He had turned off the TV. There was the usual political debates, the dopey half hour sit-Com's, the dopey night time soaps and the late night news which contained very little news if one can call the spots that seemed to be promos for some program or other that was or will be on that particular network, news. He felt he should be tired but wasn't. He kept thinking how far away from actually living these super stars, politicians or entertainers really were. One thing he was sure of everyone had their own agendas that were lurking in the background of whatever they were doing publicly at that moment. Everything centered around money. Karl Marx was right, economics really was at the core of everything.
For the first time in his life he actually contributed to a political campaign. Now every day, Emails arrive from various politicos requesting a contribution from five bucks and up. The race is over, he thought, "What the hell?".
Wounded Veterans charities, Children's Hospitals, Christian Children groups, even various animal organizations show promos of starving, maimed, and desolate people and animals that he could help for only nineteen dollars a month, that is sixty three cents a day, not much when one considers a pack of cigarettes cost around twelve bucks which translates to sixty cents a cigarette. That stark figures are maybe $372.00 a month to kill yourself with lung cancer as opposed to $19.00 a month to help to save someone. But for most of us we couldn't save all because with all the charities mentioned one has to factor in money to support the church, synagogue, hospitals, orphanages and the like we would be bankrupt before long.
But what about just living, like rent or mortgages or taxes or food, shelter and clothing? What about a vacation now and then? What about the cost of College, or even private El-hi schools? When does what we do for ourselves get over taking care of our needs and becomes selfish? These characters in the news do not concern themselves with the everyday necessities of living that we have to be concerned with, he thought. The super stars and politicians don't have to get up at 6 every day and do the grunt work that pays for everything. They are concerned with keeping their levels of living on the highest standard that they have obtained. Some were born into the elite class but most had to fight for it, especially the entertainers and sport stars. Now they are living like it will never go away, but it might, it can and in some cases it will go away in the sea of bad investments, high living all leading to financial ruin. So they fight to keep what they have indulging themselves always living in fear that they may become ex-elitists.
He still was not sleepy so he poured himself a night-cap of Scotch neat he could sip on and savor while he let his thoughts run free. He didn't want to accept the thought that economics ruled. He never wanted to think that money was the ruler. His mind settled on a phrase from a writing that he read so long ago, which went something like this, "All we have left is faith, hope and love but the greater of these is love.". He mused that is something he hoped he lived his life on. All of these things are centered for the search for truth. He thought that these ideals wouldn't be accepted in today's world since concepts must be hypothesized, tested and results based on facts. whereas faith is a firm belief in something for which there is no proof and rooted in faith is hope, looking forward to getting what you have faith in even though all you have is the faith that the goal exists. What makes love the greatest of these three, is that it is unconditional affection with no limits or boundaries. He poured himself a second Scotch took a sip and thought yes I like the idea of living with the concepts that we can't prove everything and we must have something to sink our roots in to ground us. We must always have hope that our goals will be reached especially of they are grounded in love.
When his world was young it was filled with these ideals as he struggled to keep his family afloat while he tried to enjoy the joys afforded him not the least of which was the love shared between him and his wife. She probably never realized it but her love, support and sweet kisses kept him going for without her he would have turned surely into the materialistic person that only thought of the concrete and never the spiritual. She had been gone for many years now and he floundered as a rudderless ship without her. He guessed he started to become materialistic because he didn't have her beauty, charm and spirit to remind him that the world has great unseen pleasures for those who seek them. His values started to come back when by chance he met someone he hadn't seen for years.
He finished the last drop of Scotch and thought that chance meeting and the ensuing meetings gave him back something that he had lost and that was the very things that he wanted to live by. He guessed it was that the relationship was grounded in love, unconditional with no limits or boundaries which resulted from a firm faith that this meeting was no accident that somehow it was planned by whatever spirits ruled the earth that wanted two people to find happiness and contentment. The hope which always remains that only good will result as long as the spiritual ruled and rationalism was not pursued.
As he got under the covers he thought to himself that he has to stop watching all these news shows as they really are not news and are depressing. He didn't want to be depressed. As he drifted off to the land of nod he thought, "All will pass away except faith, hope and love but the greatest of these is love.". He fell into a deep sleep content in the knowledge that the values of his youth never really went away they were just hiding until someone came along and rejuvenated them.
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