I posted similar in the free thoughts forum but thought it may be appropriate here in the religion forum.
I was sitting in an outdoor cafe having my usual flat white when it occurred to me on the question of Love and Cynicism a line of thought that showed possibly a wisdom that might provide a way of clarifying why we so often become cynical of the love we feel and the love we generate in others.
So often Love seems to lead to a dis-appointment and frustration and I asked myself the question why is this so prevalent in todays society.
"Is it the way we love?" I wondered.
It dawned on me that for most of our lives we make an investment. An emotional investment in the people around us and those that we impact on both directly and indrectly. That we make an investment of energy that so often falls flat and fails to provide the return that we seek.
But I thought, "Surely if we invest in that which is eternal would this not be a wiser investment?"
To invest your love in that which is eternal within another person means that your investment is never in vain not wasted on that which is temporary or transitory and fleeting.
The notions of true love and eternal love comes to mind all reaching past and transcending that which is transitory such as the physical body and material assets such as cars and boats and property.
Is it possible that this is what we are confused about in our loving and why people seem to be so much more cynical about relationships than as a race we were in the past?
Surely if one loves only the physical image of a person, and given that that image must change as that person ages, that love invested is wasted on a delusion that some how that image will be sustained even if the person changes as they grow older.
So, the wisdom I wished to test here in this forum is:
"Loving that which is eternal is by far the wisest investment of our love"
To love that which is eternal is to remove the potential for dis-appointment and cynicism just simply dis-appears.
Of course as the western world moves away from values that are eternal because we do not believe in our own eternal natures, believing that when we die that is our finality then cynicism is a natural outcome.
Is this dis-appointment in love simply because we can not sustain a belief in values that are eternal?
Is it poossible that by clarifying that which we love, cynicism and it's associated dis-appointments regarding that love can be diminished to that which is incidental and not the giant that they currently appear to be?
Just a few thoughts that I wished to share and look forward to any you the reader may also wish to share.
The reason I feel it is relevant is I ask myself the question:
Could religion be the outcome of our realisation that to love that which is fleeting is an act of futility?
To believe in our eternal natures allows us to love with eternity in mind and heart thus avoiding the frustration, dis-appointment and cynicism that dis-belief in that which is eternal tends to inspire ?
A few thoughts and a few questions,..... care to discuss?
I was sitting in an outdoor cafe having my usual flat white when it occurred to me on the question of Love and Cynicism a line of thought that showed possibly a wisdom that might provide a way of clarifying why we so often become cynical of the love we feel and the love we generate in others.
So often Love seems to lead to a dis-appointment and frustration and I asked myself the question why is this so prevalent in todays society.
"Is it the way we love?" I wondered.
It dawned on me that for most of our lives we make an investment. An emotional investment in the people around us and those that we impact on both directly and indrectly. That we make an investment of energy that so often falls flat and fails to provide the return that we seek.
But I thought, "Surely if we invest in that which is eternal would this not be a wiser investment?"
To invest your love in that which is eternal within another person means that your investment is never in vain not wasted on that which is temporary or transitory and fleeting.
The notions of true love and eternal love comes to mind all reaching past and transcending that which is transitory such as the physical body and material assets such as cars and boats and property.
Is it possible that this is what we are confused about in our loving and why people seem to be so much more cynical about relationships than as a race we were in the past?
Surely if one loves only the physical image of a person, and given that that image must change as that person ages, that love invested is wasted on a delusion that some how that image will be sustained even if the person changes as they grow older.
So, the wisdom I wished to test here in this forum is:
"Loving that which is eternal is by far the wisest investment of our love"
To love that which is eternal is to remove the potential for dis-appointment and cynicism just simply dis-appears.
Of course as the western world moves away from values that are eternal because we do not believe in our own eternal natures, believing that when we die that is our finality then cynicism is a natural outcome.
Is this dis-appointment in love simply because we can not sustain a belief in values that are eternal?
Is it poossible that by clarifying that which we love, cynicism and it's associated dis-appointments regarding that love can be diminished to that which is incidental and not the giant that they currently appear to be?
Just a few thoughts that I wished to share and look forward to any you the reader may also wish to share.
The reason I feel it is relevant is I ask myself the question:
Could religion be the outcome of our realisation that to love that which is fleeting is an act of futility?
To believe in our eternal natures allows us to love with eternity in mind and heart thus avoiding the frustration, dis-appointment and cynicism that dis-belief in that which is eternal tends to inspire ?
A few thoughts and a few questions,..... care to discuss?
