"I can tell you the exact year, month and date when I am going to die"
"How come it is possible? Did god come and say this to you?"
"No. The Judge said."
We are no astrologers, but we live the life assuming everything is predictable. We book tickets assuming that there is not going to be any flood on the day of traveling. We exhaust the fuel tank assuming that there is not going to be any tanker strike next day. We plan for the meetings of tomorrow assuming that we are not going to die tonight. Even the earth quakes and the accidents which appear on newspapers everyday do not alter our approach towards life. People are in a way optimistic. I haven't seen anyone who has been living in tents forever expecting an earth quake.
Even the pessimists are also as comfortable as optimists. Heard of the famous Miller's Great Disappointment? Based on the Bible quotes in the book of Daniel, William Miller, an American preacher, predicted the date of Jesus' second arrival and the end of the world as Mar 21, 1844. He got huge followers who believed his date and prepared themselves for the D-day. Jesus didn't come. Then he changed the date to Apr 21, 1844. Jesus didn't turn up this time too. Then he finalized the date as Oct 22, 1844. Sun rose as usual on Oct 23 and the history has recorded the whole episode as Miller's Great Disappointment. It is interesting that it is called 'disappointment'! You expect to die on a particular day, and you didn't die - it is a disappointment, huh! Despite the prank played by Miller, the followers of him wanted to continue with the belief that the world was going to end soon. The D-day was rescheduled from Oct 22, 1844 to 'any time soon'. Thus the Millerite movement paved way for the Adventist churches especially the 7th Day Adventists. They expect the worst and are comfortable with that.
Most of us either adopt an optimistic approach or be prepared for the doomsday with a pessimistic approach, but rarely dare to live by accepting the unpredictability as it is. Everyone knows the disappointing fact that the next moment is not in our hands. However, we comfortably keep this fact aside and move on. Sometimes we resort to prediction methods like astrology and try to be in a comfort zone. We think it is not possible to live peacefully expecting some unexpected event every moment. The anxiety will guarantee our admission at nearby asylum.
However, the key to live life fully lies in understanding the unpredictability. It gives us the greatest opportunity to live each moment to the fullest extent. The thrill of life will evaporate when we bring future into existence and predict it. The unpredictability eliminates the entire future and promises only the current moment at hand. The logic is - if we enjoy the current moment to the maximum extent, the next moment is also going to be enjoyed so. Even death will also be enjoyed. The momentariness is the only truth in life!
"How come it is possible? Did god come and say this to you?"
"No. The Judge said."
We are no astrologers, but we live the life assuming everything is predictable. We book tickets assuming that there is not going to be any flood on the day of traveling. We exhaust the fuel tank assuming that there is not going to be any tanker strike next day. We plan for the meetings of tomorrow assuming that we are not going to die tonight. Even the earth quakes and the accidents which appear on newspapers everyday do not alter our approach towards life. People are in a way optimistic. I haven't seen anyone who has been living in tents forever expecting an earth quake.
Even the pessimists are also as comfortable as optimists. Heard of the famous Miller's Great Disappointment? Based on the Bible quotes in the book of Daniel, William Miller, an American preacher, predicted the date of Jesus' second arrival and the end of the world as Mar 21, 1844. He got huge followers who believed his date and prepared themselves for the D-day. Jesus didn't come. Then he changed the date to Apr 21, 1844. Jesus didn't turn up this time too. Then he finalized the date as Oct 22, 1844. Sun rose as usual on Oct 23 and the history has recorded the whole episode as Miller's Great Disappointment. It is interesting that it is called 'disappointment'! You expect to die on a particular day, and you didn't die - it is a disappointment, huh! Despite the prank played by Miller, the followers of him wanted to continue with the belief that the world was going to end soon. The D-day was rescheduled from Oct 22, 1844 to 'any time soon'. Thus the Millerite movement paved way for the Adventist churches especially the 7th Day Adventists. They expect the worst and are comfortable with that.
Most of us either adopt an optimistic approach or be prepared for the doomsday with a pessimistic approach, but rarely dare to live by accepting the unpredictability as it is. Everyone knows the disappointing fact that the next moment is not in our hands. However, we comfortably keep this fact aside and move on. Sometimes we resort to prediction methods like astrology and try to be in a comfort zone. We think it is not possible to live peacefully expecting some unexpected event every moment. The anxiety will guarantee our admission at nearby asylum.
However, the key to live life fully lies in understanding the unpredictability. It gives us the greatest opportunity to live each moment to the fullest extent. The thrill of life will evaporate when we bring future into existence and predict it. The unpredictability eliminates the entire future and promises only the current moment at hand. The logic is - if we enjoy the current moment to the maximum extent, the next moment is also going to be enjoyed so. Even death will also be enjoyed. The momentariness is the only truth in life!
