November 30, 2007
My exam results were out yesterday, which was, by right, supposed to be released today at noon time (Australian time). I've got all three credits for my units and one high distinction for one of my journalism units I took. Truly, I was a bit disappointed with my first psychology assignment as it was very strictly marked and all of us had not enough guides to writing good reports, if one is to, say... be taking a course in a private institution doing some distant learning units. The help we off-campus students get are limited and thus, if only I had the finances, I would go overseas.. yea, to Australia that is, because there is where all the help I could get anytime I want.
Anyway, I've gotten over my disappointments quickly enough as I was finally enlightened by a discovery after collecting back my assignments. And this time round, some markers have complimented my essays. I was told that the Journalism essay was "one of the best written so far", and for the Psychology report, it was "well written, coherent, and well done". This is certainly not the first time I received such compliments. Other assignments such as those of Journalism and Sociology, I received compliments such as "very creative language used", and "very well written essay". Altogether, I was told again and again for about four times in a row that my essays are very well written, and honestly, I do enjoy the satisfaction which my readers get to indulge in what I've written. Then, and only then, when I made this discovery yesterday, I knew for once that I have the talent to write.
I couldn't believe myself or anyone, when somebody once complimented about my writing skills two years ago while I was still blogging my hearts out during the darkest times of my life. I took that compliment as a pinch of salt at first and to me, I am a person who does not fully believe in any facts that anybody tells me unless it has been shown to me more than three times. And only then, I would realise that it is true and would wake up to that reality. Even tough I might not be completely satisfied with my exam results, at least, I found my strength and potential, and purpose yesterday night. And this day, as I type, would mark as a special date when I have truly found my seed of potential.
I will continue to blog, however, if I really have the time that is. As I would be rather busy with this semester and two future semesters to come, I would do my best to keep this place updated and would continue to post samples of my thoughts and philosophies when I feel like it. Thank you for supporting my blog, and for those who are regulars, thanks for your comments and of course, rebuttals and arguments to some of my entries. You guyz have brought life to this place.
I hope more people would have their minds opened up to different ideas from various sources, and not have a narrow view of what the world is like, especially those based on dogmatic nonsense. And my writings may offend, but it is the blunt and honest reality which is what I am after and still seeking. I remembered one of my heroes, Albert Einstein who said that the mind works best when it is opened. And I agree to that in a way that if one's mind is constantly seeking knowledge, instead of supernatural revelations, one would become wiser in reality than in the supernatural realm. I would rather know that I die for a greater cause and something more
real, than to not knowing but continue to have faith till the day I die and perhaps realise then, that death is the end of life, and that is all there is. As we are living in this world of reality and billions of possibilities as well as there are certainties, we are to make every second of our lives count as though there is no tomorrow. This is because life is precious and we only have one in this lifetime.
Whatever we choose to believe will eventually make us... or break us. For some, it could make and break us at the same time, depending on which has a greater effect. However, there could only be two general things that we can indulge in - those of the reality, and those of the unseen, unknown, or unproven. The things of the reality are those that our physical senses can react to, but yet, our perceptions for these individual realities in our lives are completely different, or perhaps, similar every now and then. Most of the time, our ultimate perceptions and reactions, through our eyes, nose, ears, taste buds, and skin, are the result of our past experiences, childhood development, education, knowledge, and belief system (of what we are told of that specific reality). And many times, it is this reality that we are constantly struggling in. Some of us fail to see the big picture, some of us fail to perceive the details, while some of us simply rely on the unknown to determine our fate (if you know what I mean).
It is rather shocking to discover that our reality has been polluted by fantasies, imagination, folktales, made-up bedtime stories, and other fictions of what I call,
mumbo jumbo. As a result, what seem real become our reality and we tend to escape the harshness of the real world through various channels that practice things such as religions, cults, and other forms of non-cultivating hobbies. The reality that we are all going to die is a fact, and a harsh one. The fear of death is definitely, by no means, evident in most of us I would say. As a result of this fear, many people would act up with courage to believe in a salvation that gives them life after death. It has been shown that throughout history, even kings and emperors were afraid of dying and that before their passing, instructions were given to their subordinates to build them large tombs with symbols of the afterlife buried together with their rotting corpses. Is this not another evidence that the 'afterlife' concept is nothing but another symbolic entity? Does the unknown, unseen, or unproven matter to us so much that we become so afraid of them all? Is it necessary to be fervently seeking the unknown while struggling with the current harsh realities of our lives, as if there are not enough solutions to solve our devastating troubles, except something supernatural?
I would really love to fall in love with somebody who doesn't disappoint me, doesn't fail me, doesn't leave me, and always provide for me. This is definitely everybody's fantasy. However, this fantastic character everyone's been fantasizing has been claimed as "God" for some religious Christians. Yet, their arguments for catastrophes, famines, diseases, sufferings, poverty, wars, destructions, natural disasters, and infant mortality, are that the world is corrupted with Adam's sin. Not only this, it was claimed that God banished Adam and Eve out of the Garden and into this world of corruption as a form of punishment for their sins and temptations. When faced with a question of why the tree of the knowledge of good and evil has been planted in the middle of the Garden in the first place, it was argued that God gave Adam and Eve free choice - whether to sin or not to sin. Well, if it was man's nature, or rather, woman's nature back then to be tempted and commit sin as a result of Satan's mere words, then I would say that man is rather imperfect when made by God himself. If Adam and Eve were perfect as in they were made in the image of God himself, then they shouldn't have sinned just because of some mere words that sounds like music to the ears. That is probably a bad reflection of who God is because if man back then were to fall so easily into sin, it shows that God isn't that perfect after all since man are made with a tiny flaw, that is, the ability to be tempted. Then again, if God made us in His image, we should be of the same level as He is in terms of how strong we are compared to God himself, and would not so easily be tempted. However, with all due respect, this was not the case.
Well, perhaps after all, man ARE made in God's image, but not a copy of God himself, since there can only be one God as He is a jealous God, and would not like to see so many gods of the same character and image like himself wondering around heaven drinking tea since all man are copies of God. No, I don't think God wants that. And I don't think we exist because of God. We exist because we are simply fortunate to be alive. We are here because of certain decisions made by our parents. Our ancestors and common ancestors have mated and adapted to this harsh environment. Moreover, they have fought a great fight and finished the race of their lifetime such that generations later, you and I finally exist in this world. We are components of billions of cells and our bodies have billions and more of chemical reactions every single split of a second or perhaps less. We became complex because of simplicity, and this evolution will go on until ultimate complexity is achieved, which I don't even know when will that be.
Reality is what we perceive. However, what we perceive is based on our belief system, past experiences, knowledge, and education. Thus it is essential that we polish our reality, which we are struggling to make up, such that we can be able to make the best out of the only life we have, instead of relying solely on supernatural beliefs to religiously guide us to our future. It is relatively good to view dogmas as morally helpful source of guidance in order to do good, just as other moral philosophies are. However, it would be sad to see dogmatic faiths turning into authorities and religious dogmas replacing civil and secular laws over man. Man always have the tendencies to escape the harshness of his environment into a place of refuge and comfort. As babies grow and develop, they also develop the ability to symbolize objects and make beliefs in the process. These are survival instincts man possess, but they have been abused over time, in a way that man decided to perceive religion as a form of escaping the many fears and negativities he faced in this real world.
As I have mentioned, our realities are what we perceive, and hence, they are biased. No man is perfect. Due to the many perceptions we, as imperfect creatures have, there would be many view points and opinions formed by different individuals. And that includes religion.
In sum, the unknown has succeeded in horrifying us because of its uncertainties and lack of evidence. Paradoxically for some, it has been a place of refuge and tower of strength and comfort for those who are desperate for answers to their crushed and troubled lives. But one must look at the bigger picture. If the unknown is really unknown, uncertain, and certainly lack evidence, what answers could it provide compared to things which are real and testable? Well, faith could possibly do the job very well indeed. But is faith ever enough? No, instead of leaning upon faith like a crutch, a rational, inquisitive, and critical mind is the answer to our unending problems.
