We live in a world where technology makes life easier. We
live in a world where entertainment takes away the lonely nights. We live in a
world that defines a set of rules in order for mankind to succeed. Yet, we live
in this world feeling empty. We live in this world in isolation. Hardly anyone
questions the design of the world. Have you for one instance thought about the
concepts we value so much like money, prestige and importance. All three are illusions
that build up the image of the self. We have been living a lie and our souls
know it. Our minds have accepted these lies. This is called confirmation bias.
The world throws out a theory and the standard reaction of the mind is to
accept that theory. As soon as a few accept that theory we are introduced to
herd bias. And so we form cultural trends and rules for everyday
"successful" living. We earn a living from something that has no value.
Money is linked to a statutory input and for some reason we believe that a note
carries the power to purchase something that is tangible. We drive "fancy"
cars. Just why is a car "fancy"? Is it because it has leather seats?
Why do we think leather seats are fancy? Is it because of resource scarcity? And
so we can question mainly everything that has wealth, power or status attached
to it. Most of us don't do anything valuable with our hands. We simply think
about things, make sums, write computer code...but we are not really
contributing to making society a better place. Of course a better society can
be subjectively interpreted. But here I simply mean that a better society is
one that has substance to it, where we care for everyone and put the needs of
others before the self, and one strives for the eternal rather than the
temporary. The eternal here is harmony with God and man (you don't have to
agree with this definition). We have set up an image of what man ought to be.
This image has been refined through the ages. And through the ages this image
has become more perverted and more hollow. We strive to be like this image and
we call him the Super Human. In essence he is god. And so we replace one form
of idol worship with another, but this time it is the image of man.
So instead of becoming ourselves, we lose ourselves by
trying to become something that we are not. In fact, we would do anything to
become that image. We want to become something completely imaginary. Yet by
doing this we have become simply empty. There is no joy in that. We worry about
the most ridiculous things just because we have not become that image. We fool
ourselves by thinking we have control over our future, and because of this we
constantly worry about tomorrow. Our pride, our self-importance has betrayed us
in the deepest sense. The Bible has it
right, for you to gain life you need to lose your life. You need to become less of
yourself and let God take control. I really believe this is the natural order
of things. Thus, in order for you to really become yourself you need to let go
of yourself.
How does one do this? Through learning and working really
hard at it, but most of all relying on God who started good in you to see it to
the end.
Once again Kierkegaard points us to the Bible. He tells us
to humble ourselves and learn from the lilies in the field and the birds in the
sky. They are joyful and are joy themselves. They have joy because they are
exactly what they are - lilies and birds. They are completely obedient and this
obedience leads to joy. They are completely obedient because they just live
like they are suppose to. They do this in everything that they do, whether it
is basking in the sun, singing while building a nest or even withering under
sever conditions, they do so in a joyous fashion.
We are an unhappy species because we over-complicate matters.
We are suppose to be just humans and nothing more. You cannot be God, you
cannot be supreme ruler, you cannot be the most important and you are
definitely not immortal. Yet we toil and spin to gain an illusory place in this
world. By knowing what we are not we can come get
somewhat closer to what we are. But in the affirmative, we are simply God's representatives on
earth. We are suppose to create order when disorder appears. We are to make
beautiful the things that have become ugly. But, most of all, we ought to
glorify God. When God tells us to put our worries and troubles on Him, who then
are we to disobey? Have we become something that we are not - have we become
our own creators? We can only be human
and nothing more. The sooner we accept this the quicker we will let go of silly
and empty pursuits. Only then can we become, like the lily and the bird,
joyful. Once again, the cure for despair is becoming oneself through God. There
is nothing more to it than that. It is rather simple. We have just blurred
this process.
So, are we too far down the rabbit hole? Have we reached the
point of no return? Have we lost ourselves completely never to be found again? We are definitely bound by the world's rules, but only in
flesh. Our souls are still free only if it/we wills/will it. Slowly but surely the fake
identity of the world will lie exposed, and then your heart will turn from it
because it is just so damn ugly. All of this reminds me of the matrix - the red
or the blue pill kind of choice. We have lost ourselves only because we let go
of God. Thankfully God calls us to Him no matter how many times we have
rejected Him. Kierkegaard yells from the grave: let the lily and the bird be
your master and learn from them. Be
yourself as the lily is simply a lily and the bird simply a bird.
