Left to my own devices

Actor Heath Ledger passed away eleven years ago this past Tuesday. I was reminded of this, and the impact of the movie  Brokeback Mountain , by an article from Attitude magazine. In truth, I'd forgotten just how powerful of a viewing experience it was, seeing that film for the first time. Brokeback Mountain , the story of two male ranch hands who fall in love during the early 1960s, was released in cinemas in late 2005. It was based on a short story by Annie Proulx. I read the story before watching the movie, and it didn't lessen the film's impact one bit. Brokeback Mountain wasn't playing near us yet, and we were anxious to see it. So, Ashley & I joined our friends Kevin and Brandon on a sojourn to Chicago in early 2006. There, in one of those movie-going experiences I'll likely always remember, we sat in the darkness of the theater and took-in the images on the screen. Images of heartache, shame, and of love.

I was struck by a passage from a recent online post by Jerry Coyne, wherein he discusses religion, evolution, God, and finding meaning in life (among other things). The passage in question is as follows: "As for the 'ultimate' meaning, well, that's a notion that's intimately connected God, and so the questions answers itself - and wrong. With no evidence of a God, there's no use asking for an ultimate meaning and purpose. All we can do is answer that for ourselves but not for others." It is the last sentence that resonated with me so deeply. Indeed, one of the aspects of religiosity that has concerned me is when people will talk about "meaning" or "purpose." When broached in the context of God, what one really refers to is destiny . We are, I believe, capable of having purpose and meaning without the existence of a god-life entity, and it is up to us as individuals to discover and work on what that is.