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February 08, 2005
Q & A
Q: Why do these machines always break down for me? I must have some kind of bad Karma! (A girl working at a coffee shop)
A: It’s not bad Karma. All things wear out.
Q: Why did that woman have to die so young? It’s not fair. (A person overheard talking to his friend on the bus while reading the obituaries)
A: Life is not unfair, but we often misunderstand the nature of life. Nature doesn’t play favorites.
Q: Life is soooo unfair! Why does she get all the breaks? (A woman talking to her friend about a young pop star that bought a 3000 dress for an event.)
A: Life is not unfair, human beings are unfair.
Too often we want to blame others or something else like Karma for the troubles we have in life. We want to blame God, or blame our bosses or blame our unlucky stars. But is the universe really against us? All evidence points to a loving, supportive universe that provides everything all living things need to survive. Food, oxygen, and water are in abundance. There is a natural order and perfection in the cycles of living and dying in this universe.
Many human beings have a limited and fearful understanding of life and especially of death. We fear losing our lives, and fear the unknown. Then our lives become fearful.
Q: What’s worth doing with my life? (A prominent businesswoman asked herself before she started a magazine devoted to business ethics)
Life can be a series of heartbreaks or it can also be an opportunity to use our skills and talents and gifts to the best of our abilities. This last question was not “What is this life doing for me?” Or “What can I get out of life?” Because life was not designed to do anything but provide life for us. We don’t deserve anything more than life, and we don’t deserve less. Nature is impartial. But when we always ask, “what can I get?” We are trying to secure what we are afraid of losing. We are trying to make it ‘fair’ for us.
Nature happens. Life happens. We are alive. When someone else suffers we always have a choice. What makes a difference is not in the taking but in what we can give. The first step is not blaming God or the world or the universe and asking instead, “what’s the best use of my life?” Then when you find the answer, do it.
Posted by carl1236 at February 8, 2005 09:12 PM | Attitude
Comments
I agree with most of what you write here John. There is no fair or unfair, just what is. Life is one big cosmic poker game in which some of us are dealt a pair of deuces and some 4 aces and some almost nothing at all. No use in worrying about it. We have a limited time on Earth and it is up to us to do our best with what we have, be it 20 difficult years or 100 easy ones. It is my opinion that religion makes taking this attitude much more difficult than it has to be. With religion comes the attitude that this life here is just a stepping stone to the big show hereafter and it is, therefore, less important to use our time wisely.
Posted by: Jim at February 8, 2005 09:58 PM
Yes, but Religion is not something that causes this. Religion is nothing more than an organization of people. People make choices and have attitudes. There are also millions of examples of people in Religious organizations that are making a difference in life. I know a lot of people who go to church regularly that are the most loving, compassionate people I've seen. Religious teachings are not all bad. I've read the Q'uran, the bible, many buddist teachings and realized basically that we can abuse any of it or allow it to make us better people. As far as this idea that this life is just a stepping stone, it is. In the view of eternal life, 80 years or so is a blink of an eye. But that doesn't make this life unimportant, it makes it all the more important that we don't waste it. 'Religion' doesn't teach us to waste it. All of the Religious teachings I've studied show us how to live life with more inner-peace and less hatred toward others. And in my experience, people who go to church or the synagogue or temple are more likely to experience this than if they didn't. There is a community of people that get together regularly and form support networks and share resources and encourage each other.
Religion isn't the cause of the problems in this world, we create those problems ourselves. Let's rephrase this in another light. Were there ever any anti-religion athiests that have chosen to inflict pain and suffering on others? Yes, of course, Hitler was one. Maybe if he belonged to a church and attended regularly that little old lady sitting in the pew next to him would told him to knock it off, haha. He might have heard and believed how important it is to love our neighbors and to have compassion. I have gone to many different chuches and maybe my perspective is a little different, because I can't generalize Religion as bad or evil when I experience the opposite. There are always individuals who choose bad or evil inside and outside of Religions.
Posted by: John at February 9, 2005 04:57 AM
"Life is too short because we die."
http://www.cluetrain.com/book/apocalypso.html
Posted by: Nathan at February 9, 2005 03:44 PM
Nathan, I have that book if you want to read it. I think it's pretty well written and interesting.
John
Posted by: John at February 9, 2005 09:32 PM