Religion Leads to an Empty Road

If Heaven and Hell decide
That they both are satisfied
Illuminate the 'No's
On their vacancy signs

If there's noone beside you
When your soul embarks
I will follow you into the dark

~ Death Cab For Cutie ~

Religion is so often an uneasy paradox... That bright pink elephant reading hyms from over your shoulder, looming in a daunting, daring way as you so tediously ignore its taunts of defiance. Or is it more the questions this elephant poses in its nasaly voice as it speaks from beneath its massive trunk?

Why am I here?

What is God's will?

What is the meaning of life?

Yes, that age-old question to which all seek the answer, though we can never quite grasp it. Many of faith claim that this mortal life is our pathway to what comes at the end of it all. We are told by many of faith that 'God' gives us obstacles so that we can overcome them, that no mound of the very grains of inhumanity is insurmountable, that we are always tested. Our souls are to live on for an eternity in one of two distinct worlds. Heaven and Hell are awaiting our arrival, our time here merely meant as a way of sorting our souls into their proper housing. If that is the case, a life is truly meaningless. If this is merely the ultimate test, than why indulge in the childish game we are pawns to? Why bother with the here and now when the most grand of destinations awaits us? If God is so omniscient as we are told, with our life's destiny laid out for us, why bother to fight it? Why not merel skip to the predetermined, the inevitable, the sacred?

No, life holds meaning only if it is our only chance. None among us likes to believe that a life begins and ends with our time on this small blue rock, but it is that disheartening reality that drives me to better myself. It is not the fear that some higher being is judging my every move, but rather that one should live life to the fullest, for it only comes around once. That is the way to view the world if you truly wish to make the most of it.

So go out and ride this earthly wind. Your eyes are the only ones that truly penetrate your heart.

~ Moose ~