When one reaches the “aged” phase the temptation is great, and the privilege exists, to revisit life itself – decades and decades of it! Mankind as far as we now know, is unique among our fellow living creatures, in having a consciousness of self. We retain memories of the past, anticipate the future, and are acutely aware of our mortality. With all this come questions: many of them! Some are profoundly important throughout life, some vary according to our age, and for the most part the answers are elusive.
It fascinates me that these questions, the search for understanding and the efforts to find answers cut across peoples, cultures, and the ages. Archaeologists now know that even the earliest of primitive people wrestled with much the same questions that plagued more sophisticated societies, and still remain unanswered today:
What is the purpose of life?
What is my role here?
Is there something “out there” that is greater than all else?
Why is there good and evil?
What can I do to make my life worth living? Continue reading