--The present moment is all that is....
LOVE. Love your partner, your spouse, your lover. Love your kids. Love them desperately, love them completely. Give yourself to love. Love all beings as much as you can. You will love imperfectly. You will fail. Sometimes you will fail so badly as to find hate in yourself. It is there. But love, and love again.
Do it today. Repeat for as long as you breathe. I believe nothing else ultimately matters.
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Words well worth the wait my friend. Peace and Love to you
ReplyDeleteThank you, Craigers. Peace and Love backatacha. :)
ReplyDeleterecently I read George Carlin's book. (I read it while on the treadmill at the gym, it was that kind of book ...)
ReplyDeleteanyway, one of the most profound things he said, later in life after years and years of his genius being tied up with cocaine and fuckups and failures of all sorts, was that when he was onstage he was the master of the universe ... he could make people believe whatever it was the he wanted them to believe, he could CREATE reality.
and it really is true. he could and we all can.
"What is my purpose? What is the meaning of life? They are what I choose them to be."
ReplyDeleteThey are indeed. Our life's meaning is a choice. I believe we also choose who and what we love.
"I spent (wait, wasted) far too many years of my life looking for meaning and purpose outside of myself."
You're not the only one.
Yes, love is all that ultimately matters. All else is just chasing after wind.
Wonderful that you're posting again :)
Beth,
ReplyDeleteHmmm.... You have given me something to think about.... Thanks.
Thanks, Flandrum Hill. :)
ReplyDeleteI, too, am a former Evangelical minister who has fallen in love with Darwin and Whitman, among many others. Atheism isn't a label I've been willing to apply to myself, but others have felt it a fitting description of my perspective. I prefer evolutionary panentheism (a la the process theologies of Alfred North Whitehead, David Steindl-Rast, John Cobb, etc). But even that label isn't meant to describe any literal deity so much as it is meant to point to a tendency in the human mind to write life in cosmic terms. In more typical religious terms, I describe myself as a progressive Presbyterian with Buddhist leanings. :)
ReplyDeleteAnyway, sorry for the digression. I mention to let you know I'll be an incredibly sympathetic reader. Much of this post resonated strongly with me, and I just wanted to say thanks for the openness. Cheers!
LRK,
ReplyDeleteThank you for the explanation and the clarification and for sharing a part of your story. I'll confess that I have become wary (to say the least) of anything religious. I does sound though like we have some definite common ground and experience. Great to make your blog acquaintance. See you here or on your blog. Peace to you.
I happened back here from some whim as I perused old files. I feel bad that you find yourself down south and at what seems to be such a low ebb spiritually. One thing is for sure, people will let you down. I hope you can get to a place of contentment and serenity.
ReplyDeleteDear "Anonymous"
ReplyDeleteFirst, why the need to post this comment anonymously? Secondly, don't feel bad for me. I am "down south" (We are speaking geographically here, right?) by choice, and I am not at all at anything that I would consider to be a "low ebb" spiritually. I wonder how you come by that conclusion. I can only surmise that you equate my rejection of religious faith with what you would consider to be a "low ebb" spiritually. I consider my loss and rejection of religious faith and its delusion to be almost the best thing that ever happened to me. I started thinking for myself and not believing in fairy tales anymore. Sorry if that offends.
The truthn is that I am in fact at a greater place of contentment than I have ever been in my life.