It struck me recently, out of nowhere, that we humans are very strange creatures?\u00a0 That the things we do are irrational and confusing.\u00a0 We spend most of our lives doing things that bore us or depress us or cause us grief.\u00a0 That what we want or what we think we must do is often diametrically opposed to what\u2019s good for our minds, bodies and spirits.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s nothing profound about these insights.\u00a0 It\u2019s just that every once in a while, you look around at what you\u2019re doing and what you should be doing and they don\u2019t line up.\u00a0 I guess it\u2019s an artifact of the complexity of our hyper-complicated world.\u00a0 Our ancestors in the trees were never confused about what to do.\u00a0 There were no choices.\u00a0 You mostly looked for food to eat all day long and then went to sleep hoping that the neighborhood leopard didn\u2019t come to visit during the night.\u00a0 Even our paleolithic predecessors didn\u2019t have much leeway on what went on during the day.\u00a0 Maybe the top caveman decided which beta caveman became a hunter or spearhead chipper or fire-tender or whatever other careers were being advertised in the Bedrock Gazette.\u00a0 But I\u2019m sure it was a lot simpler back then and existential angst must have been at a very manageable level.\u00a0 And people didn\u2019t live very long so there wasn\u2019t time to reflect on the vicissitudes of Cro-Magnon time management.<\/p>\n
I suspect we\u2019re currently at a high point for personal discontent.\u00a0 Partially it\u2019s because the complexity of our civilization doesn\u2019t make it easy to decide what path to take.\u00a0 Hunters and spearhead chippers are no longer in high demand.\u00a0 Even cutting-edge professions can become obsolete almost overnight.\u00a0 Also, the coping mechanisms we formerly had for dealing with limited opportunities; religion and family have mostly receded in importance.\u00a0 Now we\u2019re down to antidepressants and government welfare programs.\u00a0 And neither of these seems to sooth the soul.<\/p>\n
A return to religion was a periodic reaction in America.\u00a0 Going all the way back to the Puritans they would have a religious revival about every seventy-five years or so.\u00a0 One or more great preachers would appear and exhort the people to return to God and to doing the righteous thing.\u00a0 And this would have at least a temporary effect on behavior and a positive change on society.<\/p>\n
Well, America 2025 is a very different place from America 1950.\u00a0 And even 1950 was a way different world from 1875.\u00a0 Religion barely exists in the minds and souls of the current population of this country.\u00a0 So, by definition any preachers appearing on the horizon won\u2019t look anything like the past.\u00a0 If Billy Graham showed up today, he would only find a tiny audience for his \u201ccrusade.\u201d<\/p>\n
But that doesn\u2019t mean we don\u2019t need an equivalent to a religious revival.\u00a0 Call it a spiritual revival if you want or a lifestyle intervention if that makes it sound more scientific.\u00a0 But without a doubt people need direction.\u00a0 Their lives have lost meaning not only in their own eyes but also to society at large.\u00a0 It is not an exaggeration to say that the people who run this country and the world at large, value your life and happiness not at all.\u00a0 In fact, all indications are that they want to get you off this planet as quickly as possible and at the lowest cost.<\/p>\n
Like the Roman Empire at the time of Christ, this world is looking for spiritual leadership.\u00a0 And whoever provides it will harness an enormous latent force that currently exists only as discontent and despair in the minds and souls of the people who currently have no purpose in life.\u00a0 I think it will happen but what it will look like and when it will hit is the mystery.\u00a0 For old timers it\u2019s just a matter of embracing your Bible or your copy of Marcus Aurelius.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It struck me recently, out of nowhere, that we humans are very strange creatures?\u00a0 That the things we do are irrational and confusing.\u00a0 We spend<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,2860],"tags":[3574,4570,3745],"class_list":["post-32601","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-events","category-reclaiming-the-family","tag-cultural-revival","tag-religious-revival","tag-traditional-religion"],"yoast_head":"\n