My boy asks me philosophical questions. I always answer, though not always with the same degree of sincerity.
Regularly he has asked for years now, "What is the meaning of life?"
My answers have ranged all across the board, from hot dogs to knowing God and loving Him forever.
The other day he asked, "What is the meaning of death?"
To this, I had a ready answer - separation. Death is being separated from anything irretrievably.
Then our eyes lit up. If we KNOW what death is, then don't we know what life is? Life must be connection, right? Or more properly, the meaning of life must be to connect. Period. I can't find anywhere that answer doesn't fit snuggly.
It was pretty cool.
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13 comments:
It beats hotdog with extra onions and chili.
Grand thinking sir
I'm with you on this. So much changes, I think, when we keep connection and relationship as foundational. For one, we don't have to obsess so much about emotional and mental health and fixing dysfunction. Instead, I believe we can spend more time and energy on connecting with people where they are instead of trying to get them (or ourselves) to some ideal non-dysfunctional state of being so that we can have a "good" relationship".
I think these thoughts of connection being the opposite of death also tie into what you've been communicating about the whole church thing. Connection. Relationship. Being the body of Christ to each other. Stretching each other. Living in relationship and not letting the red tape keep that from happening.
Sunday, visiting a new church, I had so much of a better attitude, because I kept saying, "It's just red tape" to much of the stuff I tended to evaluate churches by. And I've now decided that that church is where I'm going to go, where I'm going to be in relationship. It's quite nearby. Anyway, although I'm too lazy to scroll back down and find the appropriate post to add this comment to, I want to say thanks to you, because God is really using the things you've shared to change my heart and my life, and-- thank the Lord--help me settle into a local church with my heart open and my hands open, too, ready to truly be involved.
There's a little bit of a story behind, "hot dog," Milly. That was the word that ruined my life. :-)
I have very few memories of childhood, but one of them is that I was pretty much a normal kid until mid-way through first grade. It was then that my two friends discovered that I could not stop laughing for some reason. They learned that I would start laughing all over again if they just said, "hot dog." Before long, the whole class was back there laughing at me.
I'm pretty sure I know the real reasons I quit being popular, but in my mind the hot dog incident is blown pretty largely out of proportion.
That's really, really cool, Eclexia. Thank you for letting us know. :-)
Hearing your "just" red tape spin is helpful, too. It's in my nature to say it's "evil" red tape, but your take is closer to the truth and much easier to relate to. Thanks.
One more thought:
If life is connection, then what is spiritual life but spiritual connection? And Christ came that we might have it more abundantly. Our first connection with each other and with Him in the spiritual realm, and more and more abundantly as we grow.
You're still popular CP...with all the right people, too! ;-)
I have oodles of "those" kind of "hot dog" stories. We would be shallow without those experiences, I think. ;-)
I like your spiritual connection theory about life...true true.
When the Bible speaks of the Body that's the spiritual link, too...our bodies work with an intelligence and movement that is built in...just like the Spiritual Body should move naturally and together...
Then our eyes lit up
My thoughts on that is - isn't that clever! :) I never would have seen the connection. Good one.
And a good one to think about - life is to connect ... hmmm ... if we could bring it further - it is about being the body of Christ - we are indeed connected to one another in Christ who is THE life.
Again - good one - profound.
I like that CP..
IF Death (the absence of Life) = Seperation
THEN
...Life (the absence of Death) = Connection
ENDIF
> We would be shallow without those experiences, I think. ;-)
Thanks, Karen. I think you're right, and I'm even starting to heal a little. ;-)
Thanks, Pearlie. And thanks for the pseudocode algorithm, Bob. :-)
CP - Everyone knows that The Answer to Life, the Universe and Eveything is 42.
Seriously, that's cool stuff, really cool stuff.
Ah, but we still wonder about that question, Salguod. :-)
nice. very, very nice.
do tell the boy I said hi, willya?
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