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We’ve come far, but still lack answers

Commentary

In the old testament of the Bible, Proverbs 23;7 it says: “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.” Isn’t that a reasonably self evident fact. It is truly amazing that such insights have been with us, in many forms, from many sources, for thousands of years, and yet many still live in more misery than is believable. It seems that the preceding quotation is self evident, yet after thousands of years we still don’t seem to take it seriously. We must be a self absorbed bunch of ninnies, who believe only in our own mental and physical comfort.

We all know that we are each on our own, as far as what we accept as true. No one but yourself is responsible for the way you think. Your own mind belongs to, and is governed by you, and you alone. You may be guided in your formative years by whoever raised you, but once you are old enough to think for yourself, it is up to you, and no one else. Whether you accept it or not, whether you like it or not, you and you alone are the captain of your own mind. No one else can think for you.

It’s been said, “Your life is what you make it.” If we spent as much time seeking a successful plan, instead of looking for an easy way to fame and fortune, many would be better off. That’s why we encourage our children to go to college and learn how to make themselves useful. There are many easy ways to fame and fortune to be sure, but they are not as full of promise as they may appear. Hollywood and Washington D.C. are two places with more than their share of people who may appear happy enough on camera, but are seriously unhappy with what they have discovered on their route to fame and fortune.

I can hear you now saying, “OK smarty pants, if you’re so smart where is happiness?” First … it is in true satisfaction, with yourself, and other people. We say that our mind is our life, yet so many of us suffer from all kinds of ill effects in our bodies. We sport not just cancerous growths, but many other kinds of parasitic growths, plus all kinds of departures from what a normal human body was meant to be. Aren’t our bodies, and everything else we are, the result of how we think? Isn’t our mind our manager in chief? Brian Tracy, in his book “Change your Thinking change your Life” said, “You are not what you think you are, but what you think, you are.” Think about that.

The modern world today, was never dreamed of by our predecessors. We are just as ignorant of the future, as our ancestors were of our world today. Progress has been like that since the very beginning, if there ever was a beginning. We speak of a beginning, because we cannot conceive of a time without it. Yet we must realize the Creator and his laws, have always been.

We don’t like to think of mistakes as ignorance on our part, so we have invented a Satan to be the trash barrel of humanity. That’s where we throw all the blame for our mistakes. “The Devil made me do it,” as Cliff Wilson, dressed like Geraldine, used to say on TV.

We have become very efficient in teaching our children mathematics and its accompanying sciences, but not in teaching many the meaning of life itself. We must go back thousands of years before Christ, to the second book in the bible, Exodus, to find the Ten Commandments. I don’t know the source of the Seven Deadly Sins, but they may be even older. They have both been with us for centuries, but many still think they are not serious guides for life. An old German proverb says, “We get too soon old, and too late smart.” May God bless America.

Richard Westlund is a Collins resident. Send comments to editorial@observertoday.com

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