three hundred seven

 UNCERTAINTY

Inflation, rising crime, food shortages, energy costs, recession, depression, stagflation, nuclear threat, global pandemic, open border, censorship, tribalism, rioting, gender tyranny, racism, world unrest, war, hatred and child abuse. This is only a short list but I imagine a few of these keep you awake at night. 

As one person we have very little control over any of this in a macro sense. We can only deal with the things around us. Unfortunately the big things that happen to us or might happen to us are beyond our individual control. 

Many look to our leaders for protection but politicians spend their energy raising campaign money, schmoozing with lobbyists, consulting pollsters, making empty promises and assigning and avoiding blame. 

Just because they have charisma and the marketing skills to win an election doesn't mean they have any insight or wisdom to solve a damn thing. Yeah, I'm not a fan of elected officials, but we do elect them to do what they do. 

Because of this lack of control a common reaction is to bunker in. Security systems, fire arms, food supplies, gold, cash, fuel, generators, bomb shelters and the all important toilet paper.

We can prepare for Armageddon, one world government, the great reset, global warming, climate change, cyber attacks, neutron bomb, terrorism, forest fires, floods, earthquake, killer bees, solar flares or a zombie apocalypse. 

One reality that is often overlooked is the fact that you can just be what I call "it". By "it" I mean you are just standing there minding your own business and by no fault of your own something horrible happens. Many times there is no light at the end of the tunnel, no rescue, no karma and no happy ending.

You can rarely find songs, poems, speeches or books written about this because it is a depressing thought. We often go through hardships to be reborn into a new meaningful life. I found this as I became sober but I must not forget most alcoholics will die alone and drunk.

The bottom line is life is not fair, that is the one fact we try to ignore but we can't escape. 

Somehow we have an idea being good helps us avoid this. Many blame God or claim there is no God because bad unfair things happen to the very innocent. They claim a loving God would not allow those things to happen. 

We must ask ourselves are humans simply a smart animal or are they more? If life is just a one and done situation feeding our appetites, living by instinct and avoiding pain like animals is about it. No outside source of standards or rules just our instincts and cravings.

The real question is what stops us from being cruel? Is it that small voice we call our conscience? Where does our conscience come from? Is it possible to reject or sear our conscience? What happens to us when we ignore or don't care about that voice? 

In America we talk about having free will but that includes the freedom to choose right or wrong. If natural rights like free will come from God it can't be one sided. If we could only do good it wouldn't be free will.

Along with the freedom to choose to do what is right we also have the freedom to choose to do unspeakable wrong. 

The places where the most unspeakable things happen are places where the people have collectively rejected that small voice. They feed their cravings for power, lust and greed. Unfortunately there are victims of these choices. 

If it reaches from a top down government there can be starvation, genocide and oppression. The willful ignorance of the source of that small voice can make bad choices seem normal. We become numb to our choices by turning our attention away from the consequences.

The media and politicians are good at helping us rationalize our selfish choices. The voices that sound a warning are mocked and ridiculed. They rationalize and encourage bad choices then blame God for not stopping the consequences.

We live in a world that has choices. All we can control are our own choices. As I ride into the storm facing the unknown I trust the source of that small voice to keep my soul safe. My body will one day fail. It may be disease, crime, war, natural disaster or someone's bad choices.

I am not just a smart animal operating on my instincts, I have been made with that inner voice to guide me. I have not always followed that voice in fact I tried to ignore it for many years, but I don't dread the future now. I have made peace with the creator of my small voice and I want others to know that peace too. 

Seek out the source of that small voice, a loving God would not put us in this life without an answer. Seek and you will find but remember to search with the eyes of a child. 

"A child asks questions to find the truth, adults ask questions for various reasons." CS Lewis The Great Divorce.

Good read....