RIDDLE ME THIS - UNRAVELING THE RIDDLES OF LIFE

                               

A little innocent discussion on life's longevity found our little group in the midst of a subject quite apropos at this late stage.

We humans fashion ourselves as not only smart but clever enough to unravel and discern the many riddles that appear to litter our lives.  By this, we mean all those things and events that escape easy understanding and discernment for many of us.

In this respect then we try to rationalize by postulating that it is life that has many riddles to unravel but that our smart minds are up to their challenges. And most of us nod in assent and agreement.

We miss to consider the possibility that it may be us and our lives that are the riddles and not life.  That life may be so cut and dried as to be quite straight-forward and simple.  That the way we all are individually are the troubling paradoxes that turn the living of life into great chaos and confusion.

That life has been so tailored and designed for man as to be embedded in his own core, or nature, or in modern parlance, in his DNA.  That life then is simply following the dictates of a nature destined for some purpose.  Some noble and admirable purposes.  Take a more serious second look and it cannot be denied that that sense of purpose and mission is something easily discovered and understood.  Though man still likes to go against it.

And that is the biggest and sneakiest riddle in life.  A riddle that is a non-riddle.  The Givens and Knowns are in plain sight, but we continue to aim for the incorrect solutions.

Here is a sample of how we view things which may reveal how warped our senses may be. We always pray for a long life, but how many pray for how their lives will be? In other words, we yearn for more quantity of life, but we care not that much for its quality.  We are too preoccupied with living a life, and miss aiming for a good life in our living.

The old ascetics have one answer and one word for this. Concupiscence. Which is also an innate though unwanted feature of his flawed nature.  Man's tendency to veer away from his own destined fate. And one that needs to be addressed and controlled.

That is the one riddle to be resolved in life.

Pakyawon ni PACQUIAO!

 

Pakyawon ni PACQUIAO! 

From the unserious world of pugilism to the equally comedic world of politics, he wants them all.

When supposedly right-thinking people deride and stigmatize Pacquiao, his pronouncements, and his high-strung ambitions whether expressed or not, one could justifiably declare that they are simply looking at themselves in the mirror.  Exercising projection without really being aware of it.

The reality of Pacquiao and the public elective positions he has held so far is nothing more than an honest reflection of politics and the electorate in the home country.  And his eventual ascendancy to the highest public office in the land would simply be an affirmation and continuation of this warped sense of self-awareness.  Local political history cannot deny this.

And if others consider him arrogant and presumptuous for thinking that his wealth will help him be elevated to the highest office, then they  err again since he would simply be applying the lessons he had learned about local public governance.  That most politicians  ascend to their political thrones via the reliable assistance of grease money and other corrupt practices. And perpetuate themselves in office in the self-same ways.

Unabatingly waiting therefore for the eventuality that Pacquiao becomes the President of the Philippines.  It could come sooner than many think.

One petty recommendation:  Please get rid of the facial hair once you are sitting on the throne.

One important Caveat:  We are all reassured that if he becomes president, he would be the least likely to steal from the public coffers or enrich himself, comparing from all the possible and potential candidates we can at this time think about.

A cognitively-challenged and infirm individual like a Biden got the vaunted US presidency, garnering supposedly the highest number of popular votes recorded in the entire history of US politics.  So who is to deny the same opportunity to a Pacquiao who has attained unparalleled renown in the world - granted it is limited to the pugilistic world, but which after all  entire humanity is keenly attuned to and countless numbers follow like a religion?

Going Negative On Our God

 I listen to many Christian devotees painfully declare and enumerate their daily trials and tribulations like they were obstacle courses where we all must get ourselves dirty, bloodied, and spent.  In a word, like sadistic pursuits to be tolerated and weathered through in our lives. And the final aim is get out of it all still breathing and alive.  And in a way, our God must also be of the same mind and bent, a gloomy Being watching from a distance belaboring the wanton cries and sufferings of his beloved creatures.

If we are also like-minded, then I do believe we are missing the meaning and purpose of the entire exercise or journey.  For after all, life is only one big and long sojourn, from a place of trial to one of eternal bliss.

Before everything else, be reminded and assured that God has promised not to tempt or test us beyond our individual capacities.  Therefore assuring that if we only put and apply ourselves earnestly in all our trials we will come out victorious.

Of what mind are we then to regard the daily vicissitudes that bombard our lives on a daily basis?

Simple.  Each one faced and resolved leads us closer to the human perfection we seek in this temporal life.  Therefore, each trial makes one that much stronger and more prepared, for the ones coming after.  Not making us dirty, bloodied, and spent. In due time, we get closer to our own and individual imitation of our model, Jesus Christ.

For us Christians our daily vicissitudes are positive manifestations of a Caring Father who wants to assure us by His means to get as much blessings and graces to enjoy the promised eternity.  

Winning for any athlete who has been tried and tested so many times could not get any more blissful.