Plato's conceptualization of "The Truth"

In Plato's conceptualization of 'The Truth,' a group of men have been shackled to a stone wall since infancy, unable to turn their heads due to the chains restricting them.  The only thing they can see is that which is in front of them.  Behind them is a stone walkway lighted by a fire, thereby projecting shadows of man and animal as they pass over the walkway.  'The Truth' is revealed when one of these men is released from his chains and lead into the light of day and the reality of everything which he has never seen before.  After his 'enlightenment,' if you will, he runs back to the entrance of the cave and yells to the men who he was shackled in the cave with since his birth, explaining all that he has seen and experienced.  He soon realizes that they cannot understand him.

Plato's conceptualization of 'The Truth' can be applied to aspects in my life in that, 'The Truth' is what is revealed after we have been released from the shackles of life that keep us from seeing all that which is reality.  These shackles could be taken in so many different ways, that, although I'm pretty sure it's impossible, I would run out of space on this post if I even attempted to tackle all of them.  One would be belief in God.  For example, say someone cannot come to grips with the concept of an all knowing, all seeing, all powerful, all EVERYTHING, being; he therefore chooses not to believe because he has no valid proof of there being a "God."  Now, lets say that this same man has a dream where he is sitting with God at a table, asking him how he knows he is real.  God shows him his family, friends, and the kingdom of heaven in this dream, and tells him that, as soon as he awakens, to open a bible and read the first verse on the page he opens the bible to, that the message will be clear.  The man awakens and opens a bible he never knew he had and the verse read: "'We are going to have a feast, a celebration, because this son of mine was dead and has come back to life' he was lost and is found.'  and they began to celebrate"(Luke 15:23-24).  From that day on, the man believed and saw things he had never seen before, for the kingdom of heaven was opened to his view.

The bible verse above is real, and was the bible verse I found in my bag during my senior retreat.  The story, although slightly different, is basically what happened to me.  Although I did not dream that God talked to me face to face, the night before we were allowed to go through our bags, I dreamt I was on a boat, and found a note on the seat of the boat.  The note read, "Tomorrow, a quote will change you."  I found that bible verse in my bag the next day and had to sit down because of it.  That is how Plato's could be applied to my life.

Tschüß!

Mortal or Immortal? That, is the question.

For centuries, immortality has been seen as being something only achieved in death.  In some ways immortality is a blessing, but in others it is a curse.  In the stories told of those who are immortal, there is a common theme.  This theme is pain.  Someone who is immortal feels all the pains that mortals feel, both emotional and physical.  If a mortal person is stabbed through the heart, they die; if an immortal person is stabbed through the heart, they would endure great pain and agony.  If  two mortals fall in love, they only have to endure the pain of losing that one person once; if an immortal person falls in love with a mortal, they have to endure the pain much much longer after their mortal love dies.  In the story "The Mortal Immortal" by Mary Shelley, the theme is pain.  The main character recalls how they fell in love with a mortal.  They describe the intense pain that they felt for the three hundred plus years that they have been alive.  The reasoning for the title "The Mortal Immortal," which in itself is a contradiction in terms, is that at the beginning of the story, the character describes how they recently found a grey hair but thinks nothing of it; however, as we near the end of the story, we find that the character is experiencing more and more traits of an aging mortal.

Tschüß!