This I Believe

THIS I BELIEVE

I believe in the innate goodness of the vast majority of mankind. We, and the societies we develop, are most often here for the common good. We do not seek to harm others and we do not seek to make others into copies of ourselves. I believe that the few who do not fit this mold should not be included as vested members of our societies. Still, we are social animals. Those who cannot be taught to obey the rules of common life need to be in some way removed from the society. I am glad that I do not have the responsibility to decide how that removal is performed; except as I am a voting member of my particular society. I take that responsibility very seriously.

I believe that we are not alone. No, I haven’t seen flying saucers or space aliens. I have no solid opinion on the existence of extra terrestrial life. They may or may not be out there. What I believe is that we were created by God and He has not abandoned us. I have personal conjecture on His methods of creation that I try to fit into available and current information. So far, I don’t believe anyone can prove or disprove His existence. I think that is His plan.

I believe that we are all striving for happiness in this life. You can read that as the “pursuit of happiness” as the authors of the Bill of Rights phrased it, or you can read it “men are that they might have joy” as found in another text. However you phrase it, the goal is common. The path apparently is not. Perhaps the biggest fault of our society is that we do not teach our young where the head of that path is and how to follow it’s markings and sign posts along the way. That fault can be blamed on ignorance to some extent. Most couples of child rearing age have not had sufficient time to figure out where they are going, let alone how to guide their children towards the common goal. The growing lack of respect of our elders exacerbates the problem. By the time someone learns to follow the signs along the path, few want to listen to them (the old fart). Perhaps this forum, in some way, will be able to affect a change in this trend. I hope so. In fact, wishing that it will, the remainder of this declaration is intended to let others know what I have found about the path, its sign posts, and its dead ends. Mostly, it’s goal.

The head of the path is intensely personal. That is, no matter what else is going on in our lives, we make ourselves happy. Or not. We can be happy in prison or miserable in a mansion. We do it to ourselves by our personal perception of our condition. We can change that perception. Once we have that key in hand, we can start the journey. Careful, this is not a game. There are no re-set buttons. Do not despair, even those events on our journey that cause pain to the body or injure the spirit help us along the path. I guess I can’t really explain that in this short forum. Trust me, it’s true. There are a lot of things that feel good that do not make us happy. They are dead ends. They are transitory. They are nice for now but have no lasting value as happiness makers. The best example is money. It’s good to have, (I’ll gladly take all I can legally come by) but as far as this declaration is concerned, it is better to use than to have and best to give away. Relationships are the freeways of happiness. A good one makes you happy. Even jammed ones are good. Helping a good friend or loved one or even a total stranger in any way is what has the greatest return in happiness. Being a selfless part of a group that has as a goal the happiness and well being of others is the jackpot. The reason that organizations from the Peace Corps to churches create such happy and close, strong relationships among their people is that they have the goal of helping, not themselves, but others to happiness. What I am suggesting sounds like a gamble. If you want it, give it away? My only counter: It works for me and every other person I know who has tried it.