Today was my birthday. I was born over a half a century ago. That’s sounds rotten-old, doesn’t it? Well. I don’t feel old most days. In my head, I think I’m about 26. Around there.
But yes, I was born early in the morning… all those years ago. Well, not like 3 in the morning early. Just around 9 a.m. Hey! Here is something….. I wonder if the time of day you are born, has anything to do with what kind of a person you are… energy-wise. I mean. I wonder if morning-people were born in the morning, and night-people were born at night? I bet there is a study about this.
If there isn’t… don’t give anyone any bright ideas. Heaven knows, we have enough useless studies going on out there. Some are good, others are for total crap. And that is the thing about most studies. Everything changes. We get more and more knowledge as we go. And then we find out that the “tried and true” results of that study…. have suddenly become….. a pile of malarky. Like red wine, coffee, fat, sugar, gluten, white pasty foods, and on and on. Tomorrow, it is somehow better, or worse for you, than it was today.
But don’t get me wrong. Science is a good thing. Look where we are now. In several areas. Medicine has come a long way. Global communications have come a long way. Science, and knowledge have expanded immensely. The studies come and go. We learn from them, one little step at a time. But at least we are making forward progress.
Heck, imagine how things were before The Age of Reason. Things were a little…. dark. I could write an entire book on the Enlightenment. There were so many great thinkers during that time. Galileo, Kepler, Newton, Kant, Locke, Jefferson, Rousseau, and on and on.
Kant summed up the battle-cry for those Great Thinkers.. .. …. “Dare to know! Have courage to use your own reason!”
It was a totally rocking philosophical movement. This whole deal dominated the world of ideas in Europe in the 18th century.
The Enlightenment included a range of ideas centered on reason as the primary source of authority and legitimacy. Reason. Legitimate proof.
And, the Age of Reason… came to advance ideals such as liberty, progress, tolerance, constitutional government, early human rights, and The Everlasting Gobstopper. (Okay… THAT came later.)
But. These days, I wonder. I wonder why there is still resistance these days to these facts, reasons, and in some cases ideals.
The one that concerns me the very most is Human Rights. This is being challenged, in great doses these days. Our potential political leaders worry me.
And I started all of this talking about birthday. Cake, and candles, and gifts… like…. little poached egg makers.
With all of this said, and all of it swirling around, I must convey this. I am thankful for this life. I am grateful that I was born into this world… exactly when, and where I was… …. … and exactly who I am at this moment.
So Happy Birthday to all of us. For here we are, in a world that is full of unknowns, and concerns, and challenges. But at the same time it is filled with so much goodness, fullness, and love. This moment is exactly where we are supposed to be. And that, is the greatest enlightenment of all.