Published by Today’s topic is an uncomfortable one for most people. Everyone wants to avoid death. The idea of non-existence is not a pleasant one.
For the ages, people have tried to explain death with superstitious beliefs. Many believe God and life after death are part of these types of superstitions.
I believe that there is one God. In addition, I believe he created everything and walked the earth as Jesus Christ. Furthermore, I do believe that belief in Him will lead to life after death.
However, for the purposes of this article let us pretend that I never had a personal encounter with Jesus Christ. I am just a regular old secular person like most of you. My only perception of life and death is that we are born then we become worm food.
Now, lets us look at the life of those who have recently departed. Ed McMahon was over eighty years old. Farah Fawcett was 62. Michael Jackson was 50 years old. I include the age because people think longevity is a measure of a good life.
By all appearances these people lived blessed lives. In their careers, they got substantial wealth. However, near their end Ed and Mike were close to poverty.
Therefore, one of the lessons one can learn from these people is to take care of what you have. Mike could not manage his money correctly. Ed was caught up in the current economic crisis. At his age, finding gainful employment is difficult.
Therefore, one other lesson is that at one point in out lives we are not going to be able to earn an income. A long while back I wrote and article about working to retire. In this article, I made the point that if we graduate from a university at 23 we have 42 to years to build wealth we can retire on.
Now, I know that confidence in investment is low. Many investment people’s unethical behavior is making people skeptical about investing. The complicit relationship between politicians and business people has me even more troubled about saving and investing.
I personally I am torn between telling people to invest and the unscrupulous behavior of politicians and business people. With out investment, there cannot be growth. However, because I believe that Obama and company are going to create a worse economic mess I feel okay about telling people to protect themselves.
Therefore, to be a live in this modern world means a lot has to be understood. Education matters no matter where you get it. You can get a degree or start a business. If you choose to run a business, remember that businesses require planning and budgeting. Man does not live by bread alone. A skinny annoying woman is required to keep him company. Relationships work when both people are working at being grown ups, know how to have fun, and make plans for their future. Children are best raised with love and guidance.
Death is a natural and unavoidable part of life. No matter what we do, we are all going to die. That is why it matters how we live. Life is not how much time we have but what we do with it.
It is strange to see how distinct modern values are from traditional values. Before, people knew about saving and investing. Now we live for the moment. First time of trouble, we jump out of one relationship and straight in to another one. In addition, we spend a lot of time laughing and ridiculing people who live by standards and have personal success.
The legacy of the people who have recently passed away is one of media bias. Farah was a sex symbol: end of sentence period. She did not cure cancer. She did not arrange world peace. Ed was just that strange co-host I could never understand. Mike was a troubled soul desperately trying not to become overwhelmed by all his repressed emotions.
Clinton has to be aware by now that everywhere he goes people point as they sarcastically comment about his fall from grace. Hillary is the foolish woman that will not divorce him. Yesterday we had another entrance in to the “Public Shame Hall of Fame”.
This is why I think the economic crisis came at the right time. I know I think differently from other people. I saw Katrina as an opportunity for people to become loving individuals again in life. We were living like machines, hating our neighbors, and working hard at destroying our world. Katrina may of being a tragedy in lives destroyed, but think of the all the people whose hearts can back to life because they starting caring again.
I think the person we care about the least after God is our self. We were all earning money, accruing electronics, and lamenting what we did not have in life. However, all over this great nation people are blessed. Living in the land of opportunity means, we can always earn a living even if it is not in our chosen profession. We thought we had nothing. The economic crisis may teach us how much we do have in life.
If I must die, let me do it with dignity and grace. I can accomplish this if I continue to live in dignity and grace. Nothing wrong with moping floors, guarding malls, or waiting tables.
Somewhere last month I asked I was meditating on the true measure of a quality life. In this meditation, I was comparing money versus peace. I concluded that a truly valuable life is one that has internal peace.
The manner in which a person carries him or her self is a sign of a valuable life. While I was at the job site one of the regular homeless was yelling rubbish. That person has no internal peace. Mike, that SC governor, Ed, and so many others come to the end of their lives with no personal peace.
It is almost as if we are deliberately not learning as we encounter life. Aren’t we supposed to be getting wiser? Today, I know how to live. I have paid attention and I have been through lots of hardship. However, encountering troubles did not taint me. It is as Paul in the Bible said. It is because of sin that I know good. Well it is because of struggling that I know how to value peace.
Therefore, as always I come here compelled to get the readers’ attention in not letting life pass you by. I remember a character in one movie state while others were graduating from college and succeeding in their careers, I was surviving against all obstacles. This character looked upset and burned out.
How many of us, before the current economic crisis hit, thought that our life was perfect? We were emotionally dead, obsessed with making money, and we thought we were okay. Well now, we have the opportunity to truly define life with real value and appreciate real life. In the end, we will die, but at least we can close our eyes knowing we lived.
