Saturday, May 18, 2019

The meaning of Life

  If it isn't that, it will be another. And sometimes the that of which we were so concerned, was not nearly as bad as the other, which was not at all on our minds. The plain fact is, that no matter how you duck and try to evade unpleasant things, that often, the one you never saw coming hits you like a Mack truck head on. Bam! None of us gets away unscathed, but somehow we absorb the hit, pick ourselves up, and go about chasing in life what we still decide to be worthy. Life is a struggle for all people, no matter their wealth or status. Certainly plenty of money can keep you from financial hardships, but money, like life itself, can change in a moment. Money makes things easier, but only to a point. It is a diversion, a way to pursue the pleasures of this world as you see fit. 

  But wealth cannot shield you from the problems and hardships in life, because in the end, it is those things we put our faith in during this life that will decide our ultimate end. If this is all there is to life, and all we have to look forward to at the end of it, is to become plant food, then certainly the old saying that, Whoever has the most toys at the end of his life wins, would be true. But even the most arrogant among us know that there is much more to life than the accumulation of things. 

  Death comes to us all, on that I know we can all agree. Death is eternal, again, on this we can all agree. We know that stone is dead, always was, always will be. They are forever unaware of anything and everything, they are dead as door nails. So then, if we are all in agreement that death is eternal, final and permanent, and that this is true, and that only this life, which we live out on this planet, is all there is, we lie to ourselves.  But to think that the opposite, that life too is eternal, of this we have a problem. Why? If you believe that a person who dies to this world is dead forever, you believe that in ignorance. Life exists in the forever of this life, as we know after we die, that life here goes on without us. But what of the glint of the eye in the living that goes dull at death, do you believe that it too rots in the ground? That spark of light, is life, and it was never fully a captive of this, our ever aging bodies. But rather, something more, something much more. You see, life is not physical by nature, but rather, is spiritual. Your spirit is the essence of your life, my life, all life. We agree that death is eternal, than you must know that the opposite side of that coin is also true. Life, like death, is eternal. So for each of us, first we must admit to ourselves that life too is eternal, and how you go about reclaiming that life before we leave this one, is the meaning of life.  

  Death be not proud, though some think of you as mighty and dreadful. For it is not true that you are mighty, for those you think that you have overthrown, you have not. Death, you are defeated, and in the end, it is you who shall die. 

  Paraphrased portion of a poem by John Donne     

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