I'm often preoccupied with thoughts around the question "what is the meaning of life?" When I pay close attention to most people, I find they are all unhappy about one thing or another, but just keep flowing with life doing what "normal" people do -- go to work, have one or more hobbies, take vacations, have families, etc. But in the end, everyone grows old, gets sick, and dies. And along the way it's a constant struggle to keep one's vocation, relationships, and health working. It appears we are doomed from the day we are born. What could the purpose of such a game be? Who would design such a game?
There is no diet, no spiritual practice, no religion, no vocation that will free one of the curse of sickness, aging, and eventually death. No matter what one achieves in life, it will all be left behind.
Religions have their own way of addressing this depending on whether or not they subscribe to the belief of reincarnation. If the path preached by a religion were indeed that good, then walking it, even for a short while, would yield very tangible results. Yet, when we look at the followers of any path, we find many that are deeply unhappy despite following that path for years or even decades. Recently, I have even started to question the veracity of the ancient texts because one never knows if they were edited through the years. Transmission of these texts through the generations seems much like the game of Chinese Whispers.
Even if we just accept the reality of old age and death, what about destiny? Is everything predestined or do we have free will? If there is such a thing as destiny, I have not encountered someone that could predict outcomes with much accuracy. If there is such a thing as free will, why is it that mythology has many examples of destiny that could not be overridden by free will? And why is it that we cannot create the life we desire?
There is no diet, no spiritual practice, no religion, no vocation that will free one of the curse of sickness, aging, and eventually death. No matter what one achieves in life, it will all be left behind.
Religions have their own way of addressing this depending on whether or not they subscribe to the belief of reincarnation. If the path preached by a religion were indeed that good, then walking it, even for a short while, would yield very tangible results. Yet, when we look at the followers of any path, we find many that are deeply unhappy despite following that path for years or even decades. Recently, I have even started to question the veracity of the ancient texts because one never knows if they were edited through the years. Transmission of these texts through the generations seems much like the game of Chinese Whispers.
Even if we just accept the reality of old age and death, what about destiny? Is everything predestined or do we have free will? If there is such a thing as destiny, I have not encountered someone that could predict outcomes with much accuracy. If there is such a thing as free will, why is it that mythology has many examples of destiny that could not be overridden by free will? And why is it that we cannot create the life we desire?
No comments:
Post a Comment