Life Happens

Everyone is "whistling past the graveyard" to some extent or the other. Research shows the brain is wired to be optimistic. When something unfortunate happens to people, they tend to view the event, after the shock wears off, as being beneficial and "happening for the best." Considering that we will end up in the same place, making the best of this life is more than just a saying, it is probably healthy.

Then, why do we tend to fight those things we cannot change. Is it because size of our ego exceeds the scope of our wisdom. Is it because we have not learned yet we are the center of the universe? Didn't Copernicus disprove that in the 16th century?

Wanting things our way is a form of self deception, it is not wanting to believe that we are random events in the universe. Our intelligence teases us into believing we can have control, but we don't. When we don't accept this, we do crazy things, such as act out compulsively, become idealogues, see only black and white, and draw devisive lines in the sand. When we do accept this we act more sanely, even in the face of uncertainty. There are no guarentees in life. Get use to it Glenn Beck.

Some philosophers say this is form of anosognocia, a condition in which a person has something wrong with him but fails to recognize it. True, there is much that we will never know, but do we fill the anxiety with hubris? Seeking more control in destructive ways? Perhaps we should accept that that we are limited creatures and not supernatural. As Noam Chomsky says we are after all biological organisms not angels. He goes on to say, "If humans are part of the natural world, not supernatural beings, then human intelligence has its scope and limits, determined by initial design. We can thus anticipate certain questions will not fall within [our] cognitive reach, just as rats are unable to run mazes with numerical properties, lacking the appropriate concepts. Such questions, we might call ‘mysteries-for-humans’ just as some questions pose ‘mysteries-for-rats.’ Among these mysteries may be questions we raise, and others we do not know how to formulate properly or at all.”

Mr. Chomsky's point is not lost on this fool. Our highly evolved brains have given us the ability to reason, reflect and ponder our future. But that capacity comes with an existential double edge-sword: contemplating our existence does not come without anxiety and a sense of dread. But if we are wise, we will have acknowledged the spiritual part of our conscience which allows us to be thankful for the "present" and accept the mystery each moment brings. It is a huge responsibility to stand naked in the face of the unknown. Some people cower wanting to grasp for the nearest guard rail that presents itself as the illusion of control.