Pondering the Mind of God

Pondering the Mind of God

The terrorist attacks in Istanbul yesterday bring back memories of the Marriot bombing here in Jakarta earlier this year. It looks like terrorism will be a regular feature of our lives for a while.

With Dr Azahari still lurking somewhere out there in this vast archipelago of Indonesia, it is only a matter of time before the next incident happens again. This guy is determined and dangerous. But even if he is caught, I believe there are still many fresh recruits out there, waiting for their chance of "glory".

It is a sad time for humanity. But then again, this is not the worst of times yet; our generation has not experienced the pain and misery of a major war. We take most our luxuries for granted and we do not realise how fragile peace is. Throughout the history of mankind, peace is an aberration.

Empires rise and fall. The countries in this region are relatively young. There have been many such periods in history where states have risen, enjoyed a few generations of peace and prosperity and then disappeared into the dustbins of history. We don't even get to read about such "dull" episodes in our history books. Someday, countries like Malaysia and Indonesia might not be around anymore.

When we view our own lives against the vastness of space and the immensity of time, all our affairs seem so petty and trivial: the bitter quarrels we have with our loved ones, the pride and position we strive so hard for and the many lusts that lurk within our hearts. We can certainly do better than that.

Someday, even this Earth that seems so solid and permanent will no longer be around: our Sun will become a bloated red giant star, engulfing the entire Earth within its fiery core. Humanity as we know will come to an end.

What do we do then, faced with the smallness and helplessness of our situation? I suppose we can follow Billy Kwan's ( character from Christopher's Koch's Year of Living Dangerously) advice: don't worry too much about the larger picture, just add our light to the sum of light.

So, I'll try to blog everyday, help a fellow human being whenever I can, work selflessly and be grateful for the many simple joys that come my way. But most of all I'll be grateful to the Almighty for granting me this small fraction of space-time, this brief flicker of existence within the immensity of His creation-- to allow this soul to seek its Source and this thought to find its original Thinker.