Transcendent

It seems like only yesterday that the Illinois Militia ventured into Indian Country, but in fact it was 1832. Chief Blackhawk really didn't appreciate being provoked. The soldiers who died are buried there on a bluff overlooking Stillman Creek and the monument to their memory is there too. It was erected in 1901 with funds from the Illinois General Assembly. It was there long before I was born and it will most likely be there long after I'm gone... [pic]

It's painfully obvious that matter lasts a long time, maybe forever, but living beings are around for only a pitifully short period. All of my most important aspirations and accomplishments will fade away but the rock in my neighbors front yard will still be going strong. It's a frustrating fact of life that usually leads one to ask if there's any sense to it all.

Faced with the question of existence we must make a choice. Usually it comes down to one of three choices. The first option is to simply busy ourselves with all the adventures, excitement, and pleasure available while trying not to think of anything deeper, as long as possible up until that final moment. The second is to acknowledge that there is nothing that transcends our existence. All is just happenstance without any inherent meaning. The third choice, and in my mind, the best one, is to recognize certain things that transcend our existence.

Look around. It's beautiful here. Even in mid-town Manhattan something of nature's beauty can still be observed. All of that beauty points to something just below the surface. It's something that we try to grasp but never fully understand and it's bigger than any one of us.

I don't mean to get into all sorts of philosophy here about why I believe there are such things as objective right and wrong and that God exists. The point is that we all have a choice to make. If there is anything that transcends mere existence shouldn't we seek to imbue our lives with this meaning? Afterall, the rocks, trees and hills will still be here long after we're gone and we'll be somewhere else where we might wish we invested a little more time and effort.