Do you ever just think about things? For example, the way things are and then wonder if that is the way they ought to be? Do you ever wonder how you or I could possibly make something better than it is now? Better in the sense that it would ease someone’s work load or reduce their pain and suffering. Just make life better, in general? Do you ever think about how you could improve your very own self so that you would be less of a burden on others and maybe find greater joy in life? Do you like to bring a smile to another’s face, just to see how a smile makes their appearance brighter and happier? Joy is contagious, and by being more joyful, you bring greater joy to everyone around you. I sometimes think about things, things like that, for example. But, I think of many other things as well. Socrates said that “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Sometimes we are forced to examine our lives because we have been chastised, and we do not want to be chastised again. At other times, while thinking of things, I have thought about the enormous potential of each and every human being. Have you ever thought about how we were patterned after and created by the most intelligent person in the whole universe? How amazing the process of development is that occurs after a microscopic egg, the embryonic egg, has been fertilized. It is miraculous and even mind boggling. Albert Schweitzer said that “We should have a particular reverence for all forms of life.” Just the physical process is amazingly complex, but when we contemplate the mental and the spiritual development of that embryo, as it matures, that is beyond comprehension. Do you ever just think about things, things that pop into your mind and sometimes pop out almost as fast?
The potential of a human life, our lives, the power in the ever changing and growing process amazes the thinking man, and that is just the beginning. Do you suppose that is why Socrates was led to say, “The unexamined life is not worth living”? Because if you are not moved by the developmental process of life, you are not really living. You have not been awakened yet, you have no awe, no wonder. That, to me, may be a life not worth living. Do the very first stages not bring tears to your eyes? Doesn’t the tiny bird pecking its way out of its shell into the light of life or the tiny human escaping the womb and the birth canal and filling its lungs with oxygen for the very first time, does that not move you? If you are moved and in awe of life, then it is so true that by examining life, it is so very well worth living.” Man is most definitely limited by his own ignorance of life and life’s choices. Goethe said, “… Existence divided by human reason leaves a remainder.” The young child experiencing his environment, the world around him, the excitement, the newness, the joy, and security of a loving family. Sheri Dew said, “…We’re alone only if we choose to go through life relying solely on our own strength rather than learning to draw upon the power of God.” The body, the mind, the spirit are growing a little every day, stretching out and reaching for its potential without knowing exactly why or what it is going to be. Do we ever really reach our potential in this life? Can man define himself or do others do it for him? Don’t you “just think about things” sometimes?
We cannot help but progress in one way or another; the greatest happiness, however, comes from striving for virtue or the good in life. I can’t imagine happiness coming to a person who is mean and/or even cruel. I like the way the Catholic church has defined virtue: “A virtue is an habitual and firm disposition to do good. It allows the person not only to perform good acts, but to give the best of himself. The virtuous person tends toward the good with all his sensory and spiritual powers; he pursues the good and chooses it in concrete actions. In other words, virtue is the habit of choosing what is good and right, despite our own inclinations.”
Some believe that man came about by some fluke of nature, some universal accident, but those who believe we are created by and are the children of God, our Eternal Father, know this: that He has a plan for our being here and for our growth and progress. That changes everything. With that knowledge, we can begin to consider our enormous possibilities, taking into account that we may have all eternity to progress and to become immortal creatures even god-like in nature. “Do you ever just think about things?” With that thought in mind, what things are more important or most important for us to learn and do while we sojourn here? What we believe about ourselves will have a great deal to do with what we do with ourselves and our time. The greatest motivator in our lives, the one thing that drives our course of action, more than any other, is our beliefs. There are many of us who go through life without direction because we have no anchor, no belief system. We need a clear understanding of why we are here and who we must answer to one day. We must develop an eternal perspective.
“Do you ever just think about things?” Sometimes I just sit and think about things, and those things sometimes take my mind away to other things. What is our potential? I remember reading about what a great prophet said at the funeral of a friend. He said (Philippians 2:5–6) Part of the poem reads:
The boy, like to his father grown, Has but attained unto his own;
To grow to sire from state of son,
Is not ’gainst Nature’s course to run. A son of God, like God to be, Would not be robbing Deity. (As cited in LeRoi C. Snow, p. 661.)
I remember how having read that changed my way of thinking about God. It did not diminish my thinking of Him as the greatest and most intelligent being in the universe. But I began to see Him more personally. Like He probably really does understand me and every other human currently experiencing this earth. His compassion for our suffering and trials must be real because He, at one time, went through the same or similar trials. When we pray, it helps to know that we are talking with one who really does understand. “Just Thinking About Things.”