Change

Change

Is there nothing that we can cling to, or something in our world that is permanent?   Of course the answer is no.   It is so easy to take things for granted until they are gone.  There must be on some unconscious level, a place where it is believed that nothing actually changes.  That all of our relationships, the situations we find ourselves in are somehow permanent.  We know that is not true, yet this can persist, it shows in how we react when things do change, or something important is taken from us forever, never to return.  We have all the time in the world, we can lie to ourselves.  Letting things that are very important, normally thought of as the little things, pass us by.  Yet our moments, even if they are measured the same all the time, by minutes, hours, days, months and years, yet it can seem like a lie.  For a year can pass like it was a weekend, so fast can time seem to fly.  Blink in January and it is June, then another blink and yet another year has passed. 

Our lives change drastically when we lose something.  A friend, or our health, a spouse, and of course we can wake up one morning and we find ourselves ‘old’.  Though to our surprise we don’t feel old, in fact we can feel quite young in many ways.  Perhaps our illusion of permanence is based on something deeper and real, that is projected out onto a world that is in the midst of unceasing change, of becoming and then falling into non-being.  It is probably best that people do not think too much on their contingency, yet to not think of it at all I believe is unhealthy and can lead to tragedy and deep suffering.  I guess if we live long enough we will experience the loss of a great deal in our lives.  Some live to see the loss of everything if they live to be very old.   I have an idea that the less people admit to this reality the more frantic life can become.   For while it is hard for me to think of my own death, I see too much of around me to actually be able to repress it very deeply or often.  What is it we take with us, when we die?  Much of what is thought of as important is left behind.  Of course many believe that death is like hitting a brick wall, there is nothing after death, so the question is probably silly to them.  Those of us who believe otherwise, perhaps it is not so simple.  Perhaps what we take with us are our choices and how those decisions have created us in some fashion. 

In the Christian faith, after the Incarnation of Christ, we are called to become ever more fully human and loving.  Anything that does not lead to that is what is called sin.  A state of being still born, stuck, of closing off the fullness of life that Christ Jesus is calling I believe all of mankind to.  The problem with my faith is that it is easy to fall into the trap of actually knowing how God works in the hearts of all of mankind. 

 Jesus tells us to let go of fear, to trust and have faith.  How important is that for a species that not only knows that they will die but also struggle with the actual existence of God.  I believe we all have doubts, though they may be repressed….yet we live in a world were absolute certainty is not possible, though deep faith is.  If I need total proof of the existence of God, then I would become an atheist.  Yet atheism is not something that can proven, it is a choice.   If atheism was based on some kind of science, well I would suppose that most of mankind would be atheist; such is not the case, nor do I believe will it ever be.  Science can tell us about the world, but the deeper questions and longings cannot be touched by it.  Though the proponents of scientism would like to convince us otherwise; not sure how successful they are.  Many atheists, those that are militant do about as much good for their cause as do militant fundamentalist Christians….the key word here is militant.