Your Independent Journal from the Heartland
Stop The Presses!! Breaking News!! nnHere’s the scoop of the century, even the millennium. After three quarters of a century doing exhaustive research on the subject, your dedicated correspondent has uncovered that long sought, seldom seen answer to the eternal question – What is the purpose of life?
So, without further ado, I can confidently state that the purpose of life is … (drumroll, please):
Have A Good Time And Be Fair To Others.
That’s it. Kinda simple, but maybe something you suspected all along.
What is my evidence? Where is the proof?
Funny you should ask.
Well, you’re familiar with how life is conceived, I trust. That is an example of having a very good time. Now, not every conception happens with fairness to others, especially to the female participant. But it could happen fairly if the male participant made the effort, and one could make the argument that the act of conception is meant to be mutually pleasurable as designed by the Almighty Good Time Maker in the sky.
Yeah, that’s right, I’m stating without fear of contradiction, that He or She (I’m still studying the gender of the Good Time God) meant for us to get our ya-ya’s as much as we want without rules like the sacrament of Holy Wedlock, or consequences like Hell’s damnation, or burdens like guilt and shame or the need for participating partners.
So the thing that feels better than anything you can name procreates life itself. I don’t know how any proof could be more convincing that we are meant to have a good time with each other.
After the Exhibit A of sex, there’s a lot of other evidence that we’re meant to have a good time together. Take music, for instance. In my wizened estimation, music is the most spiritual art form. It bridges the physical with the ethereal. Music can set your spirit free, put a smile on your face, and make you shake your booty all at once.
Have you ever noticed that the best music is made by people being fair to others, their bandmates, while melding into a magical mix? The sharing makes the sum exceed the parts.
Let’s not forget about food. There’s the growing, the cooking, the eating, the cleaning – all better when we cooperate fairly, everyone doing their part to nurture each other.
Sports can be a great uniter, connecting your team’s members to their ambitions with the good time of the game. But even losses by your team can be a chance to commiserate. Good sportsmanship can assure that sports stay in the sphere of fun and not hostility. Most kids are not obsessed with an end result of winning – they are usually more interested in playing the game and having fun.
Speaking of kids, is anything more enjoyable than raising your family? Sure, there are headaches and heartaches, but most parents wouldn’t trade their family life for anything in the world. Your baby’s first words and first steps. Your kids loving their puppy. Watching who they become as they grow. Discovering the deepest love of all – unconditional love for your children.
My favorite revelation in my old age is the wonder of gratitude. It makes me happy to appreciate the many blessings bestowed upon me by Him or Her.
I happen to believe that we humans have a collective soul – we’re all sparks of the fire. My favorite gospel song is “This Little Light Of Mine.” I like its blend of confidence and humility. So, if we’re all connected, then it makes sense to try getting along. It’s counter-productive to hold grudges because whatever presents to us as separate just deludes us from the reality of unity.
That’s where having a good time and being fair to others comes in – because there are no others.
Frank Lingo, based in Lawrence, Kansas, is a former columnist for the Kansas City Star and author of the novel “Earth Vote.”
Email: lingofrank@gmail.com.
See his website: Greenbeat.world
