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As best as I can tell, life is
intolerable. Oh, not always of course. A case can be made for all the big
wonders and little blessings and blah, blah, blah. But when you really boil it
down, our entire existence rests on a few really ugly premises.
First, life, and by that I mean the
big life, life with a capital L, must ingest other life in order for it to
remain life. Or, put another way, in order to witness the miracle of creation,
we must continually eat, and then poop out, a little bit of that miracle.
Second, one of the charming side
effects of sentient life is emotional pain. The fact that dead and fermenting
plant life creates alcohol - a terrific anesthetic for emotional pain - might
cause one to think that this is, by nature, a compassionate universe. Think
again. Keep dulling that pain with booze and you wind up, if you're lucky, in a
church basement sharing your tears with complete strangers. If you're not
lucky, you wind up on a waiting list for a liver.
And finally, there is the ever-present
knowledge of death. In order to "more fully appreciate the gift of
life," we all get to ponder a violently sudden or slow and agonizingly
painful descent into oblivion -- after which our beloved bodies turn into the
stuff of nightmares. Which brings me back to my original premise: life is
intolerable. But rather than go gently into that creepy night, I've decided to
start a petition to protest the fundamental conditions of existence. I know
it's not much, but it's a start.
So who is with me?
Who wants their voices heard before they are dead and your vocal chords are being eaten by a swarm of disgusting bugs?
Who wants their voices heard before they are dead and your vocal chords are being eaten by a swarm of disgusting bugs?
My blogger brother, yes; we're all doomed regardless of whether we're good or evil. I stick with my philosophy: always strive to be the best that you can be. It won't stop doomsday, but it offers one helluva fun ride! Great thought, buddy!
ReplyDeleteI am riding with you!
DeleteOh, I love how deliciously cynical and unapologetic this is!! I certainly feel this way more often than I would like to admit. However I do believe that harmony can emerge out of conflict, that beauty can spring up out of pain and that just because there is ugliness around you, that does not mean you have to succumb to the ugliness. Such thoughts, I believe, like Roger's above belie the true depth and meaning of life, that which goes beyond appearances and forms! Life can be ugly or it can be beautiful, the choice really is ours!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE the cynicism that comes from this blog time to time.
DeleteI agree Roger and Thomas both share very valid points. I can honestly say Life is truly what we make of it or as the story goes.
ReplyDeleteCan't go wrong with those guys huh?
DeleteSpend some time at a Dialysis or Radiation clinic and ask the people going in and coming out if they think that LIFE is worth living or fighting for.
ReplyDeleteThat's the part of life that gets me so often. All I know is that we all have various 'roles' to play in life and some are VERY unpleasant.
DeleteI happen to think life is beautiful. Like everything in this world, sure it has an ugly side. But as I believe this is the only shot we got. In saying that I hope to make the best of my existence.
ReplyDeletewhat a sweet and joyful soul you are!!! I wish you an easy journey. HUGZ
DeleteI believe in balance we can't have happiness without sadness so...
DeleteSure, happiness and sadness, ying and yang. But in the times in between I like to focus on why I am glad to be here rather than not. What I want this time I have to mean something positive. I think in order to have positive impact is to look for positive in life.
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