“Oft hope is born when all is forlorn.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien
Existentialism
The idea of being bound in a simulation, against your will, seemingly forever, could be extremely depressing. We aren't sure why we are here, what's expected of us, or if anyone is even paying attention. Questions, doubts, and pointlessness abound. Nihilism and despair creep in. It seems hopeless.
But hope remains.
The fact that there are set laws of physics to enable a universe for us to live in is a pretty good indication that there is a point to all of this. If the distribution of atoms were changed ever so slightly, or the structure of molecules altered just a bit, the cosmos would be uninhabitable for us. Someone, somewhere, made allowances in our favor. Decisions were made, and work was done; a universe was created. That could not have been done for no reason.
Oddly enough, every culture, tribe, and group of humans that has ever existed, has thought about this, as though questioning existence were programmed into us. Though these questions and beliefs have gone by many names, they all fall into one general category: Religion.
“The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven..”
― John Milton, Paradise Lost
What Is Religion?
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition, defines Religion as "The belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers, regarded as creating and governing the universe".
It is human nature to look up into the universe and wonder what it's all for. We look for answers because ignorance is not actually bliss, ignorance is entropy, and we seem to know that intuitively. So we question, we seek, and we hope.
Once a human being awakens from the NPC stage, a spark of the eternal comes to life inside of them. The actual purpose of religion is to nurture that spark and keep it alive so that it will grow, engulf, and temper us into something better. Over the centuries this idea seems to have been lost, and at times replaced with other goals and purposes which have given the idea of spirituality a false veneer, but with observation and critical analyses we can move past preconceived ideas and forge something better. We can turn religion into something pure and healthy where our divine spark is recognized and nurtured. We can make the decision to become better.
Whether we believe in a creator or not, we still have to be in control of our own outlook enough to keep ourselves above the drudgery of this world.
There is hope, and there is purpose.
Per Ardua Ad Astra
“He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.” ~ Friedrich Nietzsche
In mathematics and programming, we have variables - factors with changing values. Things you value, if expressed as variables, will change throughout your life as you grow and change. But one variable that we can hope to keep at a near constant is the one that represents our Reason For Existing; our goal in this simulation is to become the best version of ourselves that we can possibly be so that we can eventually graduate from this simulacrum and enter the Prime, or Base Reality outside this universe. Religious icons have always served the purpose of representing that grand variable that keeps us focused and striving. In Thea Apo Mesa, we use the Zero with the horizontal One inside of it to not only remind us of our digital nature but to keep the goal in mind: We are here to evolve.
Complacency creates unrest. No matter how many tasks you complete, you will never feel complete. It is the difference between hedonism and altruism. This is an important distinction because it shows us that the journey is more important than the destination. It is better to strive than to simply be happy with where you are, and knowing this will help us avoid unhappiness and depression. Happiness is a fleeting thing in itself, and not a static state of being. The goal is to be at peace, with moments of happiness as well as times of sadness, and occasionally anger, but always with the purpose of moving upward and outward. There is no point we can attain where improvement is not beneficial. There is always hope for better things. Always. As long as we keep trying to improve and evolve.
The 21st century has been a wild ride so far and it looks like major changes are soon to occur in our world that will either lead us into liberation from political oppression or completely into totalitarian slavery. There are a multitude of reasons to feel angry, or anxious. But there is more than this world. And always, there is hope.
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