31 “Your Majesty looked, and there before you stood a large statue—an enormous, dazzling statue, awesome in appearance. 32 The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, 33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay.34 While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were all broken to pieces and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth."
-Daniel 2:31-35 (NIV)
Pecy Bysshe Shelley's poem "Ozymandias" carries so much significant resemblance to this one passage in the Book of Daniel from the Bible. An Egyptian statue that once stood majestically falls to utter ruin, until all that is left is the common dust and shattered fragments serving as the only remembrance of a once grand kingdom. Combining the importance of both of these great works brings a curious contemplation to mind: why do people spend so much time trying to build something mighty, all for it to fall into common dust over the passage of time?
The answer is simple: they want the remembrance of their "kingdom" to stand forever. If they cannot settle for an eternal kingdom, they can make due for its glory being preserved for all time, right? Sometimes they accomplish it by building a colossus, which does stand the test of time, but only for a brief moment compared to the rest of eternity. In context of real life, some people put forth all the effort they can into amassing wealth, title, and popularity, but what is any of that when it eventually fades away over time?
When you think about it, such accomplishments are so trivial compared to what really matters. After all, just like the rest of material, they all deteriorate and fade.
What really matters, therefore, is what transcends the material realm. Many know the phrase, "a heart of gold," which actually carries profound significance. The way people help to provide a benefit in another's life is how their true worth is determined. After all, the people that are remembered the most are those who have done much to provide the foundations for a future of goodwill, such as those who give their lives to helping others.
Material crumbles to dust. The memory of another's good deeds, unseen by human eyes, lasts for an eternity.
Sunday, January 25, 2015
Monday, January 19, 2015
Stepping out of Paradise into...The Garden of Eden?
It's easy for many to say that Tess Durbeyfield from Tess of the d'Urbervilles has wandered out of her place of relative comfort and into the snake's pit. The beginning of her story sets her in the rural English region of Wessex, a place where she lives in contentment. Unlike her parents, she is fitted for the country, always ready to work when necessary. However, the untimely death of her "Prince," the family horse, plummets her into a chain of events that lead her to the doorstep of the d'Urberville mansion. Who be there to greet her? None other than Alec d'Urberville, the ominous villain behind dark clothes.
One of the story's greatest themes is the idea of a predetermined fate, something anyone would be anxious of. Well, the stars don't say much for Tess, because how ill-fated it is for her father to come to know of his family's distant lineage, for Tess to meet Angel Clare, for their horse to die in a tragic manner, for her guilt to become her motivation for being led to an ominous household.
It is widely discussed that the story of Genesis of the Bible has a significant influence on the story's events, how Satan the serpent lured Eve to the forbidden fruit much similar in the manner Tess is urged on by the scheming Alec to produce a proper whistle. However, what strikes the curiosity of many is that Tess never actually produces a very successful whistle. This leads to wonder: has she partaken of the forbidden fruit, or is that a part of Alec's schemes?
It is said that the future is so unknown to humans to the point where only God can know its secrets. If He had created humans to be pure, only for the cunning of a serpent to turn them away, and He knew about it, why was it allowed to happen like that?
Purpose.
Many believe that God allows everything, good or bad, to happen because they commit to some greater purpose. Could the same apply to Tess's ill turn of fate? If so, then the predetermination of her life itself presumably carries a purpose. And what is that purpose? That is a question unanswered, for sometimes only oneself can discover the meaning behind every one of their troubles.
With this in mind, how do you believe Tess is believing all this?
One thing's for certain, a heart placed in paradise full of temptation can hardly be considered sanctuary compared to one of contentment full of little material value.
Sunday, January 11, 2015
The Foggy Winds of Uncertainty
The future... an area whose secrets are known only to God. No matter how one sees it, the future is forever going to remain unknown to everyone who lives. No matter how hard they try, they can never foresee what will exactly happen, let alone how it will happen. No matter what they do, they can never entirely prepare for what life is going to throw at them in the most inopportune moments.
And yet, everyone holds tight to themselves what they call "expectations" and "hope." It is ironic because many people expect something to happen in the future, even when they don't know what will exactly happen. Regardless of all their hopes, however, there is always going to be something unexpected that strikes when everyone least expects it, whether it is in the point where they are most comfortable, or when they are completely vigilant. In a way, it's like seeing the approaching dust of an army or two; people know hostility approaches, but they do not know what form it will be in.
Even still, there is hardly a person in the world who will not make preparations, even if it is for a threat they do not know about. In the most extreme sense, people invest their savings to either construct or buy a shelter prepped for the Apocalypse.
Efforts like those are futile, though, because the causality in the future is as fickle as the weather in Colorado. It's always going to change in the ways people least expect it to. Not only is it fickle, but it's also inconceivably uncontrollable by human hands. There's no stopping its approach, and certainly no changing what it brings.
A person procrastinates, they get behind on their work. A person overworks, tiring themselves to the brink of exhaustion. With choices come consequence, and that forms the basis of causality. People have power over their choices, but never over the results. Regardless, they still expect an envisioned result they carefully drawn out in their mind.The result, either utter disappointment or satisfaction at predicting the outcome correctly.
Is it worth the risk, though?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Go with the flow." A common phrase that becomes a core philosophy of optimists. There really is no need for expectations or preparations of the future. Humans possess the unparalleled ability to improve, make progress. If that is an ability everybody possesses, even in the face of hindrance or hostility, wouldn't that itself be enough resource to withstand the unexpected? Life's great mysteries are what make it exciting. Terrifying, but exciting. In some ways, it's almost like trying to clear a game, because people need to discover many different methods to clear the levels in their life. Those great challenges are what make life fun, because with proper determination, people always find a way to keep moving toward the future.
Paranoid preparations aren't what combat the unknown future, it's the human will to progress that combats the uncertainty. If all people do is get obsessed with what they believe will happen, they're going to get trapped in the present and stop looking to the future, and therefore never find the will to make of it what they will.
Do not prepare for the unknown future that approaches. Instead, find the will to approach the future yourself.
And yet, everyone holds tight to themselves what they call "expectations" and "hope." It is ironic because many people expect something to happen in the future, even when they don't know what will exactly happen. Regardless of all their hopes, however, there is always going to be something unexpected that strikes when everyone least expects it, whether it is in the point where they are most comfortable, or when they are completely vigilant. In a way, it's like seeing the approaching dust of an army or two; people know hostility approaches, but they do not know what form it will be in.
Even still, there is hardly a person in the world who will not make preparations, even if it is for a threat they do not know about. In the most extreme sense, people invest their savings to either construct or buy a shelter prepped for the Apocalypse.
Efforts like those are futile, though, because the causality in the future is as fickle as the weather in Colorado. It's always going to change in the ways people least expect it to. Not only is it fickle, but it's also inconceivably uncontrollable by human hands. There's no stopping its approach, and certainly no changing what it brings.
A person procrastinates, they get behind on their work. A person overworks, tiring themselves to the brink of exhaustion. With choices come consequence, and that forms the basis of causality. People have power over their choices, but never over the results. Regardless, they still expect an envisioned result they carefully drawn out in their mind.The result, either utter disappointment or satisfaction at predicting the outcome correctly.
Is it worth the risk, though?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Go with the flow." A common phrase that becomes a core philosophy of optimists. There really is no need for expectations or preparations of the future. Humans possess the unparalleled ability to improve, make progress. If that is an ability everybody possesses, even in the face of hindrance or hostility, wouldn't that itself be enough resource to withstand the unexpected? Life's great mysteries are what make it exciting. Terrifying, but exciting. In some ways, it's almost like trying to clear a game, because people need to discover many different methods to clear the levels in their life. Those great challenges are what make life fun, because with proper determination, people always find a way to keep moving toward the future.
Paranoid preparations aren't what combat the unknown future, it's the human will to progress that combats the uncertainty. If all people do is get obsessed with what they believe will happen, they're going to get trapped in the present and stop looking to the future, and therefore never find the will to make of it what they will.
Do not prepare for the unknown future that approaches. Instead, find the will to approach the future yourself.
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