Post #100

Folks, I have now posted 100 different thoughts, memories, ideas, teachings, and various other things on this blog. Now, this is a very special moment and I want to take the time to explain some things I have discovered about life.

Let me give you all an image. It's a cliche, but it's an image.

Take your typical fantasy/adventure drama. You always have the scene where the hero/good side is inevitably fighting insurmountable odds. I will just list some epic ones here:
-Pirates of the Carribean: fight scene on the decks of the ship with the Kracken involved, the main characters nearly die many times.
-Lord of the Rings: Pretty much every time the characters come up against some sort of obstacle, someone is lost but they defeat the enemy.
-Harry Potter: Poor Harry, every time he fights Voldemort or his cohorts it seems like he comes so close to death.
-Star Wars: The odds are always against Luke, Leia, Han, and the sides of Light. The Dark Side is just too strong, but somehow they always get through.

However, the movie which best describes this heroic, against-all-odds, back-from-the-dead mentality (in my opinion) is Avatar. Not to spoil it for you, if you have not seen it, but let's just say the movie is a constant series of impossible situations.

Now. Why do we idealize this sort of thing? Ask anyone on the street, and they will tell you that life is not a movie. Life is cold, hard, and rough. You get spat on, tackled in the dirt, and kicked in the teeth. I guarantee you many people out there will tell you they would think it more likely that money would grow on trees than their lives would go well. Life is too damn hard, and we as human beings know this. So why on earth do we not just accept the inevitable? Why do we keep these sensations of hope about us when the universe is crashing down our ears?

Part of it is psychology. We need external validation, we need a reason to keep going with our lives. Otherwise, the suicide and mortality rate would skyrocket. Another part is... we simply do not wish to believe that good will not triumph over evil.

However. There are several issues with this. To many, and rightfully so, right and wrong are subjective. As a good friend once told me, "Wrong is not wrong, but left." What is right? What is wrong? What are these moral constructs we hold ourselves to? Is there any real reason for it? All of these are valid questions. After all, take World War II. A prime example of how an "evil" force conquered and wreaked havoc. Did Hitler believe he was evil? Evil people rarely do. They simply have a different outlook, different motivations. Examples of mass butchery and genocide are evidence that sometimes, the "bad guy" wins.

But, ladies and gentleman, let me tell you something. There is a right and their is a wrong. You have to traverse miles and miles of swampy marsh, climb cold mountains, and fry on vast desert plains to see the real reasons behind morality... but it is possible. Let me explain in further detail.

There are a few things in life which are certain. One of them is that when a certain action is performed by being, it either has a negative or positive effect. For the sake of not getting mired too deep in the weeds, let's say that anything that is "positive" is something that provides growth and productivity, and anything which is "negative" destroys that. If we look at the actions we take in life, we will see that this is true: every action we take either has a negative or positive result. Now, the complication arises (with most people) when on either side the choices are nearly ambiguous. If one is to choose something less painful but more pleasurable over a hard choice which is more fruitful than the other, who is to say what is wrong? Should human beings not be happy? I say yes... to a certain extent. The problem lies in the maturity/experience of the person and their choices. Children will reach for a stovetop because they want to... that does not necessarily mean it is the right thing to do. So, inevitably, we see that there actually is an outcome which is "right" and which is "wrong."

This may seem like common sense to many. But look at it. How many people are going around just existing without any thought to their actions? How many people are living solely for the purpose of gaining power for themselves? How many people do not have a respect for the righteous things in life? Many. People do not understand that their is a middle ground between being in it for yourself and being in it for the collective. It is the struggle between capitalism and socialism: one side is more "selfish" and the other is more "selfless" in theory. Now, the systems are utterly imperfect, but you see the point. We little apes on this planet have not yet received the message that if we don't find some sort of harmony with ourselves, our universe, and most importantly with each other, we are going to have problems.

This is not to say there should not be conflict. In fact, conflict is necessary for growth. Therefore, conflict is actually a positive thing. However, conflict for conflict's sake is a fool's errand.

We need to get our minds straight, people. If you are paying attention, you will see there are some big wheels turning out in the world. And soon, we are going to be facing a situation where we can either pull ourselves out of the down spiral, or just go ahead and destroy each other. Either way, it will be by our own doing.

There are more efficient ways to exist. Some people don't like that word, efficiency. However, this is how I define it: efficiency is anything that provides the growth and successful propagation of the species. The systems we have now are becoming obsolete. We really need to consider expanding our minds and opening up our souls to new ways of thinking. Because make no mistake... their is a good and their is an evil. At times, we may have to actually define them and they may switch places. I am not denying there is gray area. But overall... there are two ends of the spectrum. We need to figure out which end we want to land on.

Otherwise, the choice might be made for us.