CHLOE’S STORY - 7

CHLOE’S STORY - 7

                                 On my way to and from work I always had to pass by the large oak tree in our front yard. I‟d often stop to stare at it and ask myself, “What are you doing there Mr. Tree?” One day I was studying Mr. Tree when I found the clue I was looking for. The tree contained patterns. The branches weren‟t geometrically organized, but there was a pattern to how trees in general look. Then I looked down at myself and recognized the same pattern in me. We can recognize humans from other animals because our structure follows the same pattern. Skeletons follow patterns. Heredity follows patterns. Biology is all about patterns. For that matter, so is the rest of nature: Newton‟s laws of physics, the Periodic Table of Elements, chemical reactions, the behavior of light, evolution, etc. These all behave according to patterns which reflect order in the universe. Order doesn‟t stem from chaos. So it would be inconsistent with the nature of the universe to assume that our existence is an accident, and if it‟s not an accident then there‟s a reason why we‟re here. And the most important part of this breakthrough was that you can understand any orderly system by studying its patterns. So maybe, somewhere in the patterns of the universe are clues to understanding the meaning of life.

The more clearly this realization dawned on me the more excited I grew until I came full circle to the original questions that caused me to lose heart in the first place. Even if there is a reason why we‟re here, and even if there are clues pointing to the answer, isn‟t it impossible (or at least too difficult) for humans to figure out? If the question can be answered, could I do it or should I leave it to the professionals? But who are the professionals? What would make someone qualified or disqualified to find the meaning of life anyway? Do you need a doctorate degree, a Nobel Prize, membership in a high IQ club, or at least published book under your belt before you‟re certified to…what? Ask questions?

Even if you don‟t need to be certified by an official qualified board of humans, maybe we‟re all disqualified by God. By some religious standards it would be blasphemy to even attempt to question the meaning of life much less to claim to have found an answer. If I ever claimed to find an answer would that make me a false prophet? Would I be burned at the stake? Would I go to hell? And if that‟s the case does that mean that humans weren‟t meant to know why we‟re here? Why would God not want His children to know why they‟re here or what they‟re supposed to do now that they‟re here? If God doesn‟t want us to know why we‟re here and thus how to fulfill our purpose then that would me He doesn‟t want us to fulfill our purpose. That means He‟s setting us up for failure. Are our lives nothing more than a cruel and meaningless game designed for the amusement of a sadistic God?