Comedian George Carlin once painted the human tug of war, a fascinating picture for us. Imagine informing a friend about an unseen man in the cosmos, the architect of everything. Your friend nods, accepting this profound concept without hesitation. But, tell them that the paint on the wall is fresh, and they’d reach out to verify, despite your words. Interesting, isn’t it?
The crux of the matter is this: unseen concepts, big ideas about life and the universe, are things we can readily embrace. We internalize them without a shred of physical proof. The allure lies in the sense of belonging to something grander than ourselves.
However, consider wet paint. We can see it, touch it, but we still insist on confirmation. The reason? We feel compelled to validate elements within our tangible world. This need to test and ensure safety is a basic instinct we inherited as truth.
And the truth is that we don’t truly know who created the universe, but we do have theories, philosophies and religions who believe we do. But is there one source who can give us the answer to the mystery of life?
Humans have used paint for thousands of years. Paint came from natural stuff. The oldest known paintings are in caves. They used red and yellow ochre, hematite, manganese oxide, and charcoal. Mixed with spit or animal fat, they turned into a paint-like mix. So, early humans learned how to use and change their surroundings to make paint.
Modern paint, the kind we know now, showed up much later. D.P. Flinn got the first paint patent in 1865. So, while paint’s start is old, its story carries on in our colorful world today.
Isn’t it intriguing? We show faith in the invisible, yet we’re drawn to verify the visible. Recognizing this internal tug of war, perhaps we can adopt a healthy balanced approach?
The next time we cross paths with a ‘wet paint’ sign, let’s take a moment to pause and reflect. Likewise, when profound questions invite us to consider, let’s not hold back from a dose of healthy skepticism. As humans, we engage in a delicate dance between belief and doubt, carving out new paths of understanding through this rhythm.
Even within this dance of belief and doubt, we never lose sight of the most powerful force guiding us—love. Love sheds light on the paths that genuinely matter and fosters our understanding of the world.
Seeing through the lens of love, we grasp a deep truth: our interconnectedness in this cosmic tapestry. The tug of war between faith and skepticism becomes an optional challenge, not a mandatory struggle. By choosing to embrace love, we gain clarity about this choice, finding reassurance that within the intricate dance of life, we can always strike a harmonious balance.
“We have multiplied our possessions but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We’ve learned how to make a living but not a life. We’ve added years to life, not life to years.”—George Carlin
But maybe each of us is so powerful that it is up to us to choose our own path of love of life? And sprinkle life and joy into our time here through our purposeful creations. This is my wish this birthday for each of us.
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