Tag: immortality

Chips in the box

Shortly after my dad passed away, I wrote the little narrative below and shared it with a few people. I feel like it belongs here now, since it was a part of my past life.

When you’re born, the dealer lends you a stack of chips, some will get more, some will get less.

He then tells everyone to place their bets, and the ball starts rolling.

Some are out on the first wager, while others gamble the whole day away, winning and losing, but staying in the game.

Some will only make tiny bets, and some will bet it all and win big, while others lose everything.

Still others will choose to hold on to their chips, just quietly sipping their drinks, while living on the highs and lows of active players.

When closing time finally does come around, and the last ball is spun, the dealer will quietly walk around the table and say, "time to put the chips back in the box; they were never yours anyway."

How do you use your life chips? Do you think luck is a big factor in life? Do you take big chances or small chances? Did you win big in life? Have you ever lost it all? Do you feel like a spectator? How do you win the game of life? Let me know in the comments, and please remember to like, subscribe, and share with your friends!

Named after me

Today I am asked if I could have something named after me, what would it be?

People like having things named after them for some reason. I think it makes them feel like they are immortalized somehow, just by having a street or building named after them. I actually don’t buy into that idea. Roads and buildings are not eternal either, nothing in this world is. I also don’t really know those people. They might actually be terrible individuals and unworthy of remembering.

I also question what they really had to do with the thing that carries their name anyway. Did they build it themselves? This blog carries my name, and I wrote every line you read. That doesn’t seem so bad to me. If you breathed life into it yourself, then it makes since that it carries your name. It came from your soul. It is a part of you that you shared with others. I guess that’s what I would want to be named after me. The things that came from my soul. Anything else would just bragging about my good fortune.

What would you like to have named after you? Do you currently have something named after you? Are there other ways of being immortalized? Is there something you see every day that bears someone’s name? Do you put your heart and soul into anything? Let me know in the comments, and don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe!

The change I would like to make with this blog.

Honestly, I gave up on changing the world. My desire to change the world was beaten out of me by some really hard life events. I tried very hard to change the fate of just one person, but I failed miserably. This blog is more like a way of recovering from the trauma I have endured over the the last five or six years from trying to change the world.

I also don’t think I can change anyone’s life through this blog. I’m glad if my journey helps them feel better about their own life circumstances, but I am not responsible for their life direction. I recognize they may decide to make some sort of change after reading something I wrote, but the power to change is within them, not me.

Another reason for this blog is expression. There are ideas and feelings that are sort of trapped inside me. I have no other way of releasing them except through writing. I occasionally share thoughts with a friend or random stranger I meet, but much of what I experience is probably common to everyone, except we are not always brave enough to write about it publicly, or at least I wasn’t until recently.

I think at some point in a person’s life they just want to leave something behind that shows they were here. That is another reason I write. It’s the closest to immortality that we can ever come in the material world. Of course, I’m not sure if anything I ever did will last more than a few years after my passing, but no harm in trying.

Lastly, I have met some really amazing people along the way. Some of them really helped me in ways that I can never repay. Others were just interesting, or quirky, or brought out some surprising aspect of human nature, all worthy of writing about. My story was not my own. All these people were a passing part of it, all characters in my book, and a few of them appearing here, immortalized by my words.

One last thought I sometimes consider about blogging. I don’t necessarily believe in reincarnation, but it certainly might be real. I’m not really overjoyed by the thought of repeating the same mistakes eternally. Maybe if I left behind something that my future self can use, that might help him to get off the ground faster, or at least prevent him from worrying about the things he cannot control.

Possible discussion ideas…

  1. How would you change the world?
  2. Do any of my reasons for writing jive with you?
  3. Do you know or meet people you just want to write about?
  4. Do you ever think about leaving something behind?
  5. Did you ever write about a traumatic experience?
  6. Do you think the world is changeable or set?
  7. Was it hard for you to post your thoughts publicly?
  8. Do you worry about things out of your control?
  9. Do you believe in reincarnation?
  10. What would you tell your future self?

Let me know what you think in the comments, and thanks for being here! Please like, share, and subscribe!

My favorite historical figure.

One of my favorite figures in history is René Descartes. Philosophically, he and I see the world a lot alike. A lot of the philosophical conclusions I came to about reality matched his, long before I knew who he was or what he said (probably another blog post). I think anyone who spends most of their life in prayer and quiet contemplation will sooner or later arrive at the same conclusions as the great philosophers. We are all really the same on the inside.

Cogito, ergo sum (I think, therefore I am).

René Descartes

Most philosophers struggled with the question of what is really true. Descartes started his search for truth with the only thing he could really verify for certain, his conscious thinking mind, as indicated by his most famous quote, Cogito, ergo sum (I think, therefore I am). I believe this is really the only foundation from which you can begin your search for truth, as nothing else is verifiable without the mind, nor does anything have any real value. He deduced other truths from this foundation, including the existence of the mind of God.

Descartes - Meditations on First Philosophy

Descartes – Meditations on First Philosophy

If you are into philosophy, I highly recommend reading this book. I believe the work of Descartes is foundational in developing a complete understanding of philosophy.

Philosophical and religious digressions.

There is an interesting statement in the scriptures that I think is relevant to Descartes work. It is the statement, And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. in John 1:5. To me, this statement is deeply philosophical in nature.

The property of physical light is probably not the main idea behind this statement. It is really talking about understanding. It is saying that we (spiritual beings) are the keepers of truth, and the material universe is dead to understanding. Basically, this is the same conclusion Descartes makes many years later. He figured out that his thinking mind was the foundation of reality, because the physical universe does not understand, nor can if verify its own existence.

It is also saying that the darkness (material) has no power over the truth (idea). It cannot even sense the existence of it, nor can an idea ever be extinguished by the material world. The idea will continue to exist and find a new way to surface. This is very similar to another famous philosophical quote by Victor Hugo, No army can withstand the strength of an idea whose time has come.

Though I like Descartes philosophically, he would only be a runner up to my favorite historical personage. My favorite historical figure would be Jesus. Though his teachings would be blamed for countless wars and strife, and he even said so, he was and continues to be a positive influence on thousands of people worldwide. I also believe that much of the work done by later philosophers had their origins from statements made by him and his followers. I would say that he is very much the father of western civilization and philosophy.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments, and don’t forget to like and subscribe!

That sounds just like you.

The other day I was down at a local bar chatting with a regular there, and we ended up on a subject similar to something I had written about, so I let him read a blog post about it. After he read it, he looked at me very seriously and said something sort of unexpected. He said, that sounds just like you. When I was reading that, I could actually picture you saying it. It was like you were just talking to me. You have somehow put yourself into your writing perfectly.

That sounds just like you. When I was reading that, I could actually picture you saying it. It was like you were just talking to me. You have somehow put yourself into your writing perfectly.

I think that is actually the nicest compliment that any writer could ever receive from a reader. It means you have actually poured a part of yourself out onto the page. They are not just reading what you wrote, they are actually meeting you through the medium of letters and text.

Everyone who has come before us we only know through the words that were written by them or about them.

Words are very powerful things. Writing is a very powerful act. Everyone who has come before us we only know through the words that were written by them or about them. They have literally been immortalized through the written word.

You are a member of this very special group of people. You are a writer. Think about that when you are spilling your heart out into your posts. That is your voice they are hearing when they read your words. That is your soul they are feeling, and now a part of you is alive in them.

Thanks for meeting me here today! Do you have similar feelings about writing? Do you sometimes feel like you know the author after reading something they wrote? Do you feel like you are putting a lot of yourself into your writing? Let me know in the comments, and don’t forget to like an subscribe!

Dream messages.

While going through some old notes, I came across something I had written about a dream I had. I copied it here and touched it up. It seems like a lifetime ago that I wrote it, and I feel like I have seen so much since then. I believe it is something worth sharing.

When I was young, I lived at my grandparent’s house. They were farmers and there was always a wagon sitting in their front yard that they loaded with watermelons and cantaloupes during the summer. It sat under the shade of an old pecan tree. During the off season, I often climbed up on this wagon and played and used it to climb up onto the limbs of the old tree. This was the scene in which my dream took place.

In the dream, there was a large ferocious bull loose in the yard. He was hellbent on destruction and I was his aim. I was standing on the wagon that sat under the pecan tree, thinking it would provide me with protection. To my surprise, the wooden wagon was no match for the bull’s horns. He was literally tearing it to splinters under my feet. Seeing this, I sprang up on the tree and started climbing. This seemed to keep him at bay, because he couldn’t tear the tree down like he could the wagon. I kept climbing up the tree, but at some point, I noticed that the tree was full of snakes. They began climbing all over me and biting me, but I just kept going up the tree, without fear. For some reason, it felt like the top of the tree was the only safe place there was. It felt like I was going home.

At first, the dream just seemed like a nightmare, but then I researched some of the symbols in the dream. A wagon is a vehicle. The body is also a kind of vehicle for the soul. The tree stretches up to the heavens and seems to touch the very sky. It is a symbol of ascension. The bull is a symbol of Earth and the material world. The last important symbol, the snakes, sort of seemed like an evil menace straight out of hell, but when snakes appear in a dream, they often signal some form of transformation or change, since snakes shed their skin every year to be renewed.

If you put all of this together, you find that the dream was not a nightmare at all. It was a secret message encoded in symbolism.

I was running from the bull, which is materialism. It was trying to destroy me, as matter has the seeds of its own destruction planted within it. The world we live in is not permanent, and neither are our bodies. They will eventually be destroyed. The wagon was my body, which is the vehicle of my soul. The material world was gradually tearing it to shreds under my very eyes. This is what happens to all of us.

Fortunately, I knew about the tree that was right above my head, so I grabbed on and started climbing toward heaven. This was my soul leaving behind the world of impermanence. The bull, the material world, could not tear up the tree. It was too powerful. The tree stretched into the sky, so it represented the ascension into heaven. It is a passageway that cannot be destroyed by the material world. Along the way, I encountered all these snakes that kept biting me. What was I to make of this? Were they demons from hell? No. Snakes represent transformation. My soul was being transformed back into its spiritual self as it approached its heavenly home.

What is the hidden message of the dream? I was being told that I’m not from this world. I am not a mortal being. I am an eternal being. My body will eventually be destroyed, but nothing in this world can destroy the passageway to heaven, because that is my true home. What seemed like a nightmare, was actually a message of comfort. It was telling me, don’t worry, you are going to heaven.

Ever receive a hidden message in a dream? Ever have a prophetic dream? Do you feel like some dreams mean more than others? Let us know in the comments, and don’t forget to like and subscribe!

What does having it all mean?

The phrase having it all means something different to everyone. I think most people would think of it as being the state where you have achieved all your life goals. This might mean you have the dream career, earn the money needed to satisfy all your wants, have met and married your soulmate, live in the neighborhood and house where you want, and are surrounded by awesome friends and family who support and love you.

I have attained quite a few life goals already. Honest truth is they didn’t give me the kind of long term fulfillment that I assumed they would. I was always after the next thing. I accomplished them one by one and then just moved on to the next goal. The state of living really means that you keep moving. As they often say, life is not a destination, it’s a journey.

For the normal sort of life goals that a person may set, I’d say they are pretty attainable in our society. I was born to a poor family and lived in a small town in the middle of nowhere for half my life. There were no surrounding jobs that paid anything and the nearest college was many miles away. I’m honestly surprised they had running water. They did, but it tasted awful some days. I eventually managed to escape, get all the college I wanted, move to a thriving city, and make enough money to support a decent lifestyle. It can be done, but its a lot of hard work.

Unfortunately, there were some obstacles in life that I was not able to overcome because it would require supernatural powers. I lost some people that I desperately needed and didn’t want to lose. If I truly had it all, they would still be here to share it with me. In order to live the perfect life, I would need to become immortal and gain power over the fates, so those people could abide with me forever, and that is unattainable.

I’ve also heard other phrases that come close to this sentiment, like he’s living the dream, or she’s living her best life. Would you say you are living your best life now? What’s your plan on achieving your dream? Let me know in the comments, and don’t forget to like and subscribe.

What will I leave behind?

I’ve thought about this for years, and have probably had lots of different opinions on it along the way.

I think I used to believe that being remembered by your community was very important. I grew up in a small town where everyone knew everyone. From time to time, the little church houses would fill with people attending funerals to pay their last respects. I remember older people saying things like, it was a good turnout at so-and-so’s funeral, he was liked by all. Back then, it seemed like that was the best you could accomplish, being loved by family and friends enough that they would show up to bid you farewell to worlds unknown, say nice things about you, shed a few tears, and then move on with the rest of their lives, patiently awaiting their own time to come.

I also thought about more grander things from time to time, like I would do something amazing that would change the world. Maybe I would become famous, or invent something, or become an author and write books. This was a pleasant thought, because it would mean that I affected the lives of way more than just those who crossed my path physically, and I might even be immortalized through publications or history, and go on to be known and remember by people in far distant generations. This would probably be the best legacy I could hope for, but much more difficult to attain.

So really, the legacy you leave to future generations, is just a memory of the person you were in life, what they saw in you, how you made them feel inside, the ideas you gave them, and the experiences you shared together, real or imagined. Considering that, I hope they remember me as a person who sought to understand, a person who wanted to experience deeper things and stronger emotions, a person who wanted to challenge barriers to life satisfaction and happiness and rethink outdated traditions, and a person who accepted others as they truly are on the inside.

Agree or disagree? What’s your legacy?