Reclaiming Eden

Thank you all for your love and support and for following the blog.  This is the final entry we are posting from John's journal.  Love -- The Ritters

Politics and Fanaticism

One thing I do know, if the people who claim to be worthy of heaven, the ones with the 800 number to God, are, in fact going there, well, that would be my definition of hell. 

Recently, I’ve wondered if man were immortal whether things would be different.  Without the prospect of death, would we be more generous and caring of our fellow human beings?  Would greed be blunted or exacerbated?  I suspect that we have more than enough resources to alleviate most human suffering.  Is it our fear of want and life’s scary possibilities that drives us to self-centered absorption and, in extreme case, outright narcissism.  Actually, it seems to me that if we finally and fully put the lessons of cancer ahead of our mortality avoidance strategies, we could reclaim Eden.  Do those who live in the gated communities and the 1-percenters not understand?  No pile of money can stave aging and going to where, in fact, all men have gone before.  To me, the only purpose of life is to love and help others.  Don’t get me wrong; I suspect although I’ve tried, I’ve come up short.

On learning lessons from others (even in death)

I’m not saying that we tend to put lipstick on the pig, but might a person’s passing mean more with a bit of truth.  Might a bit of reality give readers a chance to consider someone they know who has a similar death-dealing issue and opportunity to gather up the courage to intervene.

Dead is dead.  Flowers, cards, expensive caskets, and bullshit eulogies may comfort the living, but don’t blunt or educate us to acting in their best interests if we care about preserving and protecting life.

Living and relishing life in “the grey zone”

Too often we view things as a matter of kind, of absolutes.  We tend to identify our world by distinctions of static extremes:  good and evil, happiness and sadness, right and wrong, and so forth.  In my reality, absolutes can be restricted to life and death.  All else is a matter of degree because all other things move on a scale.  Viewing the world in static absolutes restricts and confines us to the narrowest of existence and understanding.  Cancer underscores the fact that there is nothing so important in life than life and death.  Choices always exist though we may not perceive them.  While cancer brings the prospect of death most dramatically into focus, as long as there is hope, something to be done, I will live in the world of degree not kind.

Focusing on our strengths, not weaknesses

I had spent too much of my life focusing on a person’s annoying “shortcomings” than the admirable talents that they possessed and I simply did not have.

Expecting perfection in anyone, as in picking a negotiating team, sees shortcomings overshadowing exceptional talents and stunting our relationships with others.

Prayer to God

Suffice it to say that I do believe our only purpose on this earth  is to help each other.  If you grant me a bit more time, hopefully without too much debilitating issues, I will do my best to help others.  I know that I’ve come up short in many ways.  If nothing else, thanks for listening.  Amen.