You never hear about philosophers anymore. There are still inventors and pioneers in many fields but there are simply not that many philosophers. Do we no longer need to think? Have machines taken over that task?
Many individuals cannot even leave there house without their cell phones (mostly now termed "Smart Phones") or their computers, PDAs and such. We cannot make independent decisions, we must research the net first. Don't get me wrong, I love technology as much as anyone. I believe that technology, used in correct doses, can be liberating and educational. In excess (and what else do Americans do but anything to excess) it can be mind numbing.
An individual I was working with was berating the European lifestyle, saying they were lazy. I feel sorry for this guy cause he does not even realize how useless his own life is. He loves to find fault with anything and complains like my 93 year old mother (she could be Jewish!) He is just 25, getting married and has a degree. He is not using his degree as there are not the "right sort" of job for him. So he is a mental health worker for $12/hr. He is way too connected to his electronics, does not feel the need to pursue anything else because his grandparents made good investments and he feels he is already set for life (I do not see signs of his financial freedom and the "fortune" may rest on the whims of others as it is not officially his at this time.
The guy who did my plumbing jobs recently has had a drastic change of fortune in this volatile financial climate. When I last used his services he was having a great time, employed 18 people and was adding vehicles to his fleet. Now just a few months later he employs one guy, is trying to get rid of his leased vehicles and is short selling his home and moving into a friends rental. I have had folks in his same boat brought to me at work on 72 hour holds because they got to drinking and started thinking suicide. He is looking at the positives of having good friends and a wife with a decent job. He was even thinking about his friends and willing to give me their names for my counter top job when I am ready, "people are starving out there".
My dad lost both parents by the time he was 22. He had to help raise some of his family. I lost one brother at 10, and by the time I was 37 I had lost another brother, my sister and my dad.
What makes one person respond to adversity in a constructive manner and another fall apart?? Why do some folks start on pain medications and get off them while others become lifelong addicts?
As much as we might like to think that we understand the human body there is still so much we do not understand and probably never will. I saw something recently where some author was talking about people needing faith to be happy. I don't know if there is a god or not, heaven or hell or life after death. I have faith in me. I believe that given an opportunity I will choose the right path. My life is happy because I seek out happiness in the everyday items of life; listening to the birds at night, watching the rain on the grass in the morning, getting excited to get out of bed every morning even if it is on less then comfortable knees. Because every moment that we are here we have a chance to make someones life more special, maybe even our own. It may not be something big like winning a car or saving a life, but maybe just some small kindness to someone who needs that small kindness to reinstate their faith in the world around them. That's my sleepless in San Diego ramblings, maybe I can get to sleep soon.
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