Just some Friday stuff from the blog
01-19-24: one of my daughters gave me a thoughtful Christmas-present, a paper-back authored by Luc Ferry, titled 'A Brief History of Thought'... it's sort of like a philosophy-primer/101/intro... i haven't even finished his introduction yet, and i've got some stuff high-lighted... this one part speaks to me, it's him answering the ‘WHY-question’, of undertaking the endeavor of penning this book:
"First, because even the most sublime spectacle begins to pall if one lacks a companion with whom to share it."
... there are multiple reasons that it speaks to me, here are a couple... first of all, it's a truthful statement, there is a solid principle behind it... any solid principle, or, maybe 'law' is the better word (sorry, i'm not really a sciencey-guy, but i love you geeks), is a valuable chunk of wisdom... i use the word 'principle' as ‘a truthful calculation which can be applied to many fields/situations, etc.’… and, i'm going to continue to use it that way too, even though it may be wrong — hey, i'm a bit of an old-dog you know... But the other reason that it stands-out — i’ll frame it this way: what good would winning the lottery be if you couldn’t share it with anyone, i think it would just suck… and that transitions to the more important reason why i love that quote/sentence... ‘motivation for creation’... yeah man... you know, God and stuff...
… stew on this for a second/minute/whatever... what if you were the world's best artist, you have the best original ideas, you could write the best music, the best books, poems, paint the best paintings, create the most fantastic visual splendors, cook the tastiest foods that anyone ever tried... what-ever your idea of ART is, what if you were the best at it... but there was nothing anywhere that had senses and intelligence that could appreciate the fruits of your labor, the work of your hand... i suppose if you have the ability to create, you create things—like people—who have senses, and intelligence, and free-will, that are capable of appreciating the things that you created, as well as the ability to create, themselves...
… slightly changing thought here, but folks can argue about whether or not there is some ultimate/supreme God all they want to... and folks can argue about how our planet and species came into existence, how we came to be... but i think Luc's answer as to why he would undertake the task of creating this book speaks to some of God's motive for creating humans, which are other life forms that are similar in many respects, that could appreciate your creations... and the word 'companion' that Luc used… seems like it's more of God's motive for creating humans, He/God appreciates fellowship and feed-back... much of the bible speaks to our God, who seems to view/value/appreciate humans such as that of a parent (one of the good ones) who adores their children, and prepares them for life; the bible uses the word 'Father' quite a bit in reference to God, and so did Jesus… and then sometimes you read of more feminine qualities of our God... seems like God created people as 'His children' (both men and women for sustainability-sake)… He tries to steer us in the right direction so we don't hurt ourselves too much, He tries to mentor us, teach us, and prepare us to be capable of doing the same for future generations as we get older and more capable of doing so… and He let's us be 'managers' of some sorts, and to make decisions, and to be able to control certain things, certain parts of our environment, with the ability to create, and to Love and/or hate...
… But then some folks never give God the reciprocal/mutual love and appreciation, and offer zero-to-little attention to something that should be impossible to miss... And then some of your creation even rebels against you, whose maladjusted souls view Love as some sort of weakness to exploit, maybe even does the complete opposite of what our Creator’s been telling everyone...
… Don't think God is an emotion-less being, He knows how to sing the blues... Why did God create? What were His motives? … maybe to share something awesome, something spectacular… LIFE… and the ability to create, and communicate, and appreciate... much of it is based on Love, maybe like the love-bond between a parent and child, and maybe like a reconciliation between parent and child… or a reunion of sorts… i dunno, maybe He just wants to keep us honest, humble, transparent, and grounded in reality... Call me a naive, romantic, emotionalist when considering motive to create, particularly in God’s case, but i think motive is a far better discussion than 'how'... 'how' is interesting, but 'why' might have individualistic eternal value...
02-03-24: it's bright and sunny in Rockingham county, almost 40f too, it's a pretty day... had a busy first-half of the day, now i'm reading, writing, and maybe a little bit of thinking in between, that's right, i'm in my happy-place... reading, writing, and thinking... you know what that means? It means i may have finally become a simple-man, on my path to be a most boring man, think i'm pretty darn close to reaching that goal too... maybe that sounds odd to you, but i'm the type of introvert where quiet and boring rule the day, and when they don't, i'm probably overwhelmed/exhausted, so boring is awesome...
… there's plenty of narrative going on in the noggin to keep me entertained when all is quiet in the house, plenty of questions for God, plenty of interests to ponder, plenty of melodies to hum, plenty of things to think about, and do when there really is nothing to do... nothing but time and space to occupy the thoughts... the thoughts are mere signals, one's which communicate to God all that i think... and see, and smell, and taste, and hear, and feel... what i think of it all... God knows i'm a world-class complainer, maybe a faulty sensor, a noisy opinionated over-sensitive one... God knows whats going on around us, as He experiences the world through us, through our thoughts, through senses, through our souls...
… God had a thought, an idea, and created that idea, and that idea still exists in the cosmos, in the mind of God... God called the fruition of that idea 'good', and so it continues on... though fallen angels taunt, and interfere with God's good idea, by confusing the thoughts of the inhabitants, to worship creation over Creator, God still considers His idea as 'good'... a good idea, a work of art, a beautiful creation, maybe even a master-piece... a good idea that remains in the mind of God, spinning and rotating and still alive...
… though the enemy roams creation looking for souls to devour The Creator has left the inhabitants with protection… He has given them intelligence, minds of their own, minds to learn, understand, and interact with the rest of creation, as as a means to communicate with our Source... The Creator spoke to his people, He gave us words of logical sustainability, even demonstrated those words during the Jesus-years for us, literally showed us what He meant... the words and example never died, they provide protection, protection to understand reality when confronted with the enemy, the enemy who interferes with God's good idea, always distracting and interfering with the signals between Creator and creation, always disrupting communion/conversation/thoughts, always trying to distort reality to manipulate man to worship creation, and not The Creator… a most patient God, who still thinks His idea is good, and so it is... maybe you can thank God for that... anyway, here's to good ideas, cheers. -- ct
thanks for reading... my theology/opinion has shifted much regarding some 'principles' that some Christians hold dear to their perception of reality... i don't know that we are 'born sinners', i know that we are born with certain instincts/nature, and unavoidable/unique genetics, as well as different environments... and another thing that i know, is that the second we pop from the womb we are as 'sin free' as we will ever be this side of physicality (not sure if that's a word)... seems like much of life is reclaiming/recovering an innocence and purity that we lost, re-calibrating priorities, taming our ego/hubris, getting back on the straight and narrow path/road, reconciling our past/history/experiences/education with our current perception of reality and environment, and serving both God/Creator, and creation as we move forward through life... whatever the depth of your past/actions/life-style, no matter how passive or aggressive your sins toward God and others may be, you need a starting-point to get re-acquainted with God... and here's a religious hint for you... no one has the full inside scoop on 'everything God', no particular denomination, or religion... everyone has it skewed to some extent, and no one is ever perfect, or, 'ready enough' to begin their purposeful relationship with God... everyone has to start some-place, with zero guarantee of getting it all right, or ever totally understanding God, Reality, or The Universe... so, let me help you get started, how about something like 'hi God, it's me, please help me get back on track in any area of my life where i need correction, or am missing something that's kind of important, please reveal yourself to me, please open my eyes to the truth, and Chris said that somehow you and i can be friends, sounds cool, i'd like that'... that doesn't seem overly religious now, does it... the hard part for some folks is admitting that they aren't God, that there actually is a God who is worth pursuing at all costs, and that they require some form of correction, or, reminder about important things that they may have forgotten, or, never fully understood... if it's been a while since you've tried to connect with God, or, if you never really tried, then i triple dog-dare you to mindfully/literally pray what i just wrote, don't be a lazy coward, now is about a good of a time as any to renew your relationship with our Source/Creator/God, and, for those who have been long-time friends/children of God, you probably know that the simple little prayer is worthy of daily consideration... best of luck on your journey, sometimes a little luck/favor/blessing/help can go a long way... God speed. -- ct