By: John Silva – March 11, 2014
We are joined with the river of life as it flows over and into and through the alternating darkness and light, we call night and day. We question and deliberate the disquieting questions…who are we? What is this thing called life, and what is death? For the most part, the place we occupy seems steady and fixed. We are unaware that we are on a chunk of molten rock revolving at a slight angle as it orbits a mass of white-hot plasma at blinding speeds.
How and why has this come to pass? We search and probe the infinite. Looking deep inside, we discover that living things are made of cells, molecules, DNA, and atoms. Digging deeper into the unknown, we discover protons and neutrons with electrons whirling in their orbits tethered, or not, by some unfathomable force we call gravity. Deeper and deeper we search and search and search…always searching for the end or is it the beginning. Looking ahead, we see faint glimpses of quarks, neutrinos, and perhaps a vibrating string or two.
Looking upwards (at least that is what we call it), we search the mystifying inkiness above us. We are like children that have been given up for adoption. We desperately want to know how we got here and do we have a purpose or are we just a product of chance. When we turn our attention to the heavens, we see points of light and call them stars, not realizing that some of these points are entire galaxies composed of billions of stars. Unable to sense our situation, we are powerless to see or feel our universe expanding at the speed of light.
Quietly, we feel love and hate, joy, and sadness. Like multitudes upon multitudes that came and went before we arrived, we learned to walk and talk, go to school, get a job, fall in love, get married, have kids, grow old and die. Soon, we are in our last days looking back at the past. Time, what is it? Sometimes we wonder if it is moving at all. Then it appears as a blur. We ponder and ask ourselves and others…how much time do we have left, and what should we do with the time left? Are we accountable, if so to whom? What is expected of us? Will there be a test?
What gives us joy? What makes us happy? We are vaguely aware that accumulating things and money is a belly never full. However, we continue to accumulate. Maybe, we just aren’t trying hard enough…maybe, if we only had just a little more. But, whether we are lying in the darkness waiting for the fog to envelop us, or walking in the forest or gazing at the Empire State Building, deep, deep down we know the truth. Things demand our attention, and they consume our time and money, but in the end, they do not satisfy. They leave us empty…again and again.
Some of us are content to just exist while others desperately need to find purpose and meaning. Some of us are builders…others destroy. Some of us love everyone…others only despise. Some lift up and help others. Others enslave and discourage. What does it all mean? Are we expected to shine light into the dark places? Or, are we free to do whatever we like? Is life a gift or a curse? Is there a God or are we just an accident? Some wonder and ponder. Others are ambivalent. In our last moments, will there be peace and joy or terror as we pass through death’s door into eternity? Or, will we simply fade away into nothingness?
Who knows? So many questions. So little time.