What if instead of presuming about the afterlife, which none of us can be certain of (indeed, the whole point of the wager is based in uncertainty), we presume what we can know and have, which is the present. In that case, it is best to do what one wills in this moment, which is all that is guaranteed, rather than wait for some possible infinity which is not guaranteed and – indeed – may be imaginary.
Caveat 1 – I am for all the hedonism which doesn’t harm one self.
Caveat 2 – I am for all the actions and experiences which do not impinge on my fellow humans.
So, do the thing, in the now, and put that box about the after life and God’s existence back on the shelf where it belongs. You can’t reason it out anyway (I agree with Pascal on that score).
Working with young children has made it very clear to me that bead crafts are fundamental to mental health. I think if society collapsed and we had to start over again completely from scratch, humans would immediately reinvent fire, soup, and beads.
I was thinking of moving to Colombia. So, a couple of years ago, I went to visit Colombia, because I had never been, and it makes sense to go somewhere you might like to move to before moving there.
And it’s lovely, by the way. Highly recommend Colombia. For visiting or living.
Anyway, I am on a tour with this Colombian guide, who among other things said to me “Tourists never usually ask me these questions.” (I was asking about voting and political parties.) And he asks me what I do.
“Oh, I’m a teacher,” I say.
“Wow! Teaching is a very important job. How do you like it?”
“A great deal, actually…it’s super rewarding. Except for the part where I can get shot at my job.”
“That has literally never happened here. I can’t even imagine it,” he tells me.
I was in Medellín. Land of infamous, highly armed drug lords. In Colombia. A country that, technically speaking, still has a skirmishy sort of civil war going with far left guerillas.
So, you know, not a land without guns and gun violence.
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