The Energies of Life

Uncertainty and mystery are energies of life. Don't let them scare you unduly, for they keep boredom at bay and spark creativity.” 

R. I. Fitzhenry

The question is how comfortable are you with the mystery.

People who know that I do not subscribe to supernatural explanations of events often react as if that understanding of things makes me a nihilist - some dark creature consumed with bleeding life of its significance.

This is quite far from the truth. I take great joy in life and in living. The difference between me and most of these folks is that I am comfortable with the mystery.

There are a variety of logical fallacies used by people who believe in the supernatural, but the first and most apparent problem with that thinking is the idea that things need to be explained in the first place.

Why is there a universe? What is the origin of the human race? Why does evil exist? Why did the crops fail? Why did my son die? Why is that criminal still alive?  All of these questions and many others seem to demand explanation, and surely there is a natural human curiosity that causes human beings to seek explanations. But that is not to say that an explanation is needed. Or that, going forward, if there's is not a practical explanation, a supernatural one is called for.

I don't know how the universe came to be. There are many potential explanations. And the advocates of string theory or multi verses can be as adamant about their speculation as any fundamentalist Christian. Materialists are not immune to bad thinking just because science is "on their side". Or, sweet Jesus, because they are rational (a characteristic no human can rightly lay claim to.)

Although I tend toward practical explanations of things, ultimately I am comfortable with the mystery. I do not need an explanation. That there is not one - or not a satisfactory one - does not create a vacuum, for me, that must be filled by the supernatural.

The funny thing is, my comfort makes the things of the world all that much more miraculous. To me the functional eye is far more miraculous for its evolution than it would be if it were merely created.

Let me put it to you this way: Michelangelo's David is a beautiful creation, I think we can agree.  But imagine how much more amazing it would be that statue grew out of the stone as part of a natural process of erosion.

So, believe in a maker all you want. For me, I am satisfied and often awestruck by a serendipitous universe. There is much I don't understand. That simply means there is much, much more for me to experience.

And who knows, maybe there is a god out there. But I would be lying if I said I wouldn't be more than a little disappointed.