La Verita
I am a half kuwaiti/half american girl living in Kuwait.
I am perpetually suspended in the granite hollow that fills the space between two worlds...
Not quite who I am, not quite who I want to be... Cat-lover, poet, music-nut.
I currently hold a PHD in both BS and Smartass. In short, I pitch my tent in the median of life..
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"Laugh as much as you breathe and love as long as you live."
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Caff
Delicately Realistic
Diigmaa
Dr. Lost
Doug's Darkworld
Entrepreneur
Erzulie
Fallen Angel
K the Kuwaiti
Mia: Shaken Not Stirred
Miya Fushi
MissCosmo
Purgatory
Skunk
SnoCone
Solar Alchemist
The Stallion
Swair
Tooomz
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Brushes: Inobscuro, At0mica, Echoica, Veredgf, Puzzle,
Fonts: Dafont
Image: Foto_decadent
Image Host: Photobucket
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
On Meaning.....
I've just started reading this book called "Ghosts of Vesuvius" by Charles Pellegrino. It has already had a profound impact on my thinking. The book seamlessly weaves philosophy, geology, physics, bible-study and history into a brilliant tapestry of enlightenment. The books' premise hovers around the theory that volcanic activity is the prime mover of life on our planet. He likens volcanoes to the Hindu gods Brahma as the Creator, Siva as the Destroyer and Vishnu as the Preserver. He uses volcanic eruptions throughout history (Jurassic to B.C. 1750 to Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79 up to Tombra in A.D. 1815) to illustrate his theory on how when you measure humanity against the vast reaches of our earths' history, as well as that of our solar system, you come to the realization that for all practical purposes, life is meaningless.
This argument obviously excludes religion and faith as human endeavors. For if you believe that what you do in your life dictates where you end up in the afterlife, you would never believe that life, especially your own, could be meaningless.
But is the meaning of your life truly what dictates your final destination.. or is it the point of your life which serves this purpose? Is it possible for life to have 'a point', but no meaning....?
And if you come to the conclusion that life indeed has a point as well as, perhaps, a meaning... How does life in general measure up? Does the sum of all of our lives form an aggregate by which we can say that life, our very humanity, truly stands the test of time. Are we really so confident in our supremacy as human beings as to say that the combined efforts of our human existence outweigh the might of nature?
Human existence has been wiped out, as in humans have been very near to extinction, numerous times throughout our 'memorable' history. The most obvious and, fresh-in-our-memory, example of this is the story of Noah and the flood. But this was not an isolated phenomenon by any means. Life on earth has been nearly wiped out many more times than that. Ice-ages come, ice-ages go. Asteroids collide with the earth and wipe out what was, then, the most dominant species on the planet. It's happened before, it's bound to happen again. It's simply a matter of 'when'.
This realization almost demands a pause for reflection. For if we, as humans, can come to the conviction that the lives of Ben Franklin, Mark Twain, Leonardo DaVinci, Osiris, Viracocha... If we can truly believe that the combined worth of these men disintergrates when placed against the expanse of the universe, then what of the lives of lesser men?? What, of you and me? How do we compare?
And if our lives truly are meaningless, then why dream? why strive? why desire?...
.................................................
SO, here's my question to you, my fellow bloggers... If you came to believe that the human existence starts, flourishes and, ultimately, falls whilst an uncaring, immovable galaxy rages on all around it... How would you feel?... Insignificant? Triumphant?... Unmoved?.......
____________________________________________________________________________
You get what you want, does it matter where you get it from?
-Layla
This argument obviously excludes religion and faith as human endeavors. For if you believe that what you do in your life dictates where you end up in the afterlife, you would never believe that life, especially your own, could be meaningless.
But is the meaning of your life truly what dictates your final destination.. or is it the point of your life which serves this purpose? Is it possible for life to have 'a point', but no meaning....?
And if you come to the conclusion that life indeed has a point as well as, perhaps, a meaning... How does life in general measure up? Does the sum of all of our lives form an aggregate by which we can say that life, our very humanity, truly stands the test of time. Are we really so confident in our supremacy as human beings as to say that the combined efforts of our human existence outweigh the might of nature?
Human existence has been wiped out, as in humans have been very near to extinction, numerous times throughout our 'memorable' history. The most obvious and, fresh-in-our-memory, example of this is the story of Noah and the flood. But this was not an isolated phenomenon by any means. Life on earth has been nearly wiped out many more times than that. Ice-ages come, ice-ages go. Asteroids collide with the earth and wipe out what was, then, the most dominant species on the planet. It's happened before, it's bound to happen again. It's simply a matter of 'when'.
This realization almost demands a pause for reflection. For if we, as humans, can come to the conviction that the lives of Ben Franklin, Mark Twain, Leonardo DaVinci, Osiris, Viracocha... If we can truly believe that the combined worth of these men disintergrates when placed against the expanse of the universe, then what of the lives of lesser men?? What, of you and me? How do we compare?
And if our lives truly are meaningless, then why dream? why strive? why desire?...
.................................................
SO, here's my question to you, my fellow bloggers... If you came to believe that the human existence starts, flourishes and, ultimately, falls whilst an uncaring, immovable galaxy rages on all around it... How would you feel?... Insignificant? Triumphant?... Unmoved?.......
____________________________________________________________________________
You get what you want, does it matter where you get it from?
-Layla
09:54
Comments:
well that's a deep question! whether anyone really perceives it, we as humans are all interconnected. That is, no human is required to put i large foot print on the earth to eco his existence threw the centuries. one person through insignificant will inevitably effect the course of the world. I'll give you a story to illustrate the point:
A boy is born, grows and lives a regular life. Gets educated gets a job, has friends
One of his friends has problems [he can't let's say marry] (our imaginary) person helps his friend , and introduces him to someone. And they marry, their son is born and happens
To be a genius!
I've shortened the story but I guess I've made the point!
We all have our worth, and it exists at the grandest level! To those closest to us.
When we look at our actions we normally see them as small and meaningless, because we
chose to compare with ourselves with the greatest of men/woman, but we must remember that in time our actions however small might lead to something great.
Like dropping a pebble into the center of a pond, not much happens at the center. but the waves that are create vibrate to effect the entire pond!
I like the variety of ideas I'm getting here... 7 and solar: I think you two are focusing on the worth of our lives to the people who surround us. In that our lives stand static and independent of nature around us. Meaning that if an asteroid the size of texas collides with earth 2000 years from now, it has no effect on us. And that is absolutely true.
In our general sphere of influence (family, friends, society) It would seem that our lives have great meaning. But when you pull back a bit and you see all the civilizations, greater civilizations than ours, that have come and vanish... it just makes me a bit sad...
satisfied nina> I was obviously in no way comparing the worth of your life to that of the examples in my post. I was comparing their lives to the history of nature at large.
I do also fear humankind's potential to annihilate itself... But this is not the first time humankind has had the ability to do that to itself. Wait for Mel Gibson's movie 'Apocolypto', it covers the story of the Mayan civilization and how it fulfilled it's own prophecy of self-distruction. A truly fascinating story.
It's pointless to hope that we won't end up the same way... as I said, it's only a matter of time. And when the end comes, does it really matter that it was human rather than nature driven??
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well that's a deep question! whether anyone really perceives it, we as humans are all interconnected. That is, no human is required to put i large foot print on the earth to eco his existence threw the centuries. one person through insignificant will inevitably effect the course of the world. I'll give you a story to illustrate the point:
A boy is born, grows and lives a regular life. Gets educated gets a job, has friends
One of his friends has problems [he can't let's say marry] (our imaginary) person helps his friend , and introduces him to someone. And they marry, their son is born and happens
To be a genius!
I've shortened the story but I guess I've made the point!
We all have our worth, and it exists at the grandest level! To those closest to us.
When we look at our actions we normally see them as small and meaningless, because we
chose to compare with ourselves with the greatest of men/woman, but we must remember that in time our actions however small might lead to something great.
Like dropping a pebble into the center of a pond, not much happens at the center. but the waves that are create vibrate to effect the entire pond!
I like the variety of ideas I'm getting here... 7 and solar: I think you two are focusing on the worth of our lives to the people who surround us. In that our lives stand static and independent of nature around us. Meaning that if an asteroid the size of texas collides with earth 2000 years from now, it has no effect on us. And that is absolutely true.
In our general sphere of influence (family, friends, society) It would seem that our lives have great meaning. But when you pull back a bit and you see all the civilizations, greater civilizations than ours, that have come and vanish... it just makes me a bit sad...
satisfied nina> I was obviously in no way comparing the worth of your life to that of the examples in my post. I was comparing their lives to the history of nature at large.
I do also fear humankind's potential to annihilate itself... But this is not the first time humankind has had the ability to do that to itself. Wait for Mel Gibson's movie 'Apocolypto', it covers the story of the Mayan civilization and how it fulfilled it's own prophecy of self-distruction. A truly fascinating story.
It's pointless to hope that we won't end up the same way... as I said, it's only a matter of time. And when the end comes, does it really matter that it was human rather than nature driven??