In the words of Robert Plant, "It's been a long time...". Since I last wrote, I've been busy. I've started work on my Mannatech project and, as I knew in advance, the beginning has been slow but steady. Fortunately I have a few things that are in my favour: I know what to expect (I was with Amway as a student), I'm a people person, and I'm patient. This kind of business does work but too many have the notion that it's 'easy money'. It's not! It involves putting in the work and the overheads (yes, it costs money), but as with any business, what you get out is directly related to what you put in. It's a business, you're the CEO and you should approach it as such. Anyhow, it's encouraging to have a product line you can believe in, and use yourself with confidence. I'm taking Advanced Ambrotose and my pressure sore, as well as the rest of me, is reacting very well to it. I've been on it since December 29th. I can't encourage anyone reading this blog enough to give it a try. Shop talk aside, I really think it can help people. Check out http://www.mannapages.com/guillum and explore the site a little. If, like a skeptical friend of mine, you need empirical evidence, well... here's where I sent him: http://www.mannascience.org.
So, yeah, it's been pretty hectic 'round these here parts... but I've said that already. What I haven't said is that I've done most of it from my bed. That's been tough. The one thing you do a lot of, while bed-ridden, is think... about a great many things. For someone like me, it gets tiring, frustrating, and then infuriating. So, what the hell is the point of it all? This life. What makes it so damn special, anyhow? Are we like the proverbial guinea pigs on the wheel...? Do we run ourselves ragged, never to go anywhere? These are things which could drive you insane, thinking about day after day. Honesty, as it happens, comes at a price. If you want the truth, you must expect to find answers you haven't anticipated or considered worth consideration before. I've been reading a fair bit lately, which isn't surprising. What may come as a surprise to some is that I'm reading the Bible... from cover to cover. My experience of this has been, in a word, unexpected.
Someone once said, "To know God is to know oneself". I have found this assumption to be unhelpful at best and presumptious at worst. But I'm getting ahead of myself. The first question I find myself asking is: "What's right and what's wrong?" We all want to be right and be considered good. So, in who's eyes do we want to be good? Well, it's not a simple question. We live our lives adhering to norms, mores... rules. If we mess up, we are judged and punished by the relevant authority. Ultimately then, it's all about people. People decide. This is how the world works... from the time of Hammurabi to the present. So, was Marx right? Is god simply "...the opiate of the masses"? If he was right, then god is simply a word used to control and manipulate the ignorant and the superstitious. Heaven knows (no pun intended), there is plenty of evidence to substantiate this assertion... the oracle of Delphi, the pharoahs of ancient Egypt, the emperors of China and Japan, all said to be imbued with divine authority. Just think of the dogma that has been associated with the Popes, where anything said ex pulpitate was considered the divine word of God Himself. So where does this leave me?
I believe in a universe of infinite possibility. What this boils down to is that truth can be anything one is able to argue successfully. This is cynical, I grant you, but what I take away from this is that my reality is simply the result of the sum of of all consequences, stemming from choices I make. Ironically, this can be argued Biblically, as God Himself gave mankind the right to make those choices. Our choice to choose Him is the only thing He cannot create. So, coming back to my original quote... "To know God is to know oneself." I think you'll agree then that this statement takes on a new significance when viewed in the light of choice. If I choose to acknowledge God, I choose a reality of which He is a part. Another person might choose to reject God, in which case my reality, my truth, would make no sense whatsoever to that person... and vice versa. I think that which causes people to be so uncomfortable with the beliefs of those adhering to faiths other than their own is one fundamental question: "What if I'm wrong, and they're right?" Here I find some solace as, as a Christian, my eternity is secure, no matter what the eventuality thereof.
On a more upbeat note, I need to clarify that this blog installment wasn't all written in one sitting. There have also been some highlights which, when offset against the dull and the dreary, definitely brings balance to the collage that is my life. It is fair to say that having been lucky enough to attend a quarter-final as well as a semi-final of the 2010 FIFA World Cup has gone a long way to lifting my spirits, as well as adding a huge tick to my bucket list. What these experiences have also done is make me more resolutely determined to realize a life worth living and not merely existing.
