This is one of those posts that I will struggle with a start for, and then once I muddle my way into it, I’ll hit my stride, and blurt out all that I’ve been thinking.
So as the man once said, buckle up…
Life.
What is it REALLY?
What does it all mean? What is the point? How does it all work?
Why does it matter to think of these things?
Well, to answer that one must do so, I feel, in two parts. What two parts would that be?
Well, firstly, the “simple” or “easy” answer is to consider that life is our journey through the commonly held reality known as the universe. So therefore, one should think of the question of life, in the strictest, most logical and basal terms, and thusly, the question becomes; “How does the universe work?”
Answer?
Math and Science and Chemistry and Biology, this is how the universe works.
Great, find and dandy, but then, what of the more intangible?
Logic dictates that as a human being, we must consider the intangible, the ethereal, the matters of the soul, of the mind, of the heart, and the things one cannot see, yet cannot deny.
So then the question becomes WHY does the universe work?
The simple, practical and truthful answer?
Relationships.
Therefore, I submit that life, our constant journey through the universe, is all really about one thing, and one thing only, at its core, and that is, relationships.
Let me say it one more time, with out all the fluff n stuff; Life, is about the relationships.
So lets break it down for a moment, we can understand HOW the universe works, its really and truly, all academic right? Math, and science and chemistry and biology, ect ad nausem.
But then can we also break down WHY the universe works? Sure, relationships, and in a way, the why is what supports the how, because all of that math and science and chemistry and light and gravity are not isolated items on a cosmic shopping list, they all interact in a myriad of levels all the time, and it is the relationships between the parts of HOW, that makes the gears turn.
So again, relationships are the key to the universe.
But let’s break it down into a more… humane sized piece and scale.
How does one relate all of the above to their own everyday lives?
I think its simple really, all you need to do is think about the three levels of relationships, and how they all build upon the other, and how they make us as people, who and what we are, and how that in turn, powers, and drives the world around us, even the very universe, forward.
So life is all about relationships, first and foremost, the relationship one has, with his or her self.
That is the most important one of all I think, because, as great minds before me said; “Know yourself.” And “this above all; to thine own self be true.” How powerful is that?
Having a good relationship with yourself is vital to everything else, if you don’t know yourself, how can you know anyone else? If you don’t know hat your limits are, how can you surpass them? If you don’t know who you are as a character, what your likes and dislikes are, what you are good at, what you are capable of, how can you allow others to know you, and you them, when you don’t even know yourself?
“But I feel like I know myself, and I think I’m okay!”
WRONG!
Lookit, short n easy answer is this; if you TRULY know yourself, then you know that you are terribly, wonderfully, and totally human. Meaning, you are imperfect, you are flawed, you are selfish, and most likely more than a little evil and sinful.
Thinking your okay, and being okay with yourself, are NOT the same thing, one is excusing yourself for your faults and flaws, shortcomings and detriments, the other is knowing that they are there, and not letting that fact get you down.
You cannot acknowledge your flaws, if you do not know they are there, and how can you know if they are there if you don’t KNOW YOURSELF?
Okay, now let us say, you do in fact know yourself, and are aware that you are imperfect. What then?
Well, that brings me to the second part of the little “relationship trisect” and that is, your relationship with God, (or Buddha or the Great Pumpkin or the universe or mother earth or Santa Clause or whatever label you wanna hang on it, my label is God, so deal with it) meaning, that after establishing your relationship with yourself and realizing you are an imperfect human being, you must try to establish some sort of relationship with God, and through that, you can start the process of growing yourself into a more complete person, understanding that you will never be perfect, and yet reaching for that goal even so.
So what is the third part?
Simple, it’s the one everyone likes to both stress focus on, totally forget and ignore; the relationships we have with the world around us, the relationships we have with each other.
I should not even need to explain this, so I will for once, assume that whoever is reading this, is not a total idiot (as so many people tend to be) and leave it at this; Never forget or underestimate the impact you have on others, never ignore the effects others have on you, the interactions that transpire between people, between human beings, is always multi-leveled, multi-faceted, both simple, and complex all at once, and always, always, ALWAYS the result of contact, driven by the urge to interact, and establish relationships, that force that is hard wired into each and every one of us.
So to summarize; we can all understand the HOW in the workings of the Universe, now hopefully you see what I see, what I hope is the truth, in understanding the WHY in the workings of the Universe, which is to say, this life, the only one we have, in the end, is all about one thing; the relationships we have, first with ourselves, secondly, with God, and lastly, with the world around us, and the other people therein.
Deuces n rock, catch ya on the flip flop children, I shall endure, if only for the grace of God, or my own stubbornness…
~Caleb
