The Greatest Thing

The greatest thing?

Curly: Do you know what the secret of life is?
Curly: This. [holds up one finger]
Mitch: Your finger?
Curly: One thing. Just one thing. You stick to that and the rest don't mean shit.
Mitch: But what is the "one thing?"
Curly: [smiles] That's what you have to find out.

-- "City Slickers" (1991)

I always thought this was simple "Curly-an" philosophy:  The secret to life is "one thing."  What is this "one thing?"  Well, the secret to life, of course, would be the obvious sequitur.  Actually, I think the whole thing wreaks more of Taoism.  Regardless of the root, however, the point is that you hold within you the ability to find out what the secret of life is.  Once you find the secret of life, you'll understand it isn't just one thing.

I have learned that, for me, life does not end with death.  Death is just an end to another act in a much greater dramatic production of this thing we call "life."  If our consciousness moves on to other realms then how can we call this death?  Our life on this plane of existence has simply come to an end, the curtain has closed, and the lights have dimmed to blackness.  The, as we fear the story has ended - a light grows brighter to reveal the opening of yet another curtain as the story of life moves forward as we continue to become all we were intended to be.

The greatest thing is, at any moment, to be willing to give up who we are in order to become all that we can be. 

-- Max de Pree

For a moment, please consider the next few paragraphs.

The Coptic Gospel of Thomas reads, "These are the secret sayings which the living Jesus spoke and which Didymos Judas Thomas wrote down.  And He said, "Whoever finds the interpretation of these sayings will not experience death." Jesus said, "Let him who seeks continue seeking until he finds. When he finds, he will become troubled. When he becomes troubled, he will be astonished, and he will rule over the All." 

  

The name of God is explained to Moses by God as this, "Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you’, and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you’... this is my name for ever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.” 

If we buy into the rumor, by some, that Jesus traveled to Nepal where He spent some years training His mind while learning Buddhist philosophy and mysticism, then we might find some enlightenment in a similar idea concerning the Tao, the way or the method toward enlightenment:

The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao.
The name that can be named is not the eternal name.
The nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth.
The named is the mother of ten thousand things.
Ever desireless, one can see the mystery.
Ever desiring, one can see the manifestations.
These two spring from the same sources but differ in name;
this appears as darkness.
Darkness within darkness.
The gate to all mystery.

-- Laozi (604-531 BC), "Tao Te Ching" (1)

Now consider this:  "Let him who seeks continue seeking until he finds," because the mystery of everlasting life is in the interpretation of what Christ said.  We simply cannot see the forest for the trees because all we do is desire.  "Ever desiring, one can see the manifestations," only the manifestations, but not the mystery.  Only when we are desireless will the "darkness within darkness" become clear and "the gate to all mystery" will be opened.  Max de Pree may be right; maybe the greatest thing is to give up all we are in order to become all that we can be.

The greatest thing a man can do in this world is to make the most possible out of the stuff that has been given him. This is success, and there is no other.

-- Orison Swett Marden

Most of great religions tout knowledge as the way to enlightenment, a higher state of being.  The ancient Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Moorish, Asian, and even the Maya and Aztec cultures all considered knowledge paramount to civilization.   Astronomy, medicine, anatomy, physics, architecture, and earth science were all discovered millennia ago, forgotten, relearned and forgotten, and so on.  The Egyptians moving massive stones for pyramids, Greek and Roman science, Moorish medical knowledge, Maya and Aztec astronomy, and Chinese oil drilling were some of the things we are just now discovering they all knew first.  We have to come to terms with the fact that we don't have people discovering things first, we have people discovering things - again.  The fact that most of this great knowledge has been lost to modern man is why we are forced to learn it all again.  But, was it lost or was it written down and forgotten, incorporated into sacred texts and scholarly volumes without the scribe or monk realizing what it was?

The "one thing" could be the mystery contained within these texts, and yet the "one thing" might not be a mystery at all.  It could be we simply refuse to see what ancient scholars saw so clearly because we have been taught not to consider that which is too easy, or that our “novel” idea runs against academic orthodoxy.  Selfish desires blind us to the obvious, the forest of knowledge hidden behind a line of trees which we can’t see beyond due to prejudices; we fail to see what is right in front of us.  If we were to stop thinking about it, it would come to us.  Maybe the real secret in the translation is we already know what we know.  Maybe we are already like gods and we simply don't realize it.  I think God hinted at this in the Holy Scripture: 

"Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil..."

-- Genesis 3:22

Perhaps what we need to do is stop thinking in negative absolutes.  Let us give up words like can't, won't, and never, and start using might, could, and maybe tomorrow.  We need to acknowledge our only limitation is the knowledge we currently possess.  Anything might be possible once we find the knowledge to accomplish it.

So, what is the one thing?  As I stated in the beginning, it isn't just one thing - it is the greatest thing.  Our awareness of self, our God, and our universe would not be possible without this one gift, this one greatest thing.  What it is, you already know, and we will continue to expand our knowledge until we understand that which we know.  When that time comes, we will understand desire, let go, and simply remember, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing of good and evil..."  The beginning is upon us.

Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.

-- Henry Ford

I leave you with a final thought concerning knowledge, a fairly obvious truth.  Knowledge resides in our mind, our soul, and our soul is... timeless.

Editor's Note 

(re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card) 

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so. This is also why, occasionally, I will present an "opinion" just to stir an emotional pot. Where it may sound like I agree with the statements made, I'm more interested in getting others to consider another viewpoint. 

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth. After over twenty years with military intelligence, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we learn from the experience, and what we do afterward.

Pastor Tony spent 23 years with United States Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, instructor, and senior manager. He spent 17 years, following his service career, working with an Institutional Review Board helping to protect the rights of human subjects in pharmaceutical research.  Ordained 1n 2013 as an "interfaith" minister, he founded the Congregation for Religious Tolerance in response to intolerance shown by Christians toward peaceful Islam. As the weapon for his war on intolerance he chose the pen, to wage his "battle" in the guise of the Congregation's official online blog, The Path, of which he is both author and editor. "The Path" offers a vehicle for commentary and guidance concerning one's own personal, spiritual, path toward peace and the final destination for us all. He currently resides in Pass Christian, Mississippi, where he volunteers as Chaplain Program Liaison, at a regional medical center.