Up@dawn 2.0

Tuesday, August 30, 2016

A Pile of Ponderment (H3)

After class I was considering this Sagan quote "Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves." and if there was any kind of extraterrestrial life would they want to help us.

For them to think "how can we help these earthlings?" instead of "how can we use them?" They (or it) would have to be an altruistic life force. When thinking of the universe we are much more likely to imagine how we (humanity) can benefit from it than how we can serve the universe. This led me from what would make E.T.s benevolent to what makes us benevolent? I don’t mean the strategic type of "kindness" where good deeds are expected to be repaid in reputation or otherwise. I am talking about genuine generosity when the giver isn't giving for their own sake but for the sole benefit of the receiver. In the nurture versus nature debate I believe that pure loving, kindness is something that is nurtured. But who nurtured first? Who invented kindness? Who invented love? Which bring me to this quote

"Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get – only with what you are expecting to give – which is everything." ~Audrey Hepburn

Hepburn is famous not just for being an actress but also for her dedication to the years she spent as a goodwill ambassador with UNICEF. We know that it feels good to think of others more than ourselves. But we know this from our experiences and the experiences of others.

I guess my ramblings lead to these questions.

Is love natural or nurtured? If it is nurtured what inspired the first act of love?

I believe that there is a God of pure love and that naturally we oppose love. So, we must be trained in love to be able to act in love.

What do you believe?

2 comments:

  1. Some of what Maddi, Lydia, and I discussed on the 29th. Inspired by the Sagan quote above.
    Yes we need saving
    Americans are often so concerned with our own problems that we forget about the problems that exist outside of our country
    Whether or not the peripatetic is as effective as advertised.

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