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| TRAVERS: SEARCHING FOR HIS PURPOSE IN LIFE |
During
Christmastime a Priest, an Imam, a Rabbi, a Darwinian, and an Existentialist
walk into a bar. All five belly-up to
the bar and in harmonic unison they practically sing to the barkeep, “What is
the purpose in life?”
Being the
blogger that I am, had I been the barkeep I would have answered thus:
The Dalai Lama has stated the purpose of our
lives is to be happy. Hmmm. And what makes us happy? Amassing fame and fortune? Creating art? Making babies or the behaviour thereof? Dying with the most toys? Are these merely popular misconceptions? I hope so.
I know fame
would not make me happy. Fame would me
make accountable. Yes, I seem to need approval again and again and again, but
that is an issue, but not a happy time issue.
As for making a fortune, it is said that the love of money is the root
of all evil. A friend told me that money alone
is evil. For this to be true, money
would have to be an entity on its own.
Author August Turak has stated that our only
purpose is to be transformed from a selfish into a selfless person. I can somewhat agree. I am an educator and when I realized that I
was getting beyond adequate to good in this regard was when I started to become
selfless. In the beginning of my
teaching in both high school and at the university I was focused on me me me me
me and more me. I would make notes on
where to insert my jokes in the lectures, where to stand in the classroom, even
make notes on what to wear. I didn’t
practice in the mirror but I behave like I had.
And then one
day everything changed. My
transformation from selfish to selfless came ever so slowly but ever so
surely. One day I realized that in spite
of my me-me methodology, some students were actually learning some things I
presented. Therein came the epiphany. I was there not for me but for them. I was
there for them to learn. (This was
especially true when I was a swimming instructor. Funny eh.)
As a
professional therapist I have learned from my clients that for better or worse
every decision counts. I have learned
from my clients that decisions made should be reflectively debated and decided
upon whether this action or that action will make one a better person or make
one a worse person when compared to their present condition.
As a
hypnotherapist I have learned that some people, including me, seem to be very
content when lost in thought, or when absorbed in a pleasant task. To me, being the quintessential
hypnotherapist, positive states in trance can be the happiest moments of
contentment in life. And so I have
determined that the way of Zen, attempting to appreciate and linger in every
moment can only lead to a lifetime of happy times.
Kurt
Vonnegut said that we are here to help each other get through this, whatever it is.
Well
according to some, here is what it
is:
For the
Priest … it is to serve God. According to the Christians, we are here for
God’s glory, to praise God, to worship God.
For the Imam
… it, too, is to serve God. Islam means peace and submission, and
according to the Muslims, God created us so we could serve him.
(Yikes! For both Christians and Muslims, their Abrahamic
God is so very authoritarian.)
For the
Rabbi … it is to replenish the earth
and conquer it, and have dominion over the fish in the sea, the fowl in the
air, and every living thing that moves upon the earth.
(Hardly
ahimsa! Think about it the kibosh. This
is the same Abrahamic God as that of the Christians and Muslims, but for the
Jews, God had decidedly created warriors, or at least warrior wannabees. For sure we do procreate and we demonstrate
the ability to conquer all other animals.
Factoid: Historically and right now we are still attempting
to conquer ourselves. There is always a
war somewhere on the planet. Factoid too: We really have dominion over only one
creature, the dog. Factoid: Everyone knows that
dogs are our best and only real friends!)
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| I DREW THESE DOGS: AN XMAS GIFT FOR A DOG-LOVER CLIENT |
For the
Darwinian … it is to evolve. According to the evolutionists, we are purely
here to procreate, to continue the species and that is it.
For the eternal
Existentialist (pun intended) … there is no it. There is only to make rational decisions in our
irrational universe.
I remind the
reader that we are still at the start of a joke … and, of course, there will be
a punchline at the end of the joke.
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| MY BOXING DAY CARD: SANTA GETTING READY FOR THE PUNCHLINE |
During
Christmastime a Priest, an Imam, a Rabbi, a Darwinian, and an Existentialist walk
into a bar. All five belly-up to the bar
and in harmonic unison they practically sing to the barkeep, “What is the
purpose in life?”
Said the
barkeep:
“For my Priest and Imam friends, come right now behind my bar and
start cleaning the joint and serving the patrons. Cleanliness is next to godliness, and I
worship most of my regulars. Most of my
patrons behave like they’re God, so serving them will be the next best thing
(or the worst thing if you’ve read the first of the Ten Commandments).
“For my
Rabbi friend, the specialty tonight is seafood soufflé, easy-peasy creatures to
conquer. See that aquarium over
there. Boil some of those lobsters and
toss in some mussels. God loves seafood
soufflé, and love conquers all.
“For my
Darwinian friend, look around and decide upon your pray (pun intended). Ready your pick-up lines for those who arouse
you. There are plenty of fish in the sea
here with whom to procreate. And whether
you are heterosexual or non-heterosexual, have fun trying. You just never know how things will evolve if
you’re willing to sink and swim with anyone and everyone.”
And now for
a punchline that incorporates Zen and Existentialism … Zen is Existentialism with jokes right?
The barkeep says
… (drumroll) …
“Sartre is smartre and Nietzsche is pietzsche but directly to
you, my existential friend,
I say the purpose in life is … fish."
Pictured in
my CHAUCERIAN PARADE for this week (and the real purpose for Christmas):
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| CLOCKWISE: TRAV AND SILA AND EDEN AND NATIKA |
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| BUILDING THE FAMILY GINGERBREAD HOUSE |
