Saturday 7 April 2012

Meaning


The fruit of some reflection, rather hastily put together, more philosophical than anything else, it is nevertheless intended as an Easter reflection.

Physicists make it very clear that earth is destined eventually, in another few billion years, to be swallowed up in fire by the sun. At the same time they tell us that the whole universe is destined to a silent, unmoving, cold death—without a specific calendar date! Add to that the fact that much of what happens at the macro-economic and geo-political level today is meaningless at best and that most of us will be forgotten by the world and by our descendants after less than 100 years. Enough?  We have more than enough reason to view the world through dark glasses. Nothing new. The Jewish people, a fundamental source for Western thought,  have a long tradition of questioning God.  Just think of Job and also Jesus’ cry on the cross: “Why have you abandoned me?”
Nevertheless, I invite you to read on: there is more.
First of all, the final destiny of the Earth may not be measured by its fiery death in the sun. The Earth disappears but its elements are still there, ready to be transformed by the sun into something else. What?  In the longest term, we don’t know. Also, there is more happening on the Earth today than just macro-economics and geo-politics. Even as species are extinguished and the global temperature rises, new species and new forms of life are being created. In everyday life, while there is a lot of selfishness, there is also a lot more generosity and struggle for dignity.  
While our lives and the whole history of Earth and the Universe may be only a blip in the story of time, there just might be a larger context. If you look around, every example of death turns out, I have found, to be a transformation. It is a rule so grounded in the story of the Earth and of the Universe, that I suggest driving it to the limit. This is a question of “option.” There is no evidence that there is more than a destiny of fiery, cold, or forgotten death. Yet there is an option and that option can make all the difference, at least for us: We can decide that there is more and we can build our lives around that belief that there is more. Some moderns would say that we “give” meaning to all that by our option; In medieval times, people believed rather that they “discovered” that meaning. In many ways, both are true and both may be required for the option to operate.
The option I propose is not absurd; Given the choice between Metal and Mozart, ultimately, ultimately, I prefer Mozart.  It is Pascal’s wager. Medievalists called it an “act of faith.”
I have opted to believe that God is good. That’s a big one, I admit, but for me, it’s  the starting point. While I do not question the existence of God, I certainly question what God we are talking about. For neoliberals God is money; for many politicians God is power; for hedonists, God is pleasure. For me, as an option I choose, God is total self-giving for the good of the other: much like the love of a mother for her child.  This is not an irrational option; it is a choice that changes my horizon, frames my life and the world as I experience it. Where I got that idea can be left to your imagination. In some ways, it really doesn’t matter where it came from so much as having arrived there. I give meaning to my life and my world by my option, but that option also enables me to discover (receive) meaning where I would have least expected it. 
I have looked carefully at other options. Some of them are extremely attractive but none show enough holding power to keep me steady. (I should add add that living my option turns out to be much less coherent than my conviction about the option!) I will continue believing life (Life) is good and that death is merely a step along a path in which nothing is lost–not a single sparrow! Does this have anything to do with Spring-time and with Easter?  I hope so.