The Meaning of Life

There is nothing like a death to make a person stop and think about life. For the past few weeks since my 93 year old father's death on June 2nd, I've been pondering the meaning of life.

"Today is all we have." "Life is about our relationships with other people." "The journey is what matters not the destination." These common phrases have been heard so many times they have lost their meaning . . . or perhaps they are common because they hold the true meaning of life.

My father lived his life not for the experiences of each day but for the promised afterlife. I can't help but feel this is a cruel joke. More than ever, I believe heaven and hell are right here, right now not somewhere we go when we die. Waste today and you have wasted everything.

I'm not sure what happens when we die. I like to think our spirit lives on. Perhaps it is scooped up by some new soul entering the world in some form of reincarnation. Certainly we live on in the memories of those we have touched. They can be pleasant memories as I have for my dear mother or they can be difficult to deal with as for my father.

I write all of this is in the context of a book Gary is reading called "The Five Gospels." This scholarly work is the result of the "Jesus Seminar." The scholars have painstakingly translated and evaluated the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and Thomas to determine what Jesus said and what was interjected by the evagelists. Some call their work blasphomy. I call it truth. I've long thought the bible was the work of those with an agenda. This work confirms my feelings.

So what is the meaning of life - it is whatever we make it . . . today.