The Essential Element of Humanity

There is one essential element of the continuation of humanity and good will: Hope. As humans we have the constant instinct and expectation of self-preservation. We continually seek that which will sustain us and generate a pleasant state of being. We hope for a better tomorrow, even if today is not a bad today. We work for the obtainment of good things because we instinctively hope for good things in life. Essentially, hope is essential (repetition intended).

In spite of this reality, there are many people who lose hope in this modern world. There is so much suffering and despair that it becomes easy to stop hoping for better. How can people keep hoping for something that has proven itself to be unrealistic and unattainable (whatever that thing may be)? Why should they? The answer is quite simple: You must. We must.

Without hope we have no more expectation of good. When hope is lost, goodwill will inevitably be lost. This is because hope keeps us working to cultivate and perpetuate good in life, and essentially human existence. Hope gives people a reason to persevere when there is no apparent reason to. It also keeps people from committing grave immoralities, because they have the notion that they will experience a future in which they will not endure such temptations. Hope gives children a reason to focus and aspire. A nihilistic and hopeless generation is indeed a destructive generation to be very wary of. Hope is the cure for an imperiled world.

If you, reader, have lost or are losing hope please allow me to implore you with one word: don’t. If you lose hope you lose yourself. That is a price far too costly to pay. This in itself is a violation of the laws of nature; namely, self-preservation. You must hope.

Think—painful as it may be—of all the things that cause you to lose hope. Then begin to evaluate these same things from a different perspective. Imagine some kind of realistic solution in the future. Consider that things will not always have to be the way they are currently. Ponder about any possible things you can do to contribute to this more hopeful reality. Realize that life is not predictable and unchanging. With many of our routine lives, I think, we can easily tend to forget that. You have the ability to make a difference in the fabric of human experience. You have the power. God has equipped you with the concern and intelligence to recognize the problem, now discover what actions you can take, or plans you can make, to effect change.

You don’t have to end world hunger yourself. Donate to a cause that is already working on it. If you can’t find a job, don’t give up. Don’t stop looking. Don’t stop applying. Maybe start volunteering for now, or thinking about becoming an entrepreneur. If you’ve lost hope in some relationship[s], think of how to resolve things—come to a common ground. Maybe it’s even time for a change of who is a part of your life. The future is full of possibilities. Not impossibilities. So place your hope in the possibilities ahead.

Just make sure that, whatever you do and at all costs, you do not—absolutely do not—give up hope.

You Believe.

We all believe. Anyone who denies this is either in a stubborn state of denial or simply has not examined the thought enough. Even an agnostic believes; even atheists believe. The question is, firstly: What do you believe? Secondly, why? Many atheists believe in science as the final and ultimate authority. They believe science was the source of our origin and will be that of our end. They herald the message of science. Even praise the work of science. Therefore, they do not only believe in science instead of God but actually believe in science as God (in a manner of speaking). Is it not so?

Don’t believers in God believe the same principles? That God is the originator of all things; don’t they praise His work? Atheist believe the same foundational concepts but ascribe the credit to a different figure. A figure with no mind, consciousness or sentience–yet somehow it randomly formed beings who have all these attributes which the originator itself did not. Given this truth, consider the second tenet of your (yes, your) belief: Why do you believe what you believe? One can list all of the common aspects of their belief systems but that is often not the only true reason why an individual believes as they do. Especially beliefs that claim no belief. People tend to believe certain things not because it has proven itself absolutely true but because it aligns with what they want in life. How they want to live, who they want to be around, how they want to be perceived by society. Do such inclinations as these influence your beliefs? If so, you will never have the vision and clarity of judgment to differentiate truth from lie until you rid yourself of these prejudicial stances. If it makes you comfortable to believe that there is no such thing as gravity, or that none of your loved ones will die in your life time, does it mean that you can float? Or that you will certainly never see any of your loved ones pass away? Obviously not. In the same way, holding to a belief because it makes you more comfortable with a certain way of life does not make the belief true.

If you honestly do not believe in God, how do you explain living things? The universe? The near-infinite dimensions of space? Did it actually come from nothing? Do you know the answer to the equation 0+0? … Spoiler alert: (whispering) It’s zero. Nothing plus nothing = (wait for it………) nothing. Literally. No. Thing. Something cannot come from nothing. Some thing cannot come from no-thing. Therefore, everything definitely can’t come from nothing. That’s the simple way of explaining it.

You might have noticed earlier that i said “near-infinite dimensions of space.” Some maintain that the universe is actually infinite and never needed a creator. Impossible. The second law of thermodynamics proves that this absolutely cannot be true. Basically it is the explanation for the widely known scientific fact that the universe is constantly running out of energy. If the universe is infinite how can it be running out of energy? The universe is not infinite. (It is ironic that people would be willing to attribute infinite power to a non-conscious, insentient, “something” known as the universe but not the same infinite power to a conscious living being, namely God.) The universe had to be created by something greater than itself with more power than itself. A baby cannot reproduce an adult. Neither can a lesser power in oblivion create a far, far, greater reality in the existence of the universe itself.