Cherry Blossom

The Origin of Death

I want to share my thoughts and meditation about life in general and how we came to exists. But I will start my thoughts on "Why there's death and suffering?"

What is your view about death? Where it all began? Is it fearful to die? Is there a way to escape?

These are just some common questions that comes to mind.

I'm a Christian and I encourage you to examine the biblical perspective on this topic. Lets go back to the book of Genesis and see what the LORD God said and warned the first man and woman. Note: For the origin of life - see creation story.

Genesis 2:16-17 "And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

I will emphasize the finality of judgement.

"...YOU SHALL SURELY DIE."

Here the word "die" comes to our history.

The story in the garden ended in the expulsion of Adam and Eve out of the blissful life - it's a "heaven on earth" experience if you call it that way. At first glance, it seems a simple mistake - disobedience - “eating the forbidden fruit” via temptation.

But the bible tells us that GOD is Holy and in this His justice and judgement comes forth.

Here, recorded in Genesis the first sin of the first man and woman. Death curse comes not only to mankind but to the whole creation. The gravity of death means both physical (life - mortal) and spiritual (afterlife - immortal).

GOD judgement was swift and final.

Genesis 3:24: "After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life."

Why the LORD secured the Garden of Eden after the fall of man? Why He stripped man of all rights and privileges in the garden?

See last section of the verse, Genesis 3:24 …to guard the way to the tree of life.

If we can speculate for a second, Before God pronounce his judgement - what if Adam & Eve runs to the tree of life and pick a fruit and ate it - the curse will be reverse as if like a super kind of medicine - to healed them back to their former perfect living state - devoid of knowing good & evil.

We all like to reason and speculate - after all we possessed the knowledge (good and evil) . For however we try - All our actions to be good all fall short to the measure of GOD standard - all are in absolute futility.

Observe the world around us. Is it going all well? See your family, friends and neighbors. Are we all like living in the garden? Nope! So, we all like just Adam and Eve living outside the garden of GOD.

The result and manifestations of the death curse.

Our physical body deteriorates - we aged - prone to all kinds of diseases, accidents, misfortunes, sorrow, sadness - all because we’re defiled by sin - thus we become mortal, weak - feeble-minded at times. We are totally depraved.

In wider view - our world is chaotic - wars and destruction, disasters, political instability, strife and divisions in all forms -- endless list of self destruction -- all leads to death.

Whether we like it or not, all of us live with a "death sentence" on our heads - like a "Sword of Damocles" - and it comes in all stages of life regardless of our socioeconomic status, prestige and power.

We all inherited the "death curse" - GOD first judgment to man.

Is there a way out?

Tulips Variety

Reference: https://www.homestratosphere.com/types-of-tulips

Tulips and Dandelions

Tulips, one of the most beautiful flower in the world
You are my spring beauty among the many
You comes in a variety of colors, shapes and shades
But you - Golden Apeldoorn - a spring crush that blush
You bloom and bares stunningly long legged statuesque beauty for all to see

You wakes up in the morning
Your gorgeous yellow petals still drench in dew carefully watching the sunrise
By mid day till sunsets, you reign and sway the breeze of spring in all splendor
Hardly no one ignores your charming coolness for your beauty is simple yet wonderful

I am mesmerized by your cycle of hibernation, waking, blooming, enjoying the limelight for a while then fades away

Then comes the Dandelions, like an unwanted creeping friend I hardly notice
If not by your vibrant yellow flowers - you will not caught my fancy
You are so distinctly beautiful to see in a distance
Blanketing the greens and grassland as if you don't care

You are like a flood uncontrollable, pesky and sturdy
Still a beauty that blooms in springtime - doing your duty
You plays like a prodigal flower for you need not a gardener nor a florist

What are you? A vegetable, a flower or a weed?

You fade into a puffery looking ghost and spread your offsprings into the winds and utter the saying "come what may"
But surely you thrive even to the cracks of the earth and the inhabitable crevices - a normal flower don't dare visiting
You are a survivor my friend

You still deserve a praise from me though Odeth says you are a weed invading her lawn and privacy

You two beauties are all part of God's creation with purpose and meaning to life
Your colors, character and existence are evidences that the real beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

The World as known to the Hebrews

Reference:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashkenaz
http://www.ashkenaz.ca/

Scenic Vista

Panoramic Vista

Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor

Reference:
https://globalnews.ca/news/5253213/meghan-markle-prince-harry-babys-name/

The Modern Bristish Royalty

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex named their first born child - a son - 7th in line to the British royal throne.

Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor



Reference:
https://globalnews.ca/news/5253213/meghan-markle-prince-harry-babys-name/

When Life Gets Tough

Humans have some sort of way out (therapy) when life get tough and rough. It's a cycle of hurt and heal, learn and adopt process - other escapes for time being - positively to say.

We don't like troubles and hates problems even small ones that sometimes takes only a simple "Yes or No" answer or the dreaded "I'm sorry" line to restore peace and tranquility.

But as we knew it, life is not simple. If we examine closely, it seems the root of our troubles is by and large psychological - it's a mind thing (secular) and it boils down to our core values and beliefs.

Inescapable common life scenarios that have long lasting effect.
- Disagreement with parents, siblings, relatives, friends and neighbors for various reasons
- Quitting school for various reasons - can also be argued in a positive way of finishing school for many good reasons
- Smoking (tantamount of burning money) - can also be argued in positive way of saving money for good reasons
- Drinking alcoholic beverages excessively (state of drunken stupor) - embarrassing yourself of throwing up, passing out and even making ugly scenes
- Gambling and drugs- many lives and families have been wasted on these vices.
- Relationships - Broad and complicated - deals with culture, status, affirmation, acceptance, love, confidence, patience, honesty, integrity, loyalty, honor, respect, etc.
- Faith and Religion - Complex and the most misunderstood aspect of life - deals with morality, values, philosophy, history, science, spirituality and theology (GOD)

The bad thing is - we make bad choices. Sound a double negative but yea "bad" exists and we have to deal with it.

Looking into these sample subsets of life scenarios, will keep you thinking.

– What am I doing here? - How I will navigate and survive life with less troubles? Is it realistic? - Are material prosperity and life success my ultimate joy?

If you are a reader and thinker type individual, you might have come across these self-guide books and manuals on all spectrum of life.

- The Art of War (Sun Tzu)
- The Power of Positive Thinking (Norman Vincent Peale)
- The Law of Attraction - (Rhonda Byrne)
- 48 Laws of Power (Robert Greene)
- 12 Rules for life (Jordan Peterson)

You might have heard also of Dan Peña - The 50 Billion Dollar Man or Warren Buffet.

Is that kind of life you are aiming for?

But there's one book that really stood the test of time - The Bible.

It doesn't teach you though to be rich and powerful but It answers the fundamental and ultimate questions of life.

1. Why you are here?
2. Where did you come from?
3. What is your future?
4. Is there life after death?
5. Why there is evil in the world?
6. Does God exists?

I encourage you to read the Bible for our choices whether good or bad lead us to our future - ultimately determines our destiny.

Map of Matrimony

George Skaife Beeching’s Map of Matrimony, ca. 1880
https://publicdomainreview.org/collections/allegorical-maps-of-love-courtship-and-matrimony/

Deposition from the Cross

ITALY - MAY 20: Florence, Galleria Dell'Accademia (Art Museum) Deposition from the Cross, detail from the Altarpiece of the Annunciation, 1503-1507, by Filippino Lippi (1457-1504) and Pietro Vannucci, known as Perugino (ca 1480-1523), tempera on wood, 334x225 cm. (Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images)

The Deadliest Poison

My seven-year-old son Nemi asked me what is the world deadliest poison?

I was taken aback by his question as this is a mature topic. I said I’m not sure but maybe the deadliest toxins are from snakes - viper, king cobra and the black mamba. He later told me that he had read about Komodo dragon in Indonesia and that their saliva contains deadly poison. I thought he was referring to the bacteria but to my surprised upon research – yes! these giant lizards secretes different toxic proteins.

Though I told him most likely the deadliest poison is something invented by humans – perhaps by a mad scientist.

The next day, once more by whim he brought up the “deadliest poison” topic and again, I said to him – no, it cannot be a Komodo dragon as venomous snakes are much lethal – king cobra single bite can kill within 30 minutes if left untreated.

Then he concurred – it must be an invention of humans when he recalled on my “mad scientist” argument – he apparently read something about mad scientist. That settled our debate.

Then it got me curious – what is really the deadliest poison in the world?

Google it and the top three – Ricin, Botulinum and Polonium.

1. Ricin is a deadly poison extracted from castor beans.
2. Botulinum is produced by Clostridium botulinum bacteria.
READ THIS: A tiny amount of the same toxin is found in Botox, which freezes muscles into place to minimize wrinkles.

3. Polonium a heavy radioactive element discovered in 1898 by Marie and Pierre Curie.

But the Bible also teaches that man possesses a different kind of deadly poison. What! How?

James 3:8 - But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.

Many years back, I recalled a preaching on this verse – the preacher said the human tongue is so deadly that it can do damage even from a far away distance. The ill words, lies, cursing, propaganda, broken promises, etc. are so destructive – it can target people across the globe and hurt them painfully, slowly – some comes very quickly and wipes the smile out of your face in a snap - then a war zone.

The tongue is the oldest effective weapon known to man - it can erupts and spews without warning. It can travel in all mediums of communication unabated and can reach its target regardless of time and season. It can even hibernates for generations then wakes up again and sounds like new - full of deadly poison.

If use for good - it produces the best of man but if use wrongly – it will produced the worst of man.

Nemi was stunned when he heard it's the tongue the deadliest poison of all.

Walking Through The Fog

I was walking my kid (Nemi) to school this morning and we both observed the foggy environment around us. Nemi asked me why the clouds are down here close to the ground and not up there in the sky? So I go through explaining the science of the fog - water vapor in the air in a suspended animation due to the absence of heat (sun). I hope I am right this general assumptions that lower temperature and water buildup in the air caused the fog - just like when you open up the fridge door - you get this soft puff of whitish air in your face.

I enjoyed this walking experienced with my son to school because we talked things and mostly his curiosity just about everything - nature, people, behavior, feelings, etc.

On my way back home, I contemplated our conversation about the fog. The fog in a distance is fuzziness - it obscure your vision and limits your visibility in farther distance - all directions. But I realized this is much like relativity observation as I can see clear picture of all 100 meters around me in the midst of the fog.

In life experiences, we always speculate and sometimes out of own prejudices - we make conclusions even though we are not sure about the situation of what happened. We are fearful and sometime fearless when making decisions but until we experience the totally of the situation and in the midst of it - we can emphatically say - this is how it look like - this is how it feels like - this is the real thing.

But this is the science of life - observable, real life experience. There's also another aspect of life called "Faith" - believing on something good that you do not see but you are hoping for it - Faith through the Fog.