Sunday, October 15, 2006

The Meaning of Life

People say I'm crazy doing what I'm doing
Well they give me all kinds of warnings to save me from ruin
When I say that I'm o.k. well they look at me kind of strange
Surely you're not happy now you no longer play the game

People say I'm lazy dreaming my life away
Well they give me all kinds of advice designed to enlighten me
When I tell them that I'm doing fine watching shadows on the wall
Don't you miss the big time boy you're no longer on the ball

I'm just sitting here watching the wheels go round and round
I really love to watch them roll
No longer riding on the merry-go-round
I just had to let it go

Ah, people asking questions lost in confusion
Well I tell them there's no problem, only solutions
Well they shake their heads and they look at me as if I've lost my mind
I tell them there's no hurry
I'm just sitting here doing time

I'm just sitting here watching the wheels go round and round
I really love to watch them roll
No longer riding on the merry-go-round
I just had to let it go
I just had to let it go
I just had to let it go

"Watching the Wheels" by John Lennon


And what lovely wheels they are with many intricate and colorful gears. Last night the sky was very purply blue, or indigo. Recently most nights it's more greenish, but last night it was much closer to the violent (silly me) violet part of the spectrum than the green. Indigo is the color of the third eye chakra which 'governs' knowledge and intuition.

The dictionary defines life as

1 a: the quality that distinguishes a vital and functional being from a dead body b: a principle or force that is considered to underlie the distinctive quality of animate beings -- compare VITALISM 1 c: an organismic state characterized by capacity for metabolism, growth, reaction to stimuli, and reproduction
2 a: the sequence of physical and mental experiences that make up the existence of an individual b: one or more aspects of the process of living
3: BIOGRAPHY
4: spiritual existence transcending physical death
5 a: the period from birth to death b: a specific phase of earthly existence c: the period from an event until death d: a sentence of imprisonment for the remainder of a convict's life
6: a way or manner of living
7: LIVELIHOOD
8: a vital or living being; specifically: PERSON
9: an animating and shaping force or principle
10: SPIRIT, ANIMATION
11: the form or pattern of something existing in reality
12: the period of duration, usefulness, or popularity of something
13: the period of existence (as of a subatomic particle) -- compare HALF-LIFE
14: a property (as resilience or elasticity) of an inanimate substance or object resembling the animate quality of a living being
15: living beings (as of a particular kind or environment)
16 a: human activities b: animate activity and movement c: the activities of a given sphere, area, or time
17: one providing interest and vigor
18: an opportunity for continued viability
19 capitalized Christian Science: GOD 1b
20: something resembling animate life


Well, all that's rather extensive and comprehensive, but it still doesn't tell us exactly what is life. Yesterday, I thought of the simplest way to say it:

Life is the process by which energy is turned to matter repeatedly. Every living thing does this. Every living being also converts matter to energy, but that doesn't seem as remarkable. If you click the NASA link above you'll read that even though particle accelerators have created very tiny bits of matter the energy needed to do that is immense and that the matter quickly changes back to energy. How is it a tiny virus can take a relatively low amount of energy and create more matter (multiply)?

From what I understand gravity is still one of the biggest mysteries of science. And I don't understand gravity enough to connect it to some other mysteries, but could it be the 'engine' of life or something like that?

Well, it seems I've gotten away from my spinning wheels. And I'm afraid I've lost my point. Maybe I was going to suggest that Gravity is God? ;-)


(And that is this Sunday's incomplete Sermonette.)

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