There Is No White Knight In Shining Armor Coming To Save Us

I am a Friday Night graphicSomeone is looking out for me – I can feel it.

Right now at this very moment they are pondering my incredible value to the universe and plotting how best to lavishly reciprocate my selfless contribution to mankind.  Oh yeah! 😎

And somewhere deep down I’ve got this sneaking suspicion that my gain will be so ginormous that I will be overwhelmed with my benefactor’s generosity and we will become best buds and ride off into the sunset together.

Ground Control To Major Tom

Hoping that there is some benevolent caretaker who is secretly fast tracking the good life for us has dogged humanity since the very first sparkling of our imagination and projection of an external life coach has produced more than 4,000 different religions and spiritual belief systems world-wide.

And even though each of these foundational networks offers tremendously effective support systems for the frail human psyches of their adherents, there is little evidence for any reciprocal awareness of some grand conductor of all reality.

For most of us, life seems too big to be navigated without some sort of non judgemental assistance and this is exactly why it is so imperative that each of us develop a personal support network that encourages our own capacity for action and results.

What Can We Possibly Do For The Gods?

If it actually was possible to opt into an arrangement with some omnipotent being who barely recognized me and to whom I could realistically be of little assistance – that would be fine and dandy with me and I would sign up in a New York minute.

I suspect that this is exactly why so many folks find it easy to imagine a personal relationship with such an all powerful being but upon facing the hard boiled truth, every adherent to that way of thinking must also agree that any such non local relationship exists mostly in the mind of the person requesting assistance.

Even so, attracting help throughout our lives is not an option.

From birth to burial, each of us requires the endorsement of many others for both survival and optimal growth but our choice of where we search for help ultimately determines how much we will find.

Many people frustratingly seek this critical emotional support from:

  • Family Traditions – Walking, talking and living like your parents isn’t comforting, its a waste of a generation.
  • This Land Is My Land – Hoping that their neighbors, cities or countries will save them has guaranteed the futility and demise of more than a few citizens.
  • A Cool Cave & Cooler Robes – Guru dictators, stultifying belief systems and supposedly significant geographical locations generate plenty of hoopla but little positive impact on the average follower’s daily existence.
  • One Good Book Don’t Cut It – Future divergence from “the now” is inevitable because human awareness and evolution are not static. Books and the vast majority of concepts are.

No One Cares More Than We Do

Any student of history can easily see how important it is for leaders of every society to have followers and devotees who supported them. You and I are no different.

Even after death humans feel the need to leave a legacy so it is no wonder that we seek that same long term support throughout our lives as well.

However, each of us has the responsibility to admit that no one can save us but ourselves and the sooner we accept that reality, the sooner we can stop diffusing our creative capacity.

And if it turns out to be true that someone other than ourselves IS plotting our success, we’ll gratefully add that to our pile, too.

Thank you, friend.

Barry out.


Barry Williams http://barry-williams.com/blog

Much of what I write will be quite understandable to insane folks.

The rest will be, uh, less understandable...

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21Comments

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  1. 1
    Barry Williams

    Whenever I write a post I read the thing over and over and frigging over again.

    Then I publish it and go and look at in on the “internet” and a whole pile of mistakes show up.

    So I correct, change and reorganize and then it looks okay.

    The next day I hate the post that made me feel so great the night before and ugh, I want to put some space between me and missus ugly so I write another post.

    I just realized… I might be getting addicted to keyboard massage.

    Oh no, MGGN! (my good gardener no)

  2. 2
    Bill Murney

    Hi Barry

    Well I never realised that there were 4,000 different religions, although it does not surprise me.

    I have always been of the opinion that religion is a crutch that the majority of people need, in varying degrees, to get through life.

    They can’t accept the fact that they are the only ones that can effect the outcome of their lives and that we have limited time and when that time is up that’s your lot boyo, no afterlife or reincarnation, just one short throw of the dice.

    It’s up to ourselves to direct our lives, no greater being is there to help or even give a toss.

    Without religion the world would be a more peaceful place and wars, if not becoming a thing of the past, would be drastically reduced.

    Bill

    • 3
      Barry Williams

      Howdy Bill,

      Yeah, I was surprised to learn there were that many belief systems, too.

      I really wonder about the religion / war thing though Bill.

      The biological drive for hierarchy is impressive and while I’ve always been a flatliner – live and let live I say – there are so many people out there that must raise a totem pole to something.

      A book I read to my son many times is Sneeches On The Beaches by Dr. Seuss and man, that should be an entire university course!

      It describes perfectly how we get wrapped up in an idea and some dude comes along to take full advantage of our need to out do each other. And that smart feller sells us books, buildings, pews and a whole pile of other stuff. Just so we can be Sneeches.

      That’s what I want us to do Bill – head for the beach and start installing belly stars. Good gig if we can get it.

      Thanks very much pal, I really appreciate your clear thinking.

    • 5
      Barry Williams

      Hey Steve,

      I guess we all have to follow somebody. Me, I prefer to follow myself so I know where I’m headed.

      I do however miss that ” all will be okay” feeling because I know the guy in charge of my life is far from being omnipotent.

      Thanks for your comment Steve.

  3. 6
    John McNally

    I was pleased to see that I’m in the third largest group after Christians, and Islamists (is that a word)?……

    There are 1.1 billion free thinking individuals in the world. 8) If it wasn’t for childhood indoctrination this number would soon overwhelm the religious groups, leading to a more peacful world, as Bill envisages.

    Fear of Death is the reason so many fairy tales have been concocted. We only have to join their party, and we are promised everlasting life. 🙄

    I prefer Woody Allen’s take on this. “Most artists want to achieve immortality through their work. I don’t. I want to achieve immortality through not dying.” 😆

    John
    John McNally recently posted..Google Analytics and Web Traffic

    • 7
      Barry Williams

      During a very difficult time in my life I followed my father’s advice and looked into the mirror and asked jesus into my heart.

      After a few minutes, I asked his landlord god into my heart or anywhere. I just wanted someone IN!

      I few days later a guy who is crazy and was my neighbor came over with some crystal methamphetamine.

      THEN I saw god! And stayed up for three days, wandering around the city…

      Holy Moly, no wonder folks are addicted to that stuff. Its WAAAYY easier than waiting for some deity to show!

      Anyway, I managed to find replacements for crystal meth – which I tried twice just to make certain I wasn’t imagining things – but if that is what True Christians or Islamists feel when they connect with their gods, yeah, I can see what all the hoopla is about.

      To me, religion is like a drug and I don’t even like folks talking about my addiction to Kraft Dinner.

      We need a lot more thinking on this pal but as always, your masterful take on reality is greatly appreciated.

  4. 8
    Simon Breme

    I don’t believe the world would be a more peaceful place without religion, there would always be something else for people to go to war about.

    Fanatics like to be fanatical, whether it’s religion, sport – whatever.

    Before you ask, I’m not a religious person either.
    Simon Breme recently posted..Vibrating Screen Separator

    • 9
      Barry Williams

      Thanks for your comment Simon.

      Religion teaches exclusivity – ours is the right color…

      That’s my contention with it. You are exactly right that sports fanatics exhibit the same mannerisms. Same as politics, automobile manufacturers, nationalities, etc.

      What is separating us is our inability to accept other opinions and with good reason, most of them are wrong!

  5. 15
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  6. 21
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