Photo by Yousef Alfuhigi
When I was a young man, I began searching for the meaning of life. Along the way, I wrote a travel journal, a mix of prose and poetry, and labelled it Fool’s Odyssey.
Having failed to find “the reason,” or rather having discovered it and lost track of it, I’d returned to L.A. It was morning, and I wanted nothing so much as to just go and wander in the mountains.
But it was still dark. So I sat in that ancient airport lounge watching the planes come in and go out, and the lights blink off and on, until Dawn finally came hesitatingly in and sat down on the runway. And then, in deference to its timidity, I suppose, Night gathered up her sleeves and went off to work in the eastern hemisphere.
It reminded me of some graffiti* I’d seen on a restroom wall:
“The meek shall inherit the earth (if that’s okay with the rest of you).”
That was how I felt: meek. Because I saw for the first time in my life that we were all just interlopers, pretending to have a purpose. And then I realized I’d been playing the most awful game: I’d gone to seek wisdom, understanding—truth. But naturally, I’d brought with me a set of requirements:
“All auditionees for the role of truth must first prove themselves to be consistent with my philosophy.”
Who else, after all, could judge for me what was true “for me?” It seemed irrefutable (or inevitable, at any rate). But then I saw the flaw:
I’d begun by reluctantly acknowledging that I didn’t know the truth (no one seeks to find a thing he already has). But by insisting that all auditionees for truth must first agree with what I already believed, I was insisting that nothing but affirmations of my own familiar thoughts be admitted.
What a horrible game.
And everyone I knew was playing it.
I got up and stuffed my hands in my pockets (I felt like the cover of an old Bob Dylan album), and went and got my little VW out of hock.
Truly the light is sweet, said the wise man,
and a pleasant thing it is to behold the sun.
Yet if a man lives many years and rejoices in them all,
still let him remember the days of darkness,
for they shall be many.
And all that is to come is vanity.
~Ecclesiastes 11:7-8
*A graffito (for you grammar-Nazis)
To read the next episode, click here.
Mitch Teemley 
Pingback: Hanging From the Ledge of Heaven | Mitch Teemley
You created a real mood with this airport scene. An airport can be one of the most crowded and one of the most lonely places on earth.
But about the VW. I’ve owned a 68 Bug, a 96 Golf, and a 2000 Passat.
LikeLiked by 5 people
A true VW man. I had just, a ’67, I believe.
LikeLiked by 2 people
as of ’61
LikeLiked by 1 person
Every way of a man is right in his own eyes- Proverbs 21:2
LikeLiked by 3 people
Bingo, Abe.
LikeLiked by 1 person
proverbs 46:03
the lord is my refuge
the lord is my strength
the lord is my helper
when i am afraid
LikeLike
Well, sort of, Rudy. Psalm 46:1 (not Proverbs 46:3) begins with, “God is our refuge and strength.” https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+46%3A1-3&version=NKJV
LikeLiked by 2 people
i meant to the man, not you, he needs to change that to psalms 21:02, if i meant 46:01?
LikeLike
? But he was correct, Rudy. That verse is from Proverbs 21:2.
LikeLike
proverbs 46:2
LikeLike
What about Proverbs 46:2, Rudy?
LikeLike
the verse on saying
LikeLike
So beautiful and touching… I could read it again and again!!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Why, thank you, Sandra.
LikeLiked by 1 person
So powerful and so profoundly true. “All auditionees for the role of truth must agree with my personal philosophy.” It is a low bar to set, but one that whole bunches of us seem to readily adopt.
Here’s to an increased capacity to welcome a little cognitive dissonance into our carefully ordered paradigms. Who knows? It might just be Truth in different guise.
LikeLiked by 4 people
Might be!
LikeLiked by 1 person
ecclesiastes 11:09 missing
ecclesiastes 13: jesus is the same
as today & now
love is patient
love is kind
LikeLike
Rudy, Ecclesiastes 11:9 isn’t missing. I only wanted to quote verses 7 and 8. (And Ecclesiastes chapter 13 doesn’t say that at all.)
LikeLike
it does jesus is the same
LikeLike
I agree, Rudy, He is. But Ecclesiastes 13 doesn’t say that.
LikeLike
do good & share with others
LikeLike
Most people don’t want to hear the truth, they just want assurance that what they already believe is the truth.
LikeLiked by 1 person
True dat.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Not wanting any truth except what agrees with you is like these people who want God, but they want Him on THEIR terms. (Doesn’t that sorta defeat the purpose of a god?)
LikeLiked by 3 people
“All auditionees for the role of truth must first prove themselves to be consistent with my philosophy.”
This is spot-on!! I feel like so many of us are very guilty of this mentality!!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Yep!
LikeLiked by 1 person