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Date Posted: 12:59:36 06/14/02 Fri
Author: mvd
Subject: The peace of meaninglessness

It seems to me that all men have a time in their lives when they ask, "What is the purpose of life? Why do we exist and die? Where is the meaning?" I also believe that at the heart of this question is a great fear that life is, indeed, meaningless. We live, we die, we do not go on, we change into dust and the personality that was us, is ended. All religion is based on answering this question, and in a sense avoiding the answer by inventing happy outcomes for us to believe in.

I have come to this realization. (It is mine, and I admit that it may be wrong. Yet, I find comfort in it.) The realization is this: Life is, in fact, meaningless. And what peace and contentment there is in realizing it! If only all people could face the fear, say, "Yep, it's all a bunch of shit!" And then go on with their lives! We may then attribute any personal meaning to life that we like, but we certainly don't need some Almighty to hold our hands after we've made this realization.

Can anyone understand the comfort of admitting that life is without purpose and without design? I know there are some here who can see it.

I guess that I have always been a man who has stood outside of the normal circle, just as most of the friends I have made in my life have done. This has afforded me a certain perspective. I see through the charades, the facades, and the invented concepts of men. My friends do also. Adilbrand is such a man. The others who cannot see their own beliefs are like salmon who cannot describe the nature of water. It is precisely because they have lived in religion that they cannot see the absurdity of it.

Anyone with a discerning mind knows that religions are culture specific. What, then, makes anyone think their's is the right one? If religion is no different than wooden shoes in Holland and sauerkraut in Germany, then who is to say which is best? The answer is, of course, that none of them are best. They are all either offered to us on a plate, like a German wiener, or they are not. It is we who choose to eat them or send them back to the cook.

The analogies of the movie The Truman Show are adequate to show people that sometimes we live with illusions not of our making--- and no man or woman who discovers the illusions can live with them anymore. Discovering the illusion shatters it. Yet, in this is vindication. In this is transcendence! This is what Jesus told everyone they could do! Everyone has the potential to see the world for what it is. Fear is the only thing that holds us back. Fear of rejection, fear that our worldview will change, fear of abandonment, fear of misunderstanding from loved ones. Yet, what are we ultimately losing? Illusions. What are we gaining? Enlightenment.

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