Something to Believe In

Life is full of disappointments...



They say the only sure things in this life are death and taxes. I would add disappointment to the list. Disappointment is a part of life no matter who you are or how sunny your disposition is. The good thing is that disappointment is rarely fatal. The only time it really hurts is when someone you really believe in falls flat on their face. This happens to everyone eventually.


So we ask the question who or what can we believe in? Everything disappoints...

Now the religious side of me says I can count on Jesus of course. Non believers would say, fine, trust in your imaginary friend, its hard to be disappointed by a fantasy. It's my view that through the Holy Spirit Jesus exists in me, it's personal. Does the Lord let me down or do I let myself down? We must also then consider that humans are of dual nature endowed with the free will to follow the path of evil (the devil, Satan) whom also exist in me. So who exactly is the one doing the disappointing?


Beyond the metaphysical we need to believe in something righteous or risk being cynical and negative about everything. Sadly we can't separate the humanity from human institutions. If humanity straddles the dual nature of light and darkness then so do our institutions. This is what makes it so hard to believe in something enough to give us the comfort and assurance we crave. For those who find it in their mate or partner count yourself lucky. The rest of us have to separate the baby from the bathwater.

Everything we are taught to trust and respect, to believe in - mother/father, apple pie, Chevrolet, the Church, America, our elected officials, our wife(or husband) Coca Cola, well I could go on and on - have let us down, crushed our spirit, appalled us, poisoned us, cheated us, or robbed us blind. On the other hand they have also loved us, consoled us, driven us, enriched us, delighted us... You get the picture.

Do I hate the Church because a few nasty-assed priests are despicable pedophiles? Do I forget the charitable work and the spiritual uplift and truly wonderful things the Church has done? Do I despise my nation because of its shortcomings, do I forget the greatness of our system and its people because some Americans are abusive? Do I junk my Chevy (and all Chevy's evermore) because the transmission went out after 150,000 miles? Do I distrust all politicians because so many of them pull the wool over my eyes (half the time it's transparent wool anyway)? You see the conundrum here. Baby - bathwater.

What can I believe in that won't let me down? Everything disappoints...

Well, I can trust in logic and reason. Gee, that sounds inspiring. Other than the old cliche of believing in ourselves we can't realistically expect to count on anything or anybody all the time.

Everything disappoints.



CW