On trying to make sense of life

When I was in my twenties I felt that I could take on the whole world and still had energy remaining when I was through. I set goals and enjoyed working toward and achieving the goals. This was the time of my life when a goal achieved brought joy and reasons for celebrations. As I grow older the goals that i set for myself became more challenging and when a goal was finally accomplished it brought no joy or even a sense of relief because by the time that the goal was accomplished I was exhausted from being drained mentally, physically and emotionally.

This did not remove the challenge of taking on the setting of the next goal because being active opened up endless possibilities. As my life progresses the goals that I set now are more that of setting objectives and/or pursuing dreams because the challenges involves in achieving goals while pursuing my dreams requires my dealing with circumstances and situations which are outside of my control. These  also involves my dealing with seemingly insurmountable mountains that stand in my way and I need must find the way over, around or through these mountains.

One of the great advantages that I had in life was growing up with parents who were always active and planning the next big move. I was taught their outlook and principles of life before I understood what was happening to me. Now I realize that I cannot unlearn what I was taught by my parents (I have no desire to unlearn these principles and practices). This is why I look on life and pursue the things which require patience and accept that things will not happen or change overnight. In life just like in other fields time must be allowed for growth and bearing fruit.

An alternative to what I was taught by my parents is what is now and has been for some time portrayed on a television screen. It is a known thing that whatever the mind is constantly fed will also influence the actions, thoughts and behavior. It is only the best that is presented on the television screen and there are too many persons that do not realize this or are blissfully unaware. Television scenes are shot many times and edited until the perfect scene or episode is had while in life we have to make snap decisions and we get only one chance. Television encourages aspiration after wealth, fame and beauty as the ultimate in life. Unfortunately those of us who watch television don't have money and will have to settle for the not so good looking person who show an interest in us. 

The great disappointment about television characters and heroes is that at some point in life we come to realize that in spite of the looks, fame and money, the television personalities are most times worse off than us. The question then arise as to what to do when the very people we were taught to look up to and aspire to be like are in reality worse off than we are.

I am often encouraged to watch a movie and the virtue of the stars are highlighted. Now I ask who should get the credit, the actor or the director? I often heat television characters quoted but now I ask if  the quote should not really be attributed to the script writer? How do we deal with the bravery and daring of television star when we learn that the feat were performed by stuntmen and we were tricked into believing that it was the television star?

Life is designed of such that at some point in our life we will ask ourselves these questions among others, where did I originate? What is my destiny? Am I fulfilling my destiny? What does the future hold for me? What will happen when I die?

Life is very comforting in that all of us know that eventually we shall die but we do not know how, when or where it will happen. There is a program on television that uses the words "There are so many ways to die that it is a wonder that we are alive." This sums up life beautifully.

Religion is supposed to answer the question as to what happens after we die and give a purpose as to why we are alive but in recent times I have been left with my doubts because the Christian religion has two extremes. On the one hand there are the Evangelical millionaires pastors who has so much money that they cannot spend it all but they will not help their followers so they pursue vanity and pleasure. At the other extreme are the Roman Catholic priests who have taken a vow of poverty and have devoted their lives to serve humanity. In between these two extremes of religious leaders falls the others priests and pastors.

I have been inside a Roman Catholic Church only once and that was attending a funeral and I now accept that I should not be critical in my ignorance. One of the problems that Protestants had with the Roman Catholic Church was that the Protestants believed that God should be worshiped according to the dictates of the heart. I cannot find anything to support this in the Bible but maybe it is because I have not spent enough time looking. This cuts against the rituals and customs practiced by the Roman Catholic Church. This becomes somewhat tricky because the New Testament does not gives specifics as to how worship should be carried out in the church.  

When I lived in Jamaica I often heard evangelicals saying that the Roman Catholic Church was wrong so I accepted it and went along. (I also use to hear in the evangelical church that women should not wear pants and lipsticks and I believed until I met, hugged and kissed  a young woman that wore lipstick and pants). The pastors that I had for a time convinced me that they were called of God to be ministers of the gospel and many of them were good guys. I later in life encountered a group of ministers of the gospel who after dealing with I am still to regain respect for ministers of the gospel. In fact I can tolerate the wicked and the ungodly because I sometimes think that they fall a little above that particular set of ministers of the gospel minus two or three.

I am now living in the US and for me there is a problem that sooner or later I must resolve. Here is my problem, the Roman Catholic Church has more than a thousand years of traditions and teaching to back up their belief system. I attend a Baptist church and Baptists believe that the church is autonomous and this essentially leaves me to worship God as the pastor feel that it should go. My problem is this should I really discover more about what I was told is wrong but is backed by centuries of teaching and tradition or should I continue following the Baptist which is essentially following the dictates of the pastor's heart?

Historically the church including the Roman Catholics have produced some brilliant scholars and examples, perhaps religion could do with some of these individuals to give validity to religion once again. 

Cheers for smart parents

"Which came first, the chicken or the egg?" is a question which have been around for millennia. Philosophers contended that at some point in time the hen must have appeared to lay the first egg but scientists content that both have always been in existence because the idea of a hen that did not come from an egg was preposterous.

The question have finally been answered because I read about a month or so ago that scientists have accepted that there must have been the first hen to lay the first egg.

I always knew that the hen must have appeared before the first egg because my parents were the smartest people in the whole world. Their outlook on life was taught to me before I was sensible enough to reject it and now what I was taught by my parents when I was young continue to guide my life. I believe every one know the source of my parents knowledge especially because both read very little.

On the subject of whether it was the hen or the chicken that first appeared, my father would have noted that the hen was free to go ahead and lay as many eggs as she felt pleased but if there was no rooster around then there would be no chicken forthcoming from the eggs. That was unless the chicken had a way to produce a chick from an egg until the rooster came along and the hen discovered that sharing the task with the rooster was even nicer. If we should now bring the rooster into the whole scenario then the argument becomes even more ridiculous because the question need to be asked how did the rooster reproduce before the hen came along to make things easier for the rooster by laying an egg.

Scientists have solved the millennia old question so maybe now they can proceed to find proof of the existence of the Deities. The question of the existence of the Deities cannot be touched without bringing up the subject of religion and that is a very touchy subject. Religion accepts that there are superior beings who control and exert their influence over the affairs of mankind. However, there are many persons who take the escape route by declaring that they are without knowledge of the existence of the Deities. This is nothing new because ever since time began, even in the presence of overwhelming evidence there were those who rejected the Deities.

These people who  are without knowledge of the existence of the Deities should have met my smart parents because my parents believed that they were special to the Deities so they relied on the Deities for provision. I saw my parents do the craziest things because of their confidence in the Deities and credited their success to the Deities. This is why those persons who now mock my belief in the Deities are wasting their time because my smart parents taught me through example. I have learned well from my parents and what they taught me is working so I don't see why I should try something that others recommend especially as these alternates does not work.

The Deities clearly exists so now the scientists can concentrate on providing the truth and proof of their existence. There still remain the problem that many who are seeking scientific proof of the existence of the deities only knows how to parrot the arguments of detractors. These persons who cannot master the simple things that they are shown want to be taught advanced knowledge of science. They are so strong and powerful that they go as far as issuing challenges to the Deities.

Religion gives some possible answers but a past generation of parents were so busy making money that they allowed the television to grow their children. The television industry was about making money and was not focused on morality so now the present generation knows nothing about the Deities. The difference now lies in that the heroes that these people know comes from the television screen but those who embrace religion are exposed to a different set of heroes. Now television heroes are quoted for inspiration when the credit should really go to the script writer. The feats of these television heroes are commended when the commendation should really go to the film director. The present generation of heroes are sham.

There are some other questions that the scientist could probably solve because there are many persons who are still wondering, how did come into existence? and, what purpose do I serve on the earth? Why was i born. These are really serious concern especially because at some point in time everyone look beyond the obvious. The belief in the Deities partially helps because procreating may be an enjoyable exercise but it is sad to learn that a person is the result of parents enjoying some good times and it ends there. Or maybe they came into existence as the result of some careless moment on the part of the parents. The answer to these questions would be nice if scientist give a similar answer to the chicken and eggs question. As I have previously said my parents were the smartest parents and they would have used common sense logic to answer these question. The scientist after conduction their experiments and using language that no one but the most brilliant understand will eventually agree with the simple common sense logic of my parents.

Those persons who are educated are able to focus on career and making money as answers to why am I here? What purpose do I serve in life? The less than educated are not coping very well in their middle age and  there are too many that are taking the easy way out.  The have no answer to , why am I here, how did I come into existence? What purpose does my life serve? Hopelessness and despair drive Some of the people abuse drugs and alcohol in order to deaden the hopelessness.Those people who embrace the belief in the  Deities look for rewards in the great beyond and therefore focus their lives on storing up riches for when they get to the other side. Some people say that they want what can be seen now because  they are not giving up what is certain for the uncertain. Those people who are storing up riches for the great beyond  do make life a little better for those with whom they come into contact. Then again my parents were the smartest parents and they believed  that enough money should be stashed away so that when they say goodbye burial would not be a burden to anyone. That when it taken care of then share what you have with others because it is one route to happiness.