Miracles: do you believe in them?

We are suffering beings for the most part, aren’t we? At grade school and then at gymnasium, we imagine that we are caught in some hellish reality from which there is little perceptual escape: the pre-ordained plan must be pursued – study and tests. An education filled with endless pressure and psychological indignities is followed by even more stress at university. Nonetheless, all of my suffering will be mitigated by my disembarkation at “the port of life”: also known as (AKA) graduation — nirvana awaits. “The current generation now sees everything clearly, it marvels at the errors, it laughs at the folly of its ancestors, not seeing that this chronicle is all overscored by divine fire, that every letter of it cries out, that from everywhere the piercing finger is pointed at it, at this current generation; but the current generation laughs and presumptuously, proudly begins a series of new errors, at which their descendants will also laugh afterwards.” (1)

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All understanding is only through love

The other day, I passed a truly good-looking woman who was exquisitely dressed, like Cinderella on her way to the ball. Her compatriot, perhaps her boyfriend, but more realistically her husband, was in a disheveled state and poorly dressed – to say the least. They were a couple, but with two obviously different views of the world. I would not claim to be an informal man, though I do have periods of informality; I do know how to dress correctly for the given occasion, however. That being said, my query is how two people could have such divergent views of the world? Is this not the most difficult thing in a relationship – any relationship – for that matter? Here you have two diametrically opposed images of life and of the planet. One has placed great value and importance on some celebration, and is dressing accordingly, while the other is dismissive and flippant: “This is who I am whether you like it or not.”

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Life in all its glory

Even if you only touch on the international news, you realize that this has recently been a bad time for human existence: a bombing here, several celebrity suicides there and natural disasters seemingly everywhere. We are living in a culture of death and destruction. The end is nigh! I should be afraid to exit my door in the morning. But, should I: does the reality shown through the Internet (and other forms of electronic media) really exist? I suspect not.

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Determination: your path is your own

I am always curious about our time in history. Many pundits say that it presents us with a chance to achieve anything that we want. Then, what allows one individual to succeed while the other one fails? It appears that pre-established attributes such as intelligence are not as important as ambition: “I will be successful, whatever the journey.” As an example: I was recently contacted by a young woman who has just graduated from a prestigious university with a Master’s Degree in Economics. More to the point: she was first, (did I say first?) in her class. She was extremely upset, however. I therefore asked, “What seems to be the problem?” I got back a rather shocking, but understandable answer, “I can’t get a job!” Say what? How is that possible, I thought to myself?

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