Zoroastrianism ☯️

    February 1st.

    One month down, eleven more to go. Something tells me 2024 is going to be a year to remember. Whether it be on a global scale, or personal- we all should have something big in store. Ironically, as the saying goes, man makes plans- and God laughs. Regardless, failing to plan is planning to fail. Talk about a paradox. 

    I wish I had a dog. Honestly, having a four-legged best friend would probably be the most fun experience. Obviously, I’m aware of the massive amounts of work included with it. I’ve never owned a dog, however I have friends who do, and I’ve seen how much goes into it. I still think having a dog would be a blast. Being able to take them on walks, spend time, play, and just relax is something I can honestly say I would love. I never had a pet, even as a child. I was never given the luxury. I do not hold any ill-will over it. I believe that if I ever want to own one, then it is my responsibility to step up and make it happen. I will, in due time. For now, I just have to trust the process and move forward in life until the time is right. 

    Is that what life is truly all about? Simply trusting the process? Are we meant to simply walk on blind faith, and believe that there is something greater at work before us? I can’t help but feel like that too is another paradox. Trusting that all things will fall into place in due time, and going out to make them happen yourself. It’s a bit of a Yin & Yang experience. Two forces, constantly fighting against themselves, attempting to create some sort of balance. Take your time, hurry up. The choice is yours, don’t be late. A never-ending contradiction that drives me insane on most days. Should I simply sit around waiting, patiently, for everything to fall in my lap? Or should I go out there and grab it, seize every moment and squeeze the juice out of the fruit while it’s still ripe? Perhaps I’m overthinking it. Or perhaps, I’m on the right path. The constant back-and-forth is all-consuming, and exhausting to say the least. None the less, we march on forward, pushing thru the sands of time. The future waits for nobody, regardless of how hard you cry.

    Zoroastrianism is a fascinating subject. For those who are unaware, Zoroastrianism is a religious belief which essentially highlights the ongoing battle between good and evil. The never-ending circle of life, where both forces constantly battle for supremacy. The idea actually originates from Egyptian Priests, believe it or not. Thus, making it one of the oldest religious beliefs in the world. When you do a deep dive into it, you actually find that a lot of modern day religions stem from this once popular belief. The Egyptian priests would acknowledge the duality of man and life itself, paying homage to the forces of God vs. Evil. The never-ending battle was responsible for the life in which we currently find ourselves trapped within. And while we are here, we get to choose which side of the force we pay into with our own energy. Kinda sounds like Star Wars, doesn’t it? The Jedi vs. the Sith. Good vs. Evil. Day vs. Night. It’s one of the most popular and reoccurring themes which appears everywhere in today’s modern culture. Which is fascinating, seeing as this concept has been around for literally thousands upon thousands of years.

    It really puts your head into a pretzel, when you sit and think about it. Here were are, living in the year 2024 (accordingly), and we believe we are more advanced and intelligent than ever. We hold onto this notion that no human civilization has ever gotten as far and has learned as much as we have. Yet, when you sit back and look at the bigger picture, that thought process sort of crumbles away. In fact, I would argue that most of our thought processes and breakthroughs are simply the human race re-discovering truths we have once forgotten. Concepts and ideas, which were once shared by thousands, if not millions, of people worldwide. Then, slowly lost and defeated in the sands of time- only to be rediscovered again. Life truly is hilarious, when you think about it. A flat circle, one where everything simple repeats itself over and over again. Kind of like walking through the desert. They say that if you were to walk in the desert, because we all have a dominant leg, eventually, we would complete a full-circle and end up back to where we began. Step-by-step, slowly retracing our own footprints in the sand. What a curse.

    If Zoroastrianism is truly the origins of most modern religions and ideologies, it makes one kinda question the purpose of it all in the first place. The never-ending circle of life, constantly creating and consuming itself, over and over again. Which is basically where the Ouroboros comes into play. The snake, slowly devouring itself. The never-ending serpent, consuming itself. If this life truly is a battle between two forces- how do we rise above it? How do we, as a species, escape the never-ending path? How many times have we already ran thru this process, each time failing and reverting back to our original status? Perhaps we are meant to continue this cycle, over and over again, until we finally discover a way to break free from the madness. Break free from the constant struggle between life and death. There has to be more to the equation. Who created the snake? Who build the playground for it to devour itself? What can we do in order to break free from its never-ending cycle? All questions worth asking if we truly wish to understand what is truly going on.

    And that is the ultimate question, isn’t it? What is truly going on. What is the purpose of our lives, here on Earth? We are nothing more than dust in the wind, obsessed with knowing. Obsessed with observing ourselves. Obsessed with calculating, inventing, discovering (and re-discovering), over and over again. We continuously run in the same flat circle, time in and time out. We never truly get anywhere. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. Meet the new ideas, same as the old ideas. Meet the new regime, same as the old regime. It’s a never-ending cycle of pain and suffering, caused by our own device. At what point do we as a species, rise up and break free from the chains which has enslaved us to this rock? Are we doomed to live the same experience, over and over again? Are we just like Prometheus, the Greek god, who gave fire to man? Are we meant to be chained for the rest of eternity, have our liver eaten by an Eagle for the rest of time? Do we ever break free from the bonds in which God has cast us, or are we doomed to an eternity of suffering?

Forever is a mighty long time- Something I do not plan to be apart of.

                    Amen.