Life, Death... What is this Shtuss?

What is the meaning of all of this business we call life? And what's the deal with death? Do our lives have meaning? If so, how do we find it? Where do we find it? If there's no meaning in our lives... what do we do? Are we being judged for what we do? Are we accountable for anything we do? In which world does it matter- this world or the next? Both? Why do good things happen to bad people? And how can bad things happen to good people, too? How does that make sense! Is life cyclical? Is there anything new under the sun? What makes man different than animal- are we different than animal? So many questions!

 Great questions. Questions we should be asking ourselves at this point in our lives. And yet... how many of you guys feel like you have solid answers yet? Sure, we're not done with the book yet, so there's still hope. But do you really think that you'll have a concrete answer to these questions when you come out of the class? I certainly don't. I think one of the wonderful things about this class is that we're having open discussions about all these ideas. We're thinking about these issues from many perspectives. We're looking at the different debates and having debates of our own. This is exactly what should be happening. If an answer comes out, great. If not, no matter. I guess what I just wrote is pretty reminiscent of the YE. We can't always be obsessed with answers that we can't find, just like we can't be obsessed with perfection when we are limited and imperfect beings. Anyways, just something to consider. Now.. Rav Calvin time. 

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For those of you who aren't familiar with Calvin and Hobbes, I'm going to have to ask you to read the whole story involving the raccoon. It's really one of the most emotional of the stories. Good stuff. Click here to see the whole series of strips. These two are taken from the very end. (Spoiler alerts ahead!) Calvin is struggling to find the meaning of life. After he invested so much in the raccoon only to have it die, he realized how fragile life is and how powerless we are in the whole scheme of things. 

You know what, guys? I can't figure out this death stuff either! Why do innocent people die early? People have this questions when struggling to accept why God would have let the holocaust happen. What do you guys say about this 'death stuff'? 

Death is a natural part of life. As much as I hate to admit it, I guess I'm going to die too. Though I don't think so. "We don't really understand it, but there are many things we don't understand, and we just have to do the best we can with the knowledge we have." Wise words from Calvin's mom. Kind've reminds me of the YE. What do you guys think? Do you buy this? Or it's not your cup of tea? 

Personally, this is how I like to think about life. This is  the last strip of C&H . Quite fitting. It's a magical world... Full of possibilities. This strip makes me happy. And you know what? After killing our brains with all these philosophical questions, I think it's important to take a step back at the end and say- I don't have all the answers, but the world sure is a magical place. And that's neat. Thoughts? Great or great? What do you think of fresh starts?