Death Spares No Man

As I sit under the stars, my mind wanders to places few dare to go. Now I am not speaking in terms of horror; I am not speaking of somewhere scary or frightening. The places my mind ends up going to aren’t made of monsters and ghosts, they’re made up of problems and endless questions. Why am I here, and how do I make it out alive. Well, reality check for anyone who isn’t aware, but death spares no man. So now the question becomes more difficult, since the end result is the same for everyone, but nobody can live the same life.

I often wonder what the world would be like it everyone was altruistic. Would chaos form in other ways? Would the idea of happiness become so mundane that people thrive for suffering? Well we will never know, so it really doesn’t matter. However, there are people on this earth right now that suffer or hurt less than others. So what are they doing right to be “happy”? This question, along side the infamous, “What is your definition of success?” , are two things that I talk about all to often in my psychology courses. Yet, I never seem to have an answer for either. The question on how to spend your time on Earth in the best possible way is a question that has no one answer.

The subject of religion is something that requires much more time and thought than I have to spare right now, so I am going to keep it short… I believe religion gives people their sense of purpose, their happiness, but what about everyone else? So many beliefs, but all that give people an end game, a goal, a way of life. Now I am not saying you cant be happy and have a sense purpose if you don’t practice a religion, I just want to know some of the things that get Atheists or Agnostics out of bed in the morning. I would expect to receive simple answers from most, like they like having fun, they want to be successful (again we come across this ambiguous word) or they live for someone/something. Back track, and we are back to the places few dare to go. I am lost for words in how to express my pain that comes from not knowing. Searching for answers is all I have done, but maybe that is what it is all about.

There will never be one single key to happiness, not one secret map, and not one special solution. Happiness is self-made, but the sad part is, is as humans we can’t change what makes us human. Our collective being, made up of memories, personality, and ideals are all shaped by our surroundings. Nature vs. nurture at this point should be a mute argument, as we know it is a mixture of both. The point is, is that success, happiness, etc., looks different to everyone, as everyone is different. Now to kind of bring all of this nonsense together, so thanks for staying with me…

When I struggle with my current situation in life, I try and remind myself that life is what I make it. Whether I go to heaven, go to hell, or simply cease to exist, I want to enjoy the time I know I have. Happiness has definitely been elusive for parts of my life, but life isn’t perfect. Things don’t always go your way, and the answers you’re looking for might not come, but things will end up exactly how they’re supposed to be. For me, this concept isn’t so easy to live with when everything is dark, but nothing lasts forever. Things can change in a blink of an eye, so even if you’re down, you might as well make the most of it.

-Coffee With Demons, JG

8/6/18