Sunday, January 12, 2014

It's Perfectly Normal to be Human

Another “interesting” post from:
Martha K. Miller

I've noticed that there is such a rush toward religions and practices that exalt people to godhood, but I have to wonder where's their proof?  Subjective experiences are not definitive proof of anything, and we should not take just anybody's word for it because people lie or can pass on lies they were told by another. Also, just because it was an ancient practice doesn't mean it's right.  Anyone trusting in "ancient wisdom" is trusting in folklore based in experiences of uneducated and even illiterate people, who had no understanding of the medical effects, or the “whys,” of drugs, food and water depravation, nor the mind’s capability to protect and even fool itself through fantasy via hallucinations or daydreaming.  Drugs cause unreal experiences, fasting food and water can cause hallucinations, pain can cause “out of body” type experiences and false visions in some people, and even entering into a daydream can bring feelings of joy and euphoria to a person.  But none of those things have any tangible basis; it's subject to the person experiencing these things and not even brain scans can prove what the person is experiencing as being true.  So, the human mind can play tricks on itself.  For instance, those with missing limbs may experience pain in that limb but there is nothing there.  It's imaginary.  I agree that our minds are powerful, and provided we know how to accomplish something and have the resources to make it happen, we can do whatever we set our minds to do.  But the human mind also has a great capacity to delude itself.  We've seen throughout history that there have been men and women who have deluded themselves into believing they have the answers to the world's problems and no one else does (Monsanto is proof of that).  Religions are formed on that basis, but where is the proof that those religions have the answers?  Where is the proof that man can be a god?

Having an opinion blog is not necessarily me trying to say I have all the answers.  But I can get very stubborn with my opinion because I truly believe I'm right (just like everyone else does).  I can fall into the trap that I have the answers to the world's problems as well as anyone else.  My motivation is usually to help, but I can get too harsh and cutting at times, which doesn’t help.  So, I have to tell myself, "You don’t have all the answers nor must you take the full responsibility of the world upon your shoulders.  You can’t possibly solve all the world's problems by yourself.  But that's OKAY."  It's all right and even normal to be a finite, flawed human being.  In fact, it's something to be celebrated because we have a common bond and can celebrate it together as one whole race -- the human race.  Once we accept our humanity then we might start listening to one another more closely, realizing someone may have a missing piece of the puzzle that could solve at least one of the ills that plague the human race.  But why can't people accept their humanness?  Why must we strive for something we can’t have?  Why must those in power try to use their money and position to force absolute blind obedience upon others?  Why must "their will be done on earth" above all others’?  Presumptuous attitudes like that will never allow for world peace or unity, so that means that any person who strives to force his or her will upon others, is too imperfect and unfit to be a god, because that’s abuse of power.

I've always wondered about these people who say that gods are imperfect like man is, including fighting and warring against each other.  Isn't that just a bit too convenient for man (to make it easier to become a god)?  But if gods are just as fallible as man then why are they classified as gods?  Why should they be worshipped?  I have a problem with a fallible god that demands perfect devotion when they are not perfect themselves.  Wouldn't that make them a hypocrite?  I especially have a problem with the "evil" gods that punish and abuse their followers, or make them sacrifice even their own children.  I believe that those gods were designed by early man to explain away the evils that happen in this world and to make a nice profit off of it by scaring people with the threats of being cursed by that evil god.  Barring natural disasters or self-inflicted pain, evil things that happen to us are usually a result of narcissistic men and women who think they're gods and get to determine what is right for the world, when most of the time their ideas are disastrous.  For example, whenever man tampers with anything nature has perfected, it gets messed up.  Monsanto is one such evil trying to force us to eat mutated foods, thus making us sick. 

Being a god is too much responsibility for one human being to mentally handle.  The movie stars are treated like gods, but they're only human beings who perform for a living -- it's just a job they love very much.  However, even celebrities need other people to help them.  Because of the frenzied excitement of fans and dangers of stalkers, they have to pay out the nose for security, insurance (in case of bodily harm), and worry about many things that average people don't have to deal with.  I guess that's why they get such enormous salaries.  That's also another reason that celebrities are unreachable for many fans.  It's nothing personal, but because of the number of people that seek their attention they can't possibly show everyone individual attention, plus because of a few stalkers, they can't openly trust people they don’t know.  As fans we must understand that and not be hurt or get mad if our favorite celebrity ignores us (I have never gotten a tweet from Hugh Jackman or Patrick Stewart or Conan).  But think about it, even the strongest celebrities, like Dwayne Johnson (aka The Rock), have to have security guards to protect them.  Because, no matter how strong they are, they cannot fight off a mob of hyped up fans that could trample them, nor can they avoid being injured or killed by a bullet because they are... HUMAN.  Their bodies are susceptible to injury and death just like anyone else's.  So what does that mean?  They're not gods.

But on the other side, I have found that wanting to be like a god is based in human pride, arrogance, and narcissism.  It shows itself through wars and in those who desire world dominion.  That desire for domination over one another is nothing more than madness.  Yes, we must have laws that we all have agreed upon as general guidelines to prevent harming one another or defrauding one another, and when those laws are broken there must be justice done for the offended parties.  However, I believe this obsession with becoming a god or god-like is mentally unhealthy.  For instance, I've seen some men (like some body builders and wrestlers) desire to be a god or god-like so badly that they deform their bodies into something that looks monstrous and unnatural, which is very unattractive to me.  The bulging veins and cobblestone bodies look monstrous and very uncomfortable to get close to.  But that’s just my opinion.  But in this "god-chasing” world, people have accepted that obsessive-compulsive behavior as normal, when it's actually an unhealthy self-indulgent, narcissistic obsession with their bodies, which is not what gods (nor humans) are supposed to be like.  There’s nothing wrong with being fit and taking care of your body or being proud of the hard work you’ve put into making your body trim and healthy.  But, in their deluded arrogance, these man-gods I've seen (not just muscle men) can be evil, cold, unfeeling, aggressive, condemning, and even violent.  So, I am not going to “worship” any of them because they are not  more important than I am (on a human level we are equal).  I'll just watch as other deluded people become equally obsessed with their god's body, and enable that god to become more arrogant and even more brazen in spewing forth more condemning words about the weak.  Women's Health magazine calls those types of people "fitness snobs." (Meet the Fitter-Than-Thou Crowd, pgs 58-61, Jan/Feb 2014).  But everyone is different, so what works for one person may not work for another.  We can't put all people and all body types in our little box, saying, "My way is the only way," or “I’m more disciplined than you because I work out more than you, which makes me better than you,” and etc. 

I place priorities on things that are more important than my body being the hardest, toughest, and meanest looking.  Having a monstrous sized body tells me that person has a monstrous ego to match, and all his or her time is swallowed up in making that body monstrous and deformed, but at whose expense?  When they are old and gray, or they’ve contracted a muscle destroying disorder or any debilitating disease, or have been in a disabling accident (remember Christopher Reeve), then what will they have to glory in?  The past, and only the past.  But, since they can’t give the public something fresh and new, they’ll be forgotten by many and left to wither with those whom they put off for their workouts.  Yet, because those weaker forsaken ones still love them for the person they are, not their muscles, I believe they would gladly spend time with them and be the one that is truly strong, because their strength is based in unselfish love.  So, which one would truly be the fittest?

Even if you have proven you are the smartest person ever to live, and you become ruler of the entire world, and everyone adores you and worships you as a god or savior, that doesn't mean you know everything.  Even geniuses are limited on what they know.  For instance, they don't know how to escape death.  One thing that we human beings cannot escape is death, which proves right there that no earthbound man or woman can be a god or else he/she could permanently overcome physical death.  It doesn't matter if any leader has all these signs and wonders following him, including being raised from near death, he still will have to face death again on the final day of his earthly existence.  As my brother says, "None of us will make it out of this life alive."  And since there is no proof that we'll be gods in an afterlife or that reincarnation is real (just subjective experiences and so-called testimonials of those experiences), I don't believe we get to make a return visit nor will we ever be a god anywhere else. 

But, godhood is an unattainable fantasy in this life because no one is perfect nor can he/she know everything there is to know.  That's why we need one another.  It teaches us to work things out, and be mature responsible adults, the weak and strong alike sharing the world as it was meant to be.  I personally, don’t want to be a god, just an ordinary human being is sufficient for me.  But, for the sake of peace and unity, I’d like to encourage everyone who reads this to  accept your humanity, because it’s who you truly are.  If anyone tells you otherwise, they’re conning you, probably so you’ll join their cult, buy their book or DVD, or enroll in their classes, just to make them richer.  But at the same time we need to stop being hypocritical and arrogant and start taking responsibility for our actions.  We need to start cleaning up the mess we've made of this world, and sharing it like we teach our children to share.  We ALL have the right to live on this planet and be treated with dignity and respect, so let’s start putting those words into action and doing something to better the earth, or someone else’s life.  Share the love, share the wealth, and share our common bond of being imperfect human beings.  It’s OKAY, you’ll be a better person for it.  Because then we'll be forced to humble ourselves and actually work things out together.  Now that's what true progress is.