I had already begun my intellectual phase at this time--which totally can mess up your hair. I had been thinking HARD, and wandering aimlessly about all day--see what happens!? ;-)
As these pictures illustrate, I was very concerned with the historical conflicts and misunderstandings of mankind. I bent my will into dicovering truth--somehow I had faith that truth would heal all the ills of mankind. My intellectual journey had begun in earnest.
OK...
That's a bit humorous, but there is some truth to all that. I do consider the pursuit of truth the highest calling of life. I DO have faith in truth. All evil grows and flourishes in the dark--whether personal, political, or conceptual. I have found that evil falls and strength is maintained by reaching ever-higher levels of these realms of truth. Fear the man who fears the truth--he harbors evil, some dark place he cannot or will not look. Fear is the fist of destruction--both from the past (evolution) and in our future. It is the echo in our genes of the horrors and hardships of the past. The ghosts of murders, ostracisms, wars, and IGNORANCE which is the root and source of power for evil. Nothing that is learned and seems bad, cannot be overcome by greater learning. Half-truths are the worst kind of lies because they have an inroad to our core, they have a power over the unlearned and the LEARNED alike! Those who do not have the force of will to mobilize and overcome are its victims. Stasis is death of the future, the evaporation of hope--a prison of the mind. Robert Frost wrote, "Something there is that does not love a wall". That something is TRUTH--the highest form of meaning. Intelligence is important but overrated, MOTIVATION is the key.
Some thoughts about my life:
Physicist Steven Hawking said, "What is it
that breathes fire into the equations?" Jesus Christ said that we all have
the power to become the sons of God. Deepak Chopra reiterates this idea in his
inter-denominational book "How to Know God". Einstein said "I
want to know God's thoughts, the rest is details.". Gilgamesh searched for
the flower of immortality, etc. Lots of folks have searched for the ineffable
through the millennia. It has all been the search for ourselves and for
ultimate truth. That is my one overriding desire in life--to search and move toward
ultimate truth. It starts right at home--finding out about yourself and what
makes you tick. Where your own thoughts come from—your psychology, biology,
evolutionary history, life history, education, etc. Overcoming all fear is
important--fear can supress and corral thoughts, keep you from doing important things, or from following truth on your own, and it allows evil and darkness to flourish. If you use your mind properly and keep truth as your motivation
above all else (involves constant thinking, learning, and growing), You will
begin to see your mind working as it should. The motivation for truth sets up a factory of discovery in your mind. It forges ahead through thickets, nettles, and oceans of knowledge--following the veins of gold. Your mind comes alive. You will think of entire concepts
and then find that there are books written about them. Making your mind work
this generative way is the ultimate intellectual goal. You can get there if you
let go of fear, and have truth as your PRIMARY motivation. When this happens,
you do not come to conclusions, but make your mind dynamic like the world
itself. Your mind is animated, not rigid like a book. The world sure looks
different from such a perspective... more natural, more free, and much
more meaningful. Facing truth takes courage because truth is bringing
everything into the light—even uncomplimentary things about yourself and
others. This journey is that legendary trip to the underworld, it is rising
above your limitations like an Icarus of indestructible wings, it is breaking
down the walls to move to something greater but also exposing yourself to
incomprehensible dangers. Only one thing can propel you and protect you in this
quest—a love of truth. Love of truth drives the scientist toiling in the late
hours alone, it is a smooth-talking genius of faith in the future. Love of
truth is the original love from which all other true loves derive. The truth
separates true love from mere desire. This motivation is the source of all
strength—there is no time for excuses or doubts in it. This is the life force itself.
