posted
I don't usually make topics, but the other day I actually had a worthwhile thought that perhaps I can share.
We've come a long way (from our primitive ancestors, I mean). Liken it to Forrest Gump running across the United States. The first question you want to ask such a man is, Why in the heck did you do that?
While the answer, "I just felt like it," may appeal to some of you, I'm slightly curious as to whether or not there is some greater reason that we do all the things we do.
Do men (and women) do great things so that they can attract mates? Did the pharoahs build the pyramids so that they could go to Heaven? Do we raise children because God told us to go forth and multiply? Do we right wrongs and provide humanitarian aid for the benefit of the species? Did Shakespeare write so that he could be remembered after he was gone?
Many of these reasons have one or two things in common. They are also each distinct in their own ways. Ultimately, I think there are two general possibilities: We do things because we think there's an afterlife, or we do things because we want to leave our mark here on Earth. Why else would you want to turn the other cheek? Why else would you want to put your name on the cover of a book that you wrote?
So which is the more powerful impetus, to live on in Heaven, or to live on in the memories of others? Can the two coexist?
Posts: 3056 | Registered: Jun 2001
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posted
I don't think that Humans generally have a single motivation for anything. Most important actions are born of a jumble of opposing motivations. I think that most of the time we don't understand our motivations completely even when making a big decision.
At any rate, I think that biological drives affect us a lot more than we generally recognize. Obviously sex is a big one, but there is also a host of more subtle operations like the desire to be acclaimed and the desire to be thought well of and so forth which advanced primates also display.
Posts: 4548 | Registered: May 2001
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posted
Well, I was thinking that our ability to anticipate death might have something to do with our motivations. But now that I think about it, most people don't go around thinking about that. Maybe there is no bigger picture.
Posts: 3056 | Registered: Jun 2001
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What a wonderful topic and one that I dwell on in certain regards. But what I focus on internally is why do I try to do the right thing, and why do I feel guilty when I fail and do the wrong one? I personally did many dumb and heroic things to impress my wife-to-be, including eating an orange crayon. (Yes it is possible to hold multiple degrees and still shave one's arse on a 5 dollar bet)
This will probably create a major flurry of negative criticism, but I was always troubled by those that tried to save me as an adolescent and teenager. I am talking about being saved through religion. I am very introverted and finding God and my faith was a very personal quest, and one that I was not willing to wish on someone else, encouraging them to do the same. That probably sounds devastatingly horrible to Christians or any other persons of faith who go on Missions, but it is my belief and mine alone.
I had children because I wanted to be a role-model and I wanted to see a bit of myself and my wife in a beautiful creation that I could call my own. There are about a million things that are rewarding about parenting, and I will not try to demean it by putting the experience into words. One thing for sure though, is that I was not trying to give God more souls to save.
As much as I want my children to live a good life, I cannot pretend to tell them how to live their life as they grow into an adult. I will however, guide them diligently until they mature to that point in which they can make decisions for themselves.
I liked your post in the fact that you touched on the question of "Why do we try to do right?" and I think that is a very noble question. I do not even pretend to have an answer, but that is the moral yardstick that I rule my life by. I simply try to do the right thing. Life however, is never that simple and my radar screen may not look like yours. These are the things that make life so interesting!
One facet of my beliefs has always been a bit controversial, because I constantly question what our eternal rewards will be. I get a little purturbed when I ask someone why they believe in God, and they answer with the stereotypical response that it is their "insurance policy" in case there really is a God. After all, what if there is and you DIDN'T believe!? That to me, is not a very noble reason to have such faith.
As for me, I usually do not turn the other cheek and I believe very much in the theory of Karma and what goes around comes around. I am cynical, very much a realist, sarcastic, and sometimes, a grouch. As I said above, I question what eternity will hold for me if I am rewarded or punished.
As sacriligious as this might sound, I do not want to dress up in robes and float around on a cloud, strumming a harp. I do not want to live in a retirement community walled in by pearly gates. I generally hate white walls and am hoping for a more colorful place. (Generally speaking, my life now without all the bad things that are happening.) Even worse, most of the things that are considered bad or sinful by hardliners are some of my favorite things to do.
But the answer to your final question is that if I am to be rewarded in Heaven, then living on in the memories of others would be a small consolation compared to spending eternity with them.
I could think of nothing more glorius than hanging out with the people that do not actually get on my nerves, ever, for the rest of time. If that is what Heaven is, then sign me up.
posted
I agree with many of the sentiments in the posts so far - there are various motivations for people to live the lives they do.
I can think of one major one in myself, and that is agape. The principled love that makes you love people just cause they're people.
While agape is found in varying degrees in everyone (ceptin', maybe, sociopaths) wanting to better life for other people and yourself simply on the principle of loving and liking them seems to be a pretty strong impetus to do stuff. If you're successful you get their approval and, more importantly, the warm fuzzy feeling that says you're giving back to society as a whole, which is made up of all sorts of interesting individuals.
I was born with a much stronger sense of agape than I was of the other greek definitions of love, and it seems to me that's not very typical. But I can see it being a major driving force to accomplish great things.
Now, what the source of principled love is could be up to debate. Posts: 7600 | Registered: Jan 2001
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posted
I agree with both Ralphie and Alucard. I try to do the right thing. It's not because I feel like I'll go to hell if I don't, it's not because I feel like I HAVE to... It's just that I can't be any other way. I believe in God, but I believe that God would set achievable goals for man, he would make it... not *easy*, but certainly not impossible to get into heaven.
I spend a lot of time trying to understand why I do what I do, and I find myself doing so a lot of the time. But it's the mysteries that keep me going, really. ^_^
I also love people just because they're people. Whenever I find myself becoming annoyed with someone, or starting to hate them, I just think about what I'd do if I were them. Like Ender, in understanding them, I come to love them. Don't get me wrong, there are certainly people that I understand to some extent and still can't stand. But I try to keep myself from blaming people, and I can generally forgive. That's because I know that nobody's perfect, least of all me, and everyone deserves another chance.
Posts: 4816 | Registered: Apr 2003
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I think I do most things for love. "Do as you love," a wise invisible man in a hut in the sky once said in a dream that was not mine, but I claim it.
Somewhere in 2nd Nephi it says, "Man is, that he might have joy." Sexist language aside, I believe that's true. Following the path of true joy leads one to the light. The light is love, a pure love that's a mixture of all the loves, the way white light is the combination of all the colors of the rainbow. I can't see clear divisions myself in the different types of love that the greeks defined, or even those of C.S. Lewis.
This is a cool thread that I somehow overlooked until now.
Posts: 2843 | Registered: A Long Time Ago!
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posted
Thanks, Abby! I talked to Saudade tonight and they've finally gotten moved into their new place but I still forgot to ask for her new snail mail address so I can pass along your card. Sorry it's taken me so long. I did tell her you sent it to her and she was glad. Posts: 2843 | Registered: A Long Time Ago!
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