ESSAYS ON LIFE by Dan Kennedy © 2012 The Mysterious River of Life Life is like a huge, unstoppable river -- deep and gentle at first, moving in almost a non-perceptible motion, but ever pressing unrelentingly forward. All the souls of the world find themselves confined between its banks. As it flows, those so constrained may gleefully play in the warm and soothing water, calling to one another, splashing each other, fishing quietly, or lazily lying back and drifting to who knows where, under the glowing sun on bright summer days. Sometimes the water passes through murky, polluted discharges, foul with debris and waste, which poison unsuspecting voyagers with virulent sicknesses. Sometimes dark, cold rain clouds cause the drifting masses to huddle together for warmth and protection. Sometimes the unprepared are bombarded with the hell of war, famine and hideous atrocities. No matter through what circumstances of joy or despair affecting those so destined to be upon this amazing earth, the giant river of life continues to flow. It keeps pressing on, until it becomes more aggressively possessive in its undertow; rushing more determinedly toward its final surge; and, then in a giant rainbow cascade, with frightening speed and violent turbulence, it thrusts all humankind, in unique individual completeness, over its brilliant but terrifying waterfall...into eternity!  In Control We live in a world, free-fall in space. Flung into perpetual motion by unseen hands. A massive, rotating sphere of fire, ice and vegetation kept on a precision course with an incomprehensible guidance system. Floating...rushing through eternity, to eternity. Turning, spinning, but somehow never out of control - not for one nanosecond. We appear on this world’s surface. We do not know where we came from or how we got there. We build tiny shelters on this mass, huddle beneath their flimsy structure and say that we are safe. We walk along the spherical edge of the earth and peer around us; we fly from one point to another, hovering or scurrying like little ants in agents of travel, on top, or just above the earth’s massive crust. We connect with each other endlessly on complicated wireless cutting-edge machines – unfortunately riddled, at times, with bugs, software complications and malicious hackers. We puff out our chest and declare that we are in control. We all nod our heads to those around us and confidently affirm, “Yes, we know everything we need to know. We are exponentially gaining knowledge. We have no need of anybody. We are in control!” A friend who had nodded enthusiastically with us falls, mysteriously, and without any power to stop it, having been released from the spirit of life, to never breathe again. Over and over throughout the years, the powerful, the brilliant, the noble, the rich, the talented, the poor, the beggar, and the unexceptional - everyone, without exception, on the crust of this world, one by one frailly and mysteriously falls down to his or her own death, never again to awaken in this life. We tremble with the tremendous sadness of death, recall the best we can remember of their life, and sadly bury the hollow house of their bodies in the ground, scatter their ashes to the wind, or commit their remains to the sea. Then we feebly look at each other to gather strength, and, as those who are left, nod reaffirmingly yet once again to each other, “Yes, we are in control!” Our breath stops. Our spirit is brought before the Living God who placed us on this awesome planet. We must give an account to Him. There is a way that might seem right...but its end is death.

ESSAYS ON LIFE

by Dan Kennedy

The Mysterious River of Life

Life is like a huge, unstoppable river -- deep and gentle at first, moving in almost a non-perceptible motion, but ever pressing unrelentingly forward. All the souls of the world find themselves confined between its banks.

As it flows, those so constrained may gleefully play in the warm and soothing water, calling to one another, splashing each other, fishing quietly, or lazily lying back and drifting to who knows where, under the glowing sun on bright summer days.

Sometimes the water passes through murky, polluted discharges, foul with debris and waste, which poison unsuspecting voyagers with virulent sicknesses.

Sometimes dark, cold rain clouds cause the drifting masses to huddle together for warmth and protection. Sometimes the unprepared are bombarded with the hell of war, famine and hideous atrocities.

No matter through what circumstances of joy or despair affecting those so destined to be upon this amazing earth, the giant river of life continues to flow.

It keeps pressing on, until it becomes more aggressively possessive in its undertow; rushing more determinedly toward its final surge; and, then in a giant rainbow cascade, with frightening speed and violent turbulence, it thrusts all humankind, in unique individual completeness, over its brilliant but terrifying waterfall...into eternity!



In Control

We live in a world, free-fall in space. Flung into perpetual motion by unseen hands. A massive, rotating sphere of fire, ice and vegetation kept on a precision course with an incomprehensible guidance system.

Floating...rushing through eternity, to eternity. Turning, spinning, but somehow never out of control - not for one nanosecond.

We appear on this world’s surface. We do not know where we came from or how we got there. We build tiny shelters on this mass, huddle beneath their flimsy structure and say that we are safe. We walk along the spherical edge of the earth and peer around us; we fly from one point to another, hovering or scurrying like little ants in agents of travel, on top, or just above the earth’s massive crust.

We connect with each other endlessly on complicated wireless cutting-edge machines – unfortunately riddled, at times, with bugs, software complications and malicious hackers.

We puff out our chest and declare that we are in control. We all nod our heads to those around us and confidently affirm, “Yes, we know everything we need to know. We are exponentially gaining knowledge. We have no need of anybody. We are in control!”

A friend who had nodded enthusiastically with us falls, mysteriously, and without any power to stop it, having been released from the spirit of life, to never breathe again. Over and over throughout the years, the powerful, the brilliant, the noble, the rich, the talented, the poor, the beggar, and the unexceptional - everyone, without exception, on the crust of this world, one by one frailly and mysteriously falls down to his or her own death, never again to awaken in this life. We tremble with the tremendous sadness of death, recall the best we can remember of their life, and sadly bury the hollow house of their bodies in the ground, scatter their ashes to the wind, or commit their remains to the sea. Then we feebly look at each other to gather strength, and, as those who are left, nod reaffirmingly yet once again to each other, “Yes, we are in control!”

Our breath stops. Our spirit is brought before the Living God who placed us on this awesome planet. We must give an account to Him.

There is a way that might seem right...but its end is death.