Gerald Maclennon's Blog - Posts Tagged "life"
The Purpose of Life, as far as I can tell
Every night, just about every person on this planet slips away for several hours into that mysterious realm we call sleep. Some do it in the light of day. We don’t think much about it because it’s a pattern of life that began at birth and will just continue on and on until our bodies once again turn to dust. While awake we are occupied with all the concerns of life. In our deepest period of sleep, nothing matters. In that nether world of bliss, we don’t concern ourselves with religion and politics, war and peace, appointments and obligations, relationships and associations, sustenance and economics.
Awake for only about 70-percent of our lives, the rest of that time is lost – wasted, some would say – in a regenerative state.
So, how do we humans define purpose while in our 70-percent… our fully conscious state? What is our raison d’etre – our reason for existence? From a mundane perspective, the purpose of life is to sustain and perpetuate life: to gather and hunt and feed our bodies, to reproduce and raise progeny, to provide a safe and secure nesting area, to acquire territory and possessions, to protect ourselves from enemies. That makes us humans no different than any other animal species. We just do it with greater intellect.
The most recurring theme in the world’s news and entertainment media is death – especially violent death. Why are we so fascinated with death? Because it is the one great mystery that all of us, the living, share. Yet, we’re not so unlike a herd of antelope that silently gather around the body of one of their own dead. They cautiously advance, one by one, and sniff the carcass – bewildered as to why their companion is no longer moving and breathing.
Having said all this, it is obvious to me that there is no purpose to life... unless there is more to life than life as we know it.
Christians find hope in the story of the death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ because, to them, it once and for all time, answers the question: “Is there life after death?”
Muslims and Jews maintain that adherence to the commandments of their respective holy books – the Quran and the Torah – will earn them respected positions in the Afterworld. Devotees of Eastern religions believe that our souls are repeatedly reincarnated until we reach a state of spiritual perfection that will allow us passage into Nirvana. And, of course, some say that there is no meaning to life and that physical death is the absolute end of who we are. Personally, if I carried that philosophy, I would stop marching in formation as if this world made sense and either live a life of crime and debauchery or merely end the cosmic joke by firing a bullet into my head.
Most of us older folks, as we mature, come to grips with the inevitability of death but still the question remains: What is the purpose of it all?
Seers, prophets and messiah kings throughout history have admonished us to minimize possessions – to cleanse ourselves of material non-necessities – so that we may open our eyes to the loftier humanitarian values that provide true meaning to this earthly journey.
Islam, Judaism and Christianity all teach that reverent submission to the One, Self-Existent God brings fulfillment and purpose to life. Christians add that the path to submission must pass through the Son of God, Jesus.
Siddhartha Gautama – the Buddha – gave us eight directives on how to conduct our lives while incarnated on this mortal plane. He taught that through personal application of the Noble Eightfold Path we find meaning and purpose. Confucius and Lao-Tzu also formulated belief systems for finding fulfillment.
No doubt there is truth in all these paths.
Allow me to ask at this juncture: what is the most euphoric event in a man or woman’s life. Most of us would agree it’s the experience of falling in love with that one special person whom we consider our soul mate. Falling in love is the theme of a million songs worldwide. Romantic love lifts up our spirits to the heavens; it permeates with elation every thread in the fabric of our being. It is a uniquely human experience. Animals don’t fall in love; they merely select, mate and breed. And… I might add, some humans do that too, but for them, it’s a deliberate choice.
Those who are most devoted to their particular faith have literally fallen in love (Agapao - Gr.) with God or an earthly manifestation that represents God, be it nature, a holy shrine, a book of sacred writings, and/or a person such as the Christ or the Buddha. Agape is the highest love and when one is enraptured by it, it produces in the individual a secondary level of affection and compassion: philato, the love of family, friends, neighbors and all humanity – even enemies.
Jesus of Nazareth imparted to his followers three directives that when personally applied are said to imbue every devotee of Christianity with a resolute purpose for living: first, know that there is but one God – the Self-Existent One; secondly, love that God with all of your heart, mind and spirit; and third, love your fellow human beings as much as – or even more than – yourself. This is not a uniquely Christian raison d’etre. It can be universally applied to virtually all religions as well as to individual credos.
No one knows when the end of his or her mortal existence will come – maybe a minute from now, tomorrow, months or years but one thing is certain: it will come to all. I believe that human spirit energy – the soul, if you will – continues to exist following departure of our highly-evolved primate bodies.
And, what can we take with us when we fly away to the next realm of consciousness? Not our prized possessions nor our accumulated wealth; not our power nor our prestige. All we’ll be able to pack is Love and the spiritual benefits we earned by conveying and implementing that Love while we occupied the flesh.
Some of us, in order to keep food on the table, a roof over our heads and heat in winter have no choice other than to accept a job we know upfront is going to be very boring – certainly not even close to personal fulfillment. Sad to say, not everything we do can be profound – I’ve been there too — but it can be done with love and graciousness. That’s the difference.
At the end of life, many take personal inventory; they look back to review their accomplishments and their failures; to know what other people really think of them. When death is imminent, does it matter that you worked your way up to the top level of management before retiring? Does it matter that you were able to afford a million dollar house and two luxury cars? Does it matter that you were a great scientist, a movie star, a talented artist, a powerful politician, a registered nurse, a four-star general, professional athlete or a damned good plumber?
Well of course it matters! Why would God not want us to have some fun while fulfilling our purpose? A long-faced, grumpy old Zeus is not the God of joy and happiness that I know. The way I see it, it ain’t so much what we do, as it is how we do it? We don’t have to be, nor should we be, Mother Teresa’s and Father Flanagan’s in order to say “I made a difference in this world!”
Is there a purpose for being? Well, yeah, I hope so! As the Apostle said long ago: “What we are seeing though dirty, greasy eyeglasses right now will be sharp and crystal clear once we have passed through that mysterious transition we call death.”
At the end of the road, if we have carried out our particular calling and shed the light of Godly love into the hearts of others through compassionate and selfless giving... if we even halfway lived in that manner, our mission, our purpose was achieved.
So to neatly wrap it all up, I say yes, as far as I can tell… Love is the purpose.
The purpose is Love. God is Love. Messiah came to us in Love, teaching us each to Love the L-RD our God with all our hearts, minds and souls. And, to love and respect our neighbors even as we do ourselves.
Love. It might just be that simple.
Gerald Logan-MacLennon, 67, January 2015 -- from my book, Wrestling with Angels: An anthology of prose & poetry 1962 thru 2016 Revised
Awake for only about 70-percent of our lives, the rest of that time is lost – wasted, some would say – in a regenerative state.
So, how do we humans define purpose while in our 70-percent… our fully conscious state? What is our raison d’etre – our reason for existence? From a mundane perspective, the purpose of life is to sustain and perpetuate life: to gather and hunt and feed our bodies, to reproduce and raise progeny, to provide a safe and secure nesting area, to acquire territory and possessions, to protect ourselves from enemies. That makes us humans no different than any other animal species. We just do it with greater intellect.
The most recurring theme in the world’s news and entertainment media is death – especially violent death. Why are we so fascinated with death? Because it is the one great mystery that all of us, the living, share. Yet, we’re not so unlike a herd of antelope that silently gather around the body of one of their own dead. They cautiously advance, one by one, and sniff the carcass – bewildered as to why their companion is no longer moving and breathing.
Having said all this, it is obvious to me that there is no purpose to life... unless there is more to life than life as we know it.
Christians find hope in the story of the death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ because, to them, it once and for all time, answers the question: “Is there life after death?”
Muslims and Jews maintain that adherence to the commandments of their respective holy books – the Quran and the Torah – will earn them respected positions in the Afterworld. Devotees of Eastern religions believe that our souls are repeatedly reincarnated until we reach a state of spiritual perfection that will allow us passage into Nirvana. And, of course, some say that there is no meaning to life and that physical death is the absolute end of who we are. Personally, if I carried that philosophy, I would stop marching in formation as if this world made sense and either live a life of crime and debauchery or merely end the cosmic joke by firing a bullet into my head.
Most of us older folks, as we mature, come to grips with the inevitability of death but still the question remains: What is the purpose of it all?
Seers, prophets and messiah kings throughout history have admonished us to minimize possessions – to cleanse ourselves of material non-necessities – so that we may open our eyes to the loftier humanitarian values that provide true meaning to this earthly journey.
Islam, Judaism and Christianity all teach that reverent submission to the One, Self-Existent God brings fulfillment and purpose to life. Christians add that the path to submission must pass through the Son of God, Jesus.
Siddhartha Gautama – the Buddha – gave us eight directives on how to conduct our lives while incarnated on this mortal plane. He taught that through personal application of the Noble Eightfold Path we find meaning and purpose. Confucius and Lao-Tzu also formulated belief systems for finding fulfillment.
No doubt there is truth in all these paths.
Allow me to ask at this juncture: what is the most euphoric event in a man or woman’s life. Most of us would agree it’s the experience of falling in love with that one special person whom we consider our soul mate. Falling in love is the theme of a million songs worldwide. Romantic love lifts up our spirits to the heavens; it permeates with elation every thread in the fabric of our being. It is a uniquely human experience. Animals don’t fall in love; they merely select, mate and breed. And… I might add, some humans do that too, but for them, it’s a deliberate choice.
Those who are most devoted to their particular faith have literally fallen in love (Agapao - Gr.) with God or an earthly manifestation that represents God, be it nature, a holy shrine, a book of sacred writings, and/or a person such as the Christ or the Buddha. Agape is the highest love and when one is enraptured by it, it produces in the individual a secondary level of affection and compassion: philato, the love of family, friends, neighbors and all humanity – even enemies.
Jesus of Nazareth imparted to his followers three directives that when personally applied are said to imbue every devotee of Christianity with a resolute purpose for living: first, know that there is but one God – the Self-Existent One; secondly, love that God with all of your heart, mind and spirit; and third, love your fellow human beings as much as – or even more than – yourself. This is not a uniquely Christian raison d’etre. It can be universally applied to virtually all religions as well as to individual credos.
No one knows when the end of his or her mortal existence will come – maybe a minute from now, tomorrow, months or years but one thing is certain: it will come to all. I believe that human spirit energy – the soul, if you will – continues to exist following departure of our highly-evolved primate bodies.
And, what can we take with us when we fly away to the next realm of consciousness? Not our prized possessions nor our accumulated wealth; not our power nor our prestige. All we’ll be able to pack is Love and the spiritual benefits we earned by conveying and implementing that Love while we occupied the flesh.
Some of us, in order to keep food on the table, a roof over our heads and heat in winter have no choice other than to accept a job we know upfront is going to be very boring – certainly not even close to personal fulfillment. Sad to say, not everything we do can be profound – I’ve been there too — but it can be done with love and graciousness. That’s the difference.
At the end of life, many take personal inventory; they look back to review their accomplishments and their failures; to know what other people really think of them. When death is imminent, does it matter that you worked your way up to the top level of management before retiring? Does it matter that you were able to afford a million dollar house and two luxury cars? Does it matter that you were a great scientist, a movie star, a talented artist, a powerful politician, a registered nurse, a four-star general, professional athlete or a damned good plumber?
Well of course it matters! Why would God not want us to have some fun while fulfilling our purpose? A long-faced, grumpy old Zeus is not the God of joy and happiness that I know. The way I see it, it ain’t so much what we do, as it is how we do it? We don’t have to be, nor should we be, Mother Teresa’s and Father Flanagan’s in order to say “I made a difference in this world!”
Is there a purpose for being? Well, yeah, I hope so! As the Apostle said long ago: “What we are seeing though dirty, greasy eyeglasses right now will be sharp and crystal clear once we have passed through that mysterious transition we call death.”
At the end of the road, if we have carried out our particular calling and shed the light of Godly love into the hearts of others through compassionate and selfless giving... if we even halfway lived in that manner, our mission, our purpose was achieved.
So to neatly wrap it all up, I say yes, as far as I can tell… Love is the purpose.
The purpose is Love. God is Love. Messiah came to us in Love, teaching us each to Love the L-RD our God with all our hearts, minds and souls. And, to love and respect our neighbors even as we do ourselves.
Love. It might just be that simple.
Gerald Logan-MacLennon, 67, January 2015 -- from my book, Wrestling with Angels: An anthology of prose & poetry 1962 thru 2016 Revised
2020 Anno Domini
An apology to my readers for my two month absence from this, my blog. No matter how much one tries to avoid end of year holidays, one is still sucked in and impoverished.
2020, the year of perfect vision... truthfully, I never thought I would achieve it! After nearly dying 5 years ago and having a major cystoprostatectomy 4 years ago, I figured, "Okay, the Master of the Universe gave me another year or two to get my affairs in order and then I'm out of here."
Because I made mental preparation for death, I can't let it go. I think about death everyday. My shipmate, John McCain, developed brain cancer and died in 2018. Alex Trebek, longtime host of TV's Jeopardy, is currently dealing with the finality of his pancreatic cancer. In an interview, he said that now his life is no longer open-ended.
Trebek can see his own demise approaching. In all decades previously, he lived the myth of eternal life in the flesh... seeing people all around dying but never wanting to believe it could actually happen to Alex.
In years long past, the Hindu scripture, Bhagavad Gita, defined this myth as one of our greatest mysteries... not the dying part but of cherishing and protecting the idea that we won't -- that I amongst all am the golden monkey.
If I addressed all the theories of life beyond the grave, this blog would run 10 pages or more. So, I'll leave it in the realm of personal belief.
I am nearing February 16, 2020 when my body odometer reads 73 years of use and abuse. This 1947 Homo Sapiens is experiencing systemic breakdown. O-O-O O'Reilly's carries no parts for my year, make and model. Parts would have to be salvaged in the manner of Dr. Frankenstein, or handcrafted in a specialty shop but those suckers are priced in Warren Buffet's range. Not in mine.
In January 2019, we celebrated the birthday of my girl, Sandy, as she turned 70. In the year 2020, I will celebrate my birthday, Lord willing, in the Pacific Northwest with my girls: daughter Jessica and granddaughter Stella (and mi yerno, Ryan). Stella will be 10 on January 28th. Jessica will be 50 on May 24. Sis will become 70 on July 21. Had she lived, Mum and my biological father, Harry Dean, and my Step-Dad Cady would have all turned 95. (Jeff is eagerly awaiting next year 2021.)
For this old Vietnam Vet Hippie, I obey the Wheel of Life, the Great Mandala. And... for those born in the New Millennium, a brave new world awaits. And the beat goes on, the beat goes on.
2020, the year of perfect vision... truthfully, I never thought I would achieve it! After nearly dying 5 years ago and having a major cystoprostatectomy 4 years ago, I figured, "Okay, the Master of the Universe gave me another year or two to get my affairs in order and then I'm out of here."
Because I made mental preparation for death, I can't let it go. I think about death everyday. My shipmate, John McCain, developed brain cancer and died in 2018. Alex Trebek, longtime host of TV's Jeopardy, is currently dealing with the finality of his pancreatic cancer. In an interview, he said that now his life is no longer open-ended.
Trebek can see his own demise approaching. In all decades previously, he lived the myth of eternal life in the flesh... seeing people all around dying but never wanting to believe it could actually happen to Alex.
In years long past, the Hindu scripture, Bhagavad Gita, defined this myth as one of our greatest mysteries... not the dying part but of cherishing and protecting the idea that we won't -- that I amongst all am the golden monkey.
If I addressed all the theories of life beyond the grave, this blog would run 10 pages or more. So, I'll leave it in the realm of personal belief.
I am nearing February 16, 2020 when my body odometer reads 73 years of use and abuse. This 1947 Homo Sapiens is experiencing systemic breakdown. O-O-O O'Reilly's carries no parts for my year, make and model. Parts would have to be salvaged in the manner of Dr. Frankenstein, or handcrafted in a specialty shop but those suckers are priced in Warren Buffet's range. Not in mine.
In January 2019, we celebrated the birthday of my girl, Sandy, as she turned 70. In the year 2020, I will celebrate my birthday, Lord willing, in the Pacific Northwest with my girls: daughter Jessica and granddaughter Stella (and mi yerno, Ryan). Stella will be 10 on January 28th. Jessica will be 50 on May 24. Sis will become 70 on July 21. Had she lived, Mum and my biological father, Harry Dean, and my Step-Dad Cady would have all turned 95. (Jeff is eagerly awaiting next year 2021.)
For this old Vietnam Vet Hippie, I obey the Wheel of Life, the Great Mandala. And... for those born in the New Millennium, a brave new world awaits. And the beat goes on, the beat goes on.
Open Letter to Dr Eban Alexander Regarding His Book About Dying and Going to Heaven: Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Afterlife
Upon completion of this book (13 Apr 2017) I didn't know quite what to think of the good doctor's journey into the unknown. It seemed more like hell than it did heaven. I experienced the same feeling of spiritual betrayal that I had after watching director Tim Burton's Beetlejuice (1988) starring Michael Keaton. Such an existential emptiness... I felt sorry for impressionable youth exposed to such cinematic heresy.
On 13 Apr 2017, I wrote a letter to Dr. Eban Alexander - hoping against all hope he would reply. But he didn't. The letter comments:
Regarding your decision, doctor, to use "Om", I propose the Hebrew Yod-Hey-Vav-Hey or YHVH more accurately conveys the nature of the Self-Existent One. I propose that Prince of Egypt, Moshe, knew precisely why he chose that triple verb conjugation of hayah (to be; exist). Defined, it means essentially "I was, I am, I always will be." There is no gender assignment. It is spirit. It defies concepts of time and space, as you experienced, and later tried to explain in words that seemed inadequate, the "awe of the Core". In my opinion, it is the universal connectedness of everything, as you suggested... as quark mechanics theorizes.
Doctor, there is much more depth to Judaism than what is presented to the world; so too the Jewish Rabbi bearing the name of Yesha-Yah-u (meaning, the liberation of spirit provided by YHVH).
In 2014, I was near death but came back. Why? I don't know for sure but I think my small army of prayer warriors had something to do with it.
Academically, I am no one special. I am not a worldly success story by any stretch. Still, I feel a certain kinsmanship with you because of our experiential similarities.
There was a secondary formal name the Deity conveyed to Moshe. It was, "Aehyeh Asher Aehyeh" meaning "I am continually becoming what I am becoming". To most people that would seem like gibberish but I have a hunch you understand exactly what it means.
Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Afterlife
On 13 Apr 2017, I wrote a letter to Dr. Eban Alexander - hoping against all hope he would reply. But he didn't. The letter comments:
Regarding your decision, doctor, to use "Om", I propose the Hebrew Yod-Hey-Vav-Hey or YHVH more accurately conveys the nature of the Self-Existent One. I propose that Prince of Egypt, Moshe, knew precisely why he chose that triple verb conjugation of hayah (to be; exist). Defined, it means essentially "I was, I am, I always will be." There is no gender assignment. It is spirit. It defies concepts of time and space, as you experienced, and later tried to explain in words that seemed inadequate, the "awe of the Core". In my opinion, it is the universal connectedness of everything, as you suggested... as quark mechanics theorizes.
Doctor, there is much more depth to Judaism than what is presented to the world; so too the Jewish Rabbi bearing the name of Yesha-Yah-u (meaning, the liberation of spirit provided by YHVH).
In 2014, I was near death but came back. Why? I don't know for sure but I think my small army of prayer warriors had something to do with it.
Academically, I am no one special. I am not a worldly success story by any stretch. Still, I feel a certain kinsmanship with you because of our experiential similarities.
There was a secondary formal name the Deity conveyed to Moshe. It was, "Aehyeh Asher Aehyeh" meaning "I am continually becoming what I am becoming". To most people that would seem like gibberish but I have a hunch you understand exactly what it means.
Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Afterlife
