I’ve been thinking often about life and humanity recently. We have a relatively short time in existence in this place and time and at the death of a day the memory gradually fades into a dream. The only thing that separates past dreams from past reality is that the effects of the past linger and thus I can know it actually occurred. Also, our experiences in life are like that of a wheat stock. We grow among others like ourselves and over time we form our own characteristics by forming the wheat atop the stock. If the stock is firm and like the others we fit into the community quite easily and this gives us a solid base from which to form the wheat. Yet this wheat atop the stock will also blow in the same direction as the others with the prevailing winds. It is only when the wheat separates and blows in the wind in its unique direction to settle in an untended field that we grow new ideas and can possibly grow another entire stock.
We are here in this existence for only a short amount of time and with the death of each passing day our time too will end. Therefore, what is the purpose of life? I find that most people unfortunately attribute the accumulation of money to growth of their character and as if they accomplished something. Others will choose religion as their basis for being here. At this point in my life the only viable reason I can think for living is to help others attain a happy existence. Most think only of themselves, go about their business and peddle such things as rags, detergent, products for consumption by others. Many become very rich and successful but what have they really accomplished by the selling of products? I can see only a few professionals who advance humanity as being true and good. This involves the exploration of our surroundings which means the universe, those who advance humanity as a whole by providing medicine, food and education to the needy. But why is it that humanity proclaims entertainers and the sellers of products as the summit of humanity and everyone desires to achieve these positions?
Humanity is a frail creation. In society, I see a few factors that control the behavior of humans which include: the law, religion, community, and society as a whole. Yet, here in Vietnam, law, religion and community all disappear and thus the behavior of most ex-pats is given free reign. I see very powerful people associate with prostitutes, get very drunk and basically go crazy without the previously mentioned restraints. If a human was put in a solitary place from birth I wonder how they would regulate their behavior. It seems that with a grouping of humans there need to be certain controls to keep them from becoming animals. Humans give themselves entirely too much credit and are presumptuous. People will go into depression without something constructive to fill their time instead of trying to improve upon themselves which any rational being would do if given the opportunity. The equation should work that if given more free time, one would spend their days learning and improving upon themselves.
Yet, most people with too much time on their hands usually engage in unconstructive activities and their mental processes deteriorate. It was Socrates who said “The wise man understands he knows nothing (or very little if you are of the disposition that you are important and knowledgeable.) The more I learn the more I realize I do not know anything and some things I thought I knew turn out to be false. It was Steven Hawking who says that of all the information published only a small fraction is worth any value in the advancement of humanity. “Most is garbage.” Therefore, if I could read all the volumes of information ever set to page I could only read a fraction of that. Combine that with the garbage out there and the amount of knowledge I have gained is so small that it is very sobering. I find that people in every country are brainwashed to a certain degree and think as others around them do. Even if they could somehow absorb all the knowledge in the world it would be too much and the strain would cause a sane person to crack and disintegrate into madness.
