Monday, October 17, 2011

Sorry to disturb you... but someone has to churn those turds.

Back in September, I've sent the email bellow to some friends and relatives’, thinking it was a nice thought. I will admit to have chosen to whom I've sent it, because I do know some people don't believe in God and I try to avoid conflicts when it comes to religion or beliefs. I'll give you time to read what I've sent:

~The 'L I T T L E' Things~
As you might remember, the head of a company survived 9/11 because his son started kindergarten.
Another fellow was alive because it was his turn to bring donuts.
One woman was late because her alarm clock didn't go off in time.
One was late because of being stuck on the NJ Turnpike because of an auto accident.
One of them missed his bus.
One spilled food on her clothes and had to take time to change.
One's car wouldn't start.
One couldn't get a taxi.
The one that struck me was the man who put on a new pair of shoes that morning, took the various means to get to work but before he got there, he developed a blister on his foot. He stopped at a drugstore to buy a Band-Aid. That is why he is alive today..
Now when I am stuck in traffic, miss an elevator, turn back to answer a ringing telephone ... all the little things that annoy me, I think to myself, this is exactly where God wants me to be at this very moment..
Next time your morning seems to be going wrong, you can't seem to find the car keys, you hit every traffic light, don't get mad or frustrated; it may be just that God is at work watching over you.
May God continue to bless you with all those annoying little things and may you remember their possible purpose.

I've received two emails back in which people wrote, in different ways, but conveying the same message: God must have a huge grudge to have saved so few people and let so many die.

My first reaction was to think: Ah fuck! First, I will say I'm not sure I believe in God (as it is described in the Bible or such), but I will admit to believe in something bigger than us, some type of force, power or energy which covers everything, good and bad, equally. I believe in spirituality, or the spiritual way if you will.

As sad as it may be, I'm thinking somehow the people who died on 9/11, ten years ago already (and yet it seems much closer than that), had come to a point in their life when it was time for them to die. They had (or would) completed, by their death, what they were supposed to for this lifetime. This does also imply we have a destiny and doesn't exclude freewill. We make a choice to call in sick one day (freewill), and that day a big accident occurs on the route we take (destiny). It was our destiny to be safe, but it was also the result of our freewill, which affected our destiny.

I don't think God, as so many of us sees him/her/it, is ALL good. If he/she/it created all things, then he/she/it also created evil and all it entails. I don't think of God as a person, as someone like we are, because in doing so I would limit him/her/it to a human realm or reality. I believe in something way bigger than that. In something which created everything, so that we could experience everything, not just the good and happy stuff, but everything. Anyway, we're so dumb, we wouldn't know we are happy until something bad happened and then we'd realized we actually were happy before. I guess it is true that saying "everything happens for a reason". We may not understand that reason, but its part of the game of life. It doesn't have to be fair (as we see it), or should I say it doesn't seem fair, and yet it is.

The death of a loved one will very often seem unfair, and yet it is the only thing (death) that has no discrimination whatsoever. We all are here to learn something. Young and old die, it is part of life. Some people are meant for a short life, others a long one. It never feels right for a baby to die and yet, his death will often push his parents to do things they never thought they could or would. We all wish for a peaceful death, but we also all know it doesn't always happen that way. We all work hard to have a good life, not everyone succeeds. Pain and suffering are as much part of life as joy and happiness and we must experience all of them while we're alive.

Because of our freewill we make decisions, choices, which are not always filled with good intentions. For example, a fanatic who believes in his cause (whatever it may be), and believes that killing people is something he should be doing for the love of his God is exercising his freewill. It may not be right, but it is so. I don't think it is God's decision to have made him become a fanatic. We choose the actions we take. We will also experience the consequences of these actions. On the spiritual path one will become aware of how responsible one is. I do believe in this thing we call "Karma", (the law of cause and effect and the determining factor of how one’s life should be lived).

God wasn’t holding a grudge against those who died on 9/11, nor was he/she/it protecting the others. I think it is a good thing for those of us who do need his/her/its presence to think he/she/it is behind those little things, but it could also be simply because it wasn’t in the Big Plan (our destiny).

We, as human, fuck up daily. We make bad decisions and hope for the best. If reading a text like “The Little Things” inspires someone to remain calm when stuck in traffic, thinking that it was God’s will, who are we to take that away from him/her? He/She’s not hurting anyone and who cares what, or even why one chooses to believe in something or someone? If it works for them we should learn to respect that. I truly believe if we all would mind our own fucking business, the world as we know it would be a much nicer place… but that’s me, and what do I know really?

3 comments:

Meow (aka Connie) said...

Well said, and I pretty much agree in what you wrote !!

Hope all is well in your world.

Take care, hugs, Connie xx

Robert the Skeptic said...

Of course people stop to get band aids or get stuck in traffic or go to their child's kindergarten every day with no consequences. Humans have an almost insatiable need to connect "purpose" in events, it's a normal and natural thing for us to do.

What you have eloquently expressed are topics that philosophers have discussed over centuries. I have had the same discussion within myself.

For me, I have found comfort in observing that the the world pretty much plays out statistically the way one would expect were there no god. Shit happens or people experience lucky breaks pretty much as can be expected. We focus on some and they become larger and out of context. But if you look at the big picture, the Law Of Large Numbers seems to prevail.

As you say, if people attribute meaning to events, even though there may not actually be one, what is the harm? I think the harm can lie when people consciously act thinking they are following god's plan. This type of belief causes otherwise intelligent educated men to fly airplanes into buildings.

stinkypaw said...

Robert: People will always attribute meanings to things, people, events. That's just the way people are (most, but not all, that much I know). It's a choice people have and make.

It is also a choice to say and act as if it is one's belief of a God that makes them act a certain way. I think the harm comes when people say they are acting a certain way because they are following God's plan. It is not the fact they believe in something, it is the fact they are interpreting things their way.

What really scares me are fanatics, of any kind (sports, religious or whatever), those are scary and this despite being otherwise intelligent and educated.