"The whole life lies in the verb seeing". Teilhard de Chardin
"Has the world gone mad or is it me? All these small things, they gather around, they gather around me. Is it so very bad? I can't see"... Ben Howard, "small things"
If you watch (given you most likely don't like) the Patriots, which is actually pretty easy since they are usually playing all the way through January, without knowing anything about football, you still may know this: Tom Brady sees things that only a percent of a percent of football people see, never mind the general population.
Football is a game of course, but one that Americans spend a lot of time with. Its (my favorite) distraction, but a distraction nonetheless. A distraction in an age of increasing distractions, of course.
Steve Jobs didn't like distractions. We thank him for one of other favorite distractions, the Apple brand. When Jobs died of pancreatic cancer a few years ago, he had lived a remarkable life. A self-made billionaire, whose legacy will live on for a long time through the Apple brand.
But for what purpose? The general advancement of the human race for sure is perhaps the noblest. And it is a noble cause. From a theist viewpoint.
From a materialistic viewpoint, success and legacy could not logically be meaningful (as many have pointed out, if you start with no meaning (start of the universe and existence) and end with no meaning (sun death) there can be no meaning in between).
But, a different question is, does it matter? That may seem like an overlapping question, and it probably is, but it is also distinct. The iPhone matters to me, for sure. But does Steve Jobs' success (or anyones for that point) matter to me or someone (besides maybe one whom inherited apple's ceo or Jobs' real estate) else?
It seems impossible. The now very well documented (press, movie starring the have you seen my car dude?" dude) life of Jobs is one of enormous material and intellectual success. Again, i like my iPhone and its improved the qualify of life of many, and obviously there were many other intellectual contributions.
But, on a materialistic viewpoint, the whole existence of Steve Jobs has totally disintegrated into molecules drafting farther away from each other than Ashton Kutcher and his movie car. Jobs' (Our) civilization will be vanished from all record in a few billion years, the universe to soon (well, not really soon, but comparatively speaking) follow, with a final swoop swallowing up any trace of this man's great contributions to civilization. As the South African-now-Virginian Dave Matthews would tell you, "be drink and be merry, for tomorrow will die." That seems to be the only reasonable way to live.
But as brilliant as Jobs was, he seemed to make a bonehead move to not do that. Like a laymen like myself watching the Bills defenders lining up across from Brady, he couldn't see this very obvious thing. As de Chardin rightfully points out, it's all about the seeing -- which was really just a summation of much of Jesus' ministry.
It's not just the "small things that gather around." I mean, it is of course some of it. Nonsense like football, politics, jobs (small cap). We need to eat and sleep, sure. But it can't be at the cost of total vision.
And even if we can move past these small things that gather around, we still need to push them away for the right viewpoint. Advancing humanity is important. But it can't be at the cost of total vision. Another pats Super Bowl is important (seriously). But, it can't be at the cost of total vision. Raising mentally and emotionally healthy kids is (very) important. But, it can't be at the cost of total vision.
If the materialistic worldview is correct, successes should not be worth the work and suffering. Instead, we should all drink in our very limited time here, be merry, and manipulate as much as possible shredding our evolutionary guilt (sociopaths luckily don't have to deal with much of that). The smarter ones will continue to be the best manipulators, and they will continue to do the best, Darwinian speaking.
If the Theistic viewpoint is correct, then, similar to our materialistic friends, we must agree that successes should not be the focus.
If we are truly seeing then we must nod in logical agreement, one to another, worldview to worldview. That is of course, where materialists and Theists should part ways.
While it is our (Theists) explicit duty not to manipulate and lie, and take advantage of those which we can, as smartly deceivingly as we can, it is our explicit duty to be the hands of God. If we have the correct read (that is, most succinctly expressed in Jesus' ministry, but many parts found in other religions) the small things can gather around, but we will look past them. The things that this world is transiently and intermittently obsessed with, like changing winds. we will look past them too.
In order to comfort others and not ask for comfort back, to love others and not ask for love back; to see, and not expect others to see. And realize that many of them will most likely never see.
And perhaps the hardest of all, not be distracted by that.
