CHARITY

Those of us who can give have been pounded by demands for charity this year. Apparently, neither hurricanes, nor floods, nor earthquakes, nor famines have been able to breach our 'levees'. There has been no flood of aid. The flow remains controlled and is increasingly restricted. The reasons given are donor fatigue, racism, diminishing compassion, dissipating responsibility, dissolving ties and fading obligation. These are merely superficial distractions. There is only one reason of consequence. We lack the common purpose of life.

Instead, increasingly we have the same individual purpose. With greater and greater urgency we are trying to fill the void in our lives with money and all that it can buy. This materialistic reaction to the void within us is causing the growing space between us that makes it easier to ignore our fellow human beings. To make matters worse the void can not be filled and the more we try, the more we need and the less we have to give. 

There is only one way to reverse this trend. We must reach out to the limits of our capacities, to others and to God, our common purpose. This ideal reaction to the void will close the spaces between us and fill them with a medium of compassion in which there will be no need for charity. (see poem)

EVOLUTION/INTELLIGENT DESIGN

I wasn't sure what the controversy was about so I looked up "intelligent design" on the web. There were 101,000 references. I picked one in "Wikipedia". I read a bit, scrolled a bit, got tired and had a dream. Two men  (it's always men) are arguing over whether we just happened by dumb, blind luck, or are by intelligent design. They draw a line in the unknown and start to dig on either side, equally determined to get to the bottom first. As they dig their aggregate arguments pile higher, their holes become deeper but they never get to the bottom.

I do not wish to add to the piles on either side of the line between evolution by blind, dumb luck and by intelligent design. Granted, there is no shooting across this line but the arguments do have a place on the continuum of conflict that characterizes our existence and is causing our self-destruction. Thus for any of us to contribute further to this conflict casts serious doubt on our supposed intelligence whether or not by design. 

This is not to suggest we should not be trying to prove either way if life is indeed by intelligent design. However, we can't prove it by digging up and piling arguments whether for or against. This activity is merely an effort to fill the void and will only prove that if there was a design, self-destruction was an included possibility. To have a fair chance at proving intelligent design we must all do what, by all the evidence, we seem designed to do. We must all reach out to the limits of our capacities, to others and to God. Only then, after seeing the results of this life experiment, will we be able to draw our conclusion. 

The conclusion will be without controversy. When we look on the web for references to intelligent design, there will be just one. It might be no; but perhaps we'll see "God's glory".  (see poem)

LIFE: its relativity

Life has 2 absolute consequences, self-realization and self-destruction. Self-realization is the result of simply reaching out to the limits of our capacities, to others and to God, the ideal reaction to the void. Self-destruction is the result of either entirely trying to fill the void, the absolutely restrictive reaction to it; or completely giving up, the absolutely permissive reaction. Life would be so simple if it consisted of just these absolutes; but it doesn't. It is complicated by 2 levels of relativity.

At the primary level our lives are blends of "reaching out... " and either trying to fill the void or giving up. The possible blends form a continuum of reactions from simply "reaching out..."; through reactions with decreasing amounts of "reaching out..." matched by increasing amounts of either trying to fill the void or giving up; down to entirely trying to fill the void or completely giving up. The consequences of this relativity are quite simply, the more we "reach out..." the more we enjoy self-realization, the more we try to fill the void or give up, the more we suffer self-destruction.

At the secondary level there are 8 ways we can try to fill the void. These appear one at a time in  reactions increasingly removed from the ideal, gradually increasing in 'weight' while the 'weight' of "reaching out..." diminishes. In the reaction midway between the ideal and the absolutely restrictive  are all 8 ways we try to fill the void in equal 'weights' that in total match the 'weight' of the ideal. In reactions approaching the absolutely restrictive, "reaching out..." and 7 of the 8 ways we try to fill the void gradually disappear while one becomes completely dominant in the extreme. The eight ways we try to fill the void in no way affect the relative consequences at the primary level. At the secondary level however, they confuse our lives; and the more there are the greater the confusion.

Individually, some of us are less confused than others. That could be good if "reaching out..." dominates our reaction to the void or bad if trying to fill the void dominates. Collectively, we are not as confused as we could be. This is not good however, because trying to fill the void with money and all it can buy is becoming more and more dominant. Unfortunately, "greater prosperity for all" will not save us from the consequent self-destruction. Neither will tinkering with the 'weight' of other ways we try to fill the void. Our only salvation is to reduce to zero the 'weight' of trying to fill the void, by reaching out to the limits of our capacities, to others and to God.

TOBACCO THEATRE

The government of British Columbia has also been given permission by the supreme court to sue tobacco companies for costs it incurs trying in vain to restore the health of smokers. So now an additional government can produce a smoke and mirrors show to create the illusion we're doing something constructive to alter our lives. Sadly, this production will be another tragedy.

Inhaling tobacco smoke is one more of our specific anaesthetic reactions to the void. Given the well documented and undisputed consequences of smoking, there can be no doubt it is a self-destructive activity. Yet a significant portion of humanity, surely greater than 50% world wide, willing choose to inhale debilitating toxic tobacco smoke as part of our desperate effort to fill the void. This by itself is such a tragedy. (see ALCOHOLIC ANAESTHETIC)

So too is wrongfully assessing blame. Tobacco companies are not to blame for the degradation of our health their products cause. Even if they do engage in seductive advertising and hide the health-destructive nature of smoke, they do not force us to smoke. It is not their fault our existence is devoid of meaning to the extent  some of us try to fill the void with smoke. It is our fault and distractions to divert attention away form this fact are such a tragic waste of time. 

If we really want to do something constructive with our time we should produce "real life" with the ideal reaction to the void.
(see poem) A collateral consequence would be the tobacco companies withering along with tobacco in the field. 

AN ANGEL 4

When mom had her second sad attack in a week last night I finally got the message---the instant I awoke from a sound sleep 3 hours later. At the time I didn't realize it, but the attack began with a phone call from my younger sister. After she hung up I mentioned to Mom I wished Sharon a belated happy birthday. I then went on to remind Mom how old we all are. Mom's only comment was "I don't want to grow old."

Still, despite the hour, she wanted to talk about other things. When I thought we'd finished I excused myself. Upon returning Mom told me she was going to check the laundry even though I cluelessly told her there was nothing on the line. Then she entered my room to inform me she was going to move a piece of furniture. Had she been able to see any dust I know now she would have tried to sweep away her thoughts, for when I next checked she was sitting on her bed sobbing. I sat beside her, tried to squeeze out the troublesome thoughts and listened. After a bit she dismissed me with a reminder of how badly I needed my beauty rest; and the attack was over.

The thought that awoke me was that Mom had euphemistically said "I don't want to die." These are precisely the words I uttered at a very young age when Mom explained the picture of a skeleton I had found. I can still recall how dreadfully agitated I became as I first grasped the concept of dying. Immediately I regretted having quite likely evoked that feeling in Mom just as my brother probably had a week ago by insisting he have a picture of Mom and her 64 year old son.

In 3 months Mom will be 90. I am thinking I will forget to wish her happy birthday. She'll appreciate that more than me causing another sad attack. When we visited the clinic a couple years ago I had to help with some information. After the nurse left us Mom looked at me with a twinkle in her eyes and said with a cheerful laugh,"I don't know how old I am." Mom's message is, it's better that way.

CHOICES

During a visit my older brother concluded a conversation by observing that life is about choices, some good, some bad. I recall a Sunday school teacher telling us a half-century ago we have choices to make about Jesus, jobs and partners. My view is that with all the choices we adults make, we are in essence creating a blend of two opposing possibilities, self-destruction and self-realization.

We can achieve self-destruction either by trying to fill the void or by simply giving up; and the choices are easy. In fact, because collectively we are predominantly trying to fill the void, individually we don't even have to make that choice. We can just follow by default. It seems that we do have an innate 'program' designed for self-realization we must ignore, but it offers little resistance to the onslaught of seductive externals with which we try to fill the void. In giving up we are so crushed by the oppressive effort to fill the void, here too our 'program' can not resist our choice.

Though apparently programmed to reach out to the limits of our capacities, to others , and to G0d, choosing to is so much more difficult than choosing either path to self-destruction. Not only are there just internal "rewards" for choosing the path of self-realization, we must "reach out..." against the weight of the blend that is dominated by trying to fill the void.

The fact that we have not yet achieved complete self-destruction is evidence of some self-realization in our blend; and despite the degree of difficulty, we can each choose to add more. One person's choice can not have much of an effect, but the more of us that try to increase our "reaching out..." the easier it becomes as we change our collective blend. Even if we were to change our blend to the point self-realization dominates, "reaching out..." would still be the most difficult choice. However, the rewards more than equal the effort. At the very least our choice will prevent our self-destruction.
(see poem)

OUR GOD, THE ECONOMY

God is not dead nor is religion in decline. It's just that materialism is our religion and the economy is our God. Materialism is based on the myth that we can fill the void with money and all that it can buy. Trying to fill the void with money is thus the purpose of the materialistic reaction, making money the essence of life and the economy, god, the provider.

The economy's provision is far from just. First of all it restricts access to itself leaving millions of us struggling and failing to survive. Even if we do have access to the economy we still find the essence of life we get ranges from one of us getting the most through more and more of us getting less and less.  Also at any given level within the range the amounts we get are not constant. That sometimes seems to depend on how depressed the economy is while at other times seems due  merely to the whim of the economy. 

Nevertheless, so desperate are we to fill the void with money we worship the economy like we never worshipped God. We spend millions more marketing the doctrine of materialism. From the time we are born we train to compete for access to the economy, with not much thought given to our individual capacities. Our concern for its health is obsessive. The effort we make to stimulate the economy is continuous. The army of doctors and support staff we employ to monitor and interpret 24/7 every possible economic indicator surpasses the size of religious armies. 

Sadly, regardless of our effort, neither the economy nor the materialistic reaction can save us. In fact, rather than help, an increased effort, as in any reaction to the void, will only quicken our pace toward self-destruction. There is only one way to save ourselves from this certain fate. That is to renounce the materialistic reaction and its god and embrace the ideal. (see poem)

ALCOHOLIC ANAESTHETIC

According to Stats. Can., alcohol consumption is on the rise in Canada. Quite likely the trend to drink more alcohol is not unique to Canadians. If this assumption is fact, the statistic is not a good sign, for alcohol is one of the legal and somewhat socially acceptable substances we use in our anaesthetic reaction to the void.

Generally speaking, drinking in an effort to fill the void is not our primary reaction. Clearly, that position is occupied by our materialistic reaction, with our religious/philosophical reactions playing a strong supporting role. However, our anaesthetic reaction is right in there to help us obscure the fact we are unable to fill the void. So an increasing rate of alcohol consumption can only mean more and more of us are discovering our primary ways of trying to fill the void are failing.

Particular examples of individuals whose primary reaction to the void is drinking, number countless millions. The resulting self-destruction and collateral damage is well documented. As more and more of us increase our rate of drinking the human wreckage will mount accordingly.  We can reverse the trend. If we don't the conclusion is predictable. (see poem)

HUMANITY DIVIDED 1

Occasionally there is a report about the gap between the rich and the poor widening. Perhaps the $70/hr. legislators in Alberta who announced raising the minimum wage to $7/hr. proclaimed proudly that they had narrowed the gap. It wouldn't be at all accurate to call the space between the richest man in the world and the poorest people in the world a gap.

In reality there are no rich and poor segments of humanity and thus no gap between these mythical divisions. Instead there is clearly a financial separation between us all, the result of our materialistic reaction reaction to the void. Our efforts to fill the void with money force us to get as much as we can and to protect the separations so that as little as possible crosses the divides. Because there is not enough money in the entire universe to fill the void in just one of us, the gaps between us become battle lines.

Whether we call them gaps, separations, divides or battle lines, they are destroying us. Humanity can not survive the growing number of widening financial divisions we are creating between us. If that matters, to close them we must abandon our attempts to fill the void and choose the ideal reaction.

There is not a more difficult choice for us to make but neither is there one that is more rewarding. Among the rewards for closing the  gaps, we will prevent our self-destruction and experience self-realization. (see The Last  Why: the poem)

COMPASSION

I have to credit President Bush with precisely conveying our present concept of compassion. He was trying to describe the massive relief effort headed for New Orleans. He said, "The gulf coast was hit by a mighty wave from the ocean and now was about to be hit by a tremendous wave of compassion.

Already the engineers have begun repairing the levees and are preparing to pump the water out of New Orleans. Just as certainly as New Orleans will be pumped dry, the wave of our compassion will recede. It will be contained once again by the financial levee on which President Bush was standing when he told his "fellow Americans" the government can not afford to give everyone the level of health care government employees enjoyed.

Indeed, we can not  afford sustained compassion. We need every cent we can get and then more in our effort to fill the void. Were it not for the fact our materialistic reaction is just our dominant and not our sole reaction to the void, we would have no compassion at all. Fortunately, there is still some, albeit schizophrenic, religious thread in our fabric of existence. While it considers the fortunate blessed, it does preach a conditional measure of compassion toward the less fortunate.

The decrease in our religious threads is well documented. This means the waves of compassion we are still able to generate are diminishing in step as we focus increasingly on our materialistic reaction. If we can still prevent the resulting self-destruction it will be with the ideal reaction to the void. As we add more ideal thread to our fabric of existence we will find compassion no longer being generated in waves but simply filling the space between us. (see poem) 

PEACE KEEPING

The images and commentary coming out of  New Orleans are revealing: armed guards pointing shotguns at looters; convoys of national guards sent in "to keep the peace" in their own land; a few guards controlling hundreds of prisoners on a freeway ramp; troops protecting food supplies; a voice saying "They are more interested in preventing looting than saving lives".

"They" are us. By our choices we have created an existence in which clearly we do not voluntarily have peace in humanity. In trying to fill the void within, our directions are fundamentally opposed to each other. As a consequence we are forced to spend countless lives and trillions upon trillions of resources just trying to keep the peace.

Though pervasive and massive the peace keeping force is very weak. It draws what strength it does have from a tacit agreement that is completely conditional on a continuing ability to try filling the void. When we lose that ability or if because of some catastrophic event the real need to fill our stomachs becomes greater than our perceived need to fill the void, we see just how tenuous is our peace keeping force.

Our peace keeping force will survive Katrina. However, we should not ignore the lesson. Each successive stress, and there will be more, will weaken it further. If we persist in continuing our efforts to fill the void there can be no doubt there will come a time when our peace keeping force will prove ineffective and "all hell will break loose".

It will be too late to change then. It may not be too late now to avoid seeing the images of certain self-destruction. By choosing the ideal reaction to the void we will among other discoveries find that rather than being something we must use force to keep, peace is simply a medium of life.  see (the last why: the poem)

MARKET FORCES

There has been enough complaining about rising fuel prices that President Bush mentioned them in a speech while nature's offspring Katrina savaged the Gulf coast. He smiled reassuringly and seemed full of confidence as he said, " I'd like to snap my fingers and reduce the gas prices; but the market doesn't work that way".

Unfortunately, instead of sharing what he thought was his knowledge of market forces, President Bush merely revealed in yet another way that our collective depth of thinking is measured in microns. Contrary to his popular belief, market forces are not created by God. For sure we can not change the direction of a hurricane. However, we can alter the forces of the market.

The present market forces are created by our reactions to the void generally and in particular our materialistic reaction. Changing the forces to act for us rather than, as they do now, act against us is a simple matter of us all making the "ideal" choice. 

It is simple yes; but not easy. In fact it would be nearly philosophically equivalent to  changing the course of a hurricane. But how rewarding it would be. At the very least, we would know that we prevented our own self-destruction. see (the last why: the poem)

GOD LOSES

While warning the citizens of Louisiana about the impending hit by hurricane Katrina, the Governor said, "so far we've been blessed" (because the hurricanes have hit elsewhere). She went on to mention praying that Katrina is miraculously diverted; and by implication that it hits somewhere else. I couldn't help wondering what the citizens of  "elsewhere" will think of God after the hurricane wipes out their lives.

Every time President Bush concludes his speeches with "may God continue to bless America", I am bothered by a similar question. If God is blessing America, is God cursing the countries of Africa? It is widely reported that the president and his staff begin their meetings with prayer. What does that say to believers about the advice God gives as we watch the war in Iraq?

When I hear crash survivors proclaim that God must have a special mission for them, I imagine the anguish in the minds of the victims as they ask why God didn't consider them special. Each time a sports celebrity credits his "lord and savoir" for a victory, another has to be blaming God for a defeat.

What a hell of a bind we put  God in. God can't win. Every time we put God in the position of choosing  between us, God loses credibility. Indeed, God can not be, bound in our "religious thread". (see poem)

LIFE: the game

The dominant goal of life is to try filling the void with money and all the things it can buy. (see poem) In trying to achieve this goal we form qualified teams. That is, we work together just enough to get as much money as we can for ourselves. Teams can consist of individuals or teams of teams of all sizes up to the nationals. The national team with the most money is the USA. Haiti, most African countries and many hundreds more are at the bottom of the standings. Team Canada with several other countries are somewhere near the top. China is on the rise.The competition to get to the top both within teams and between teams is fierce, often cut-throat. There are supposed to be rules but they are broken. Although we focus on offence, that is getting ahead, the USA alone spends trillions on defence.

 Perhaps millions of media outlets report 24/7 the results of the competition along with a never ending stream of expert commentary, analysis, statistics, indices and advice on how to get ahead. However, there is no similar exposure of the game. We seem content to leave the rules and are too afraid to query the purpose of life. There is apparent consensus life is being played as it should be or worse, as God intended. It just doesn't seem to matter that though we all have unique capacities, we are not equally capable of playing by the present rules; and that the least capable are ground up by the competition. Although we make the odd noise about doing it more humanely, neither does it seem to matter that we are sucking the life out of our sponsor and trashing our playing field.

We can play our sports with the same rules and goals forever and live to play another day. It's not like that with life. Our present goal is unequivocally self-destructive. Neither God nor nature can sustain our efforts to fill the void. We must change our goal or the game as it is now played will end. When this game is over, no one will be back to play another day.

GUNS

Last night on CTV Newsnet an anchor and a reporter were discussing the recent spate of shootings in Toronto. The anchor asked, "What is the problem? Does anyone know why there are so many shootings?" The reporter replies, "It's the guns. You don't hear of people getting stabbed or bludgeoned to death. It's the guns. So the solution is to get rid of the guns".

This is simply shallow, shoddy, investigative reporting. Had the reporter gone to the NRA for some serious study results she would have been told that in study after study it has been shown that "guns don't kill people, people kill people". To confirm this fact she could have checked with a Professor of logic at U of T. The professor would have told her if we got rid of all the people in the world but left the guns, there would be no killing. Ipso facto, it's not the guns; it's us.

We are the problem. Increasingly we are trying to fill the void in our own way, in opposing directions. The result is a growing sense of isolation. The more separated from each other we feel, the easier it is for us to pull the trigger or trigger the bomb for whatever reason.

Though we are the problem, we can also be the solution. It too is in our nature. The only solution is the ideal reaction to the void.
 (see poem)

LIFE: the lottery

Someone won a $14 million lottery this week. The consensus of the envious masses is that the winner "has it made". If only money could make life meaningful; but it can't. Not even a hit of all the money in the world is enough to fill the void in just one of us.

There is no doubt this money will change the circumstances of the winner's life for a while. That person will be able to buy more of what they did, increased amounts of what they had, bigger versions, better quality. Nevertheless, if the 'dust' is ever allowed to settle, the winner will again find the void behind the last why necessitating an even greater high.

There are thousands of ways we can try to win and but one way to lose. Trying to fill the void with money is simply self-destructive. To think we've won is short-sighted. For a clear majority of us to believe if we win" we have it made" is not a hopeful sign. It indicates we are too far from the ideal to survive. (see poem)                                                                            

POPE'S PROBLEM

The headline was "Pope Benedict calls for more cooperation between Christians, Jews and Muslims to fight racism and terrorism". That call echoed loudly through churches emptied by the "creeping secularism" young Catholics were warned to guard against. The Pope also urged Catholics to maintain the "purity of faith". How many times have we heard these tunes?

The headline should be, "Another Pope continues to fiddle while 'Rome' burns". If the Pope really wanted to make a significant contribution to the harmony of humanity he would declare that the church has died through God's neglect. It really shouldn't be surprising. God never did go to church, nor to a Mosque, nor to a Synagogue. These institutions have been maintained by a desperate will to protect our reactions to the void. (see poem)

Religious/philosophical reactions to the void, like the others, are creations of men, not gifts from God. The original religion could not fill the void so another was created, then similarly another and so on until we have our present multiplying divisions. Each claims God as its own. However, it is utterly unreasonable to insist God can be in all religions. God quite simply can not be, in the divisions of humanity.

Without God in their divisions the Pope and other religious leaders lead in their own opposed directions. Any cooperation they receive, like what they give, will be on the condition their religious reactions to the void remain intact. What we really need at this time is a different 'tune'. We need unconditional cooperation to dismantle our divisions and increasingly embrace the ideal reaction to the void, the gift that is from God.

BATHROOM 2

Today I began my bathroom reno. I was delayed by the process of getting the Panfan, but the timing was perfect. While I waited I finished my gravel paths. (see index, CLEANING GRAVEL & BATHROOM 1)

In plan A I was going to install a walk-in tub; but $10,000 + install gave birth to plan B. It involves making a tub-size shower enclosure with a 1' curb. With sufficient hand holds it should be easier and safer to use. It will be deep enough for a tub because mom only pours enough water to keep from sticking. I can also bring in a bench for a sit down shower when I'm too old to balance while washing my feet.

I'm removing all the drywall, a messy job in the past; but this time I have a rare earth magnet to locate all the screws. I'm adding 1 1/2" of insulation to the exterior wall and insulating the interior walls. Both the bathroom floor and shower floor will be heated. I am replacing a 48" vanity with a 32" one so I can move the toilet away from the tub. I'll build a valence with recessed lights and storage above.

During the plumbing phase I will connect the Panfan to the toilet. This little fan sucks all natural gas though the toilet and vents it into the attic. No more embarrassing moments or chemical sprays. I will leave all complicated plumbing, tiling and heating to the experts. I'll also let an electrician wire the Panfan. I might give it more power than it needs and get stuck to the toilet seat, or worse.

I'll let you know how it goes. Visit the bathroom in the photo album.

IRAQ & THE WEST of US

'Western' democracy should not succeed in Iraq. Our 'western' way of living is far more advanced than the Iraqis. Their ability to effect our collective self-destruction lags far behind our own. We are doing just fine without them. Why force them to make a contribution?

Of course there are 'western' Muslims. Typically though, the Islamic segment of humanity has a fabric of existence colored by their religious/philosophical reaction to the void. (see poem) We in the 'west' have our religious/philosophical reaction too. However, our fabric of existence is far more dominated by our materialistic reaction to the void.

Where these two pieces of our collective fabric of existence meet there are a number of holes, the result of Islamic suicide bombers taking their reaction to the extreme. Tragic and senseless though these are, they are insignificant when compared to the level of self-destruction our materialistic reaction is causing. While a few extremists are blowing holes in it, by degrading our life support system, the "west of us" are taking our entire fabric of existence to the point of disintegration.

I think we in the 'west' should re-evaluate the effect our lives are having on life and then question the wisdom of establishing another 'western' democracy in Iraq.

CLEANING GRAVEL 2

I finally finished my gravel paths.(see CLEANING GRAVEL) It took quite a bit longer than I  thought it would but you know how it goes. You start by changing a light bulb, find a crack in the wall and end up doing a reno.

The actual cleaning and replacement of the gravel went well. To help keep it clean I then doubled up the stonework to better retain the soil where it slopes down to the paths. Where the paths were low I decided to add more crushed gravel. The new gravel was a finer texture and it looked a lot better than the original. So I made 5, 5 minute trips to the pit, loaded  51, 5 gal. pails of gravel and spread it 11/2 to 2" deep on every foot of path.

Does it look great! As an added bonus the finer aggregate keeps falling debris on the surface so the shop vac works really well. This is good because it is less likely I'll be caught vacuuming my paths.

When I first got into the tasks I had serious doubts about whether I should have even bothered trying to clean either my garden paths or our philosophical paths. The former was a big job but microscopic when compared to the latter. Still the results in my garden leave me somewhat reassured.