Means and …

End of Means

The foolishness of it is – the ends cannot justify the means because there are no ends. There are only means. There is only the journey. Perhaps death counts as an end but if we accept the religious view (any religious view) that there is an afterlife then death is simply the means by which we transfer there. If there is an armageddon that’s only the means to establish eternal paradise.

When I was an atheist I decided that the only way to behave was to be good to people. To watch out for them and take care of them (and the rest of the world) as if each moment was the only chance I’d ever have. Certainly that was my faith at the time. I’ll make no claim that I succeeded in behaving that way. Day to day existence trumps ideals 99 times out of 100.

And today, though I’m not certain of any spiritual concepts (though I have faith in a few), I keep that ideal in front of me.

If planet Earth’s life cycle is as scientific theory indicates, then, way down the line, the sun will expand and take this world into itself. Whatever evidence that humanity leaves of its existence a few billion years from now will be wiped clean.

All empires fall. The continents move. Does what we do matter? Does how we do it matter? We decide that, minute to minute, day to day. We will fail to live up to our ideals because ideals don’t have dishes to do and cats to feed and children who insist on using white walls as Sharpie sketchpads.

This little rant only seems to end with the edit after this paragraph. It continues in my mind every day.