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Ramiro Benavides

Teacher - AP Calculus, Universidad Central del Ecuador

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Do you think that there is a revelation for everyone, a sort of a guideline for (re)designing our lives?

Sometimes, individuals feel that they need some kind of guidelines for continuing with their lives. Several reasons establish an stagnation-like way of living. Maybe you and I were in this situation in any time. It were hard to find a person who really understands our feelings and thoughts about a certain matter. So, we were forced to take crucial decisions by ourselves. But, in some cases, we realized that decisions taken this way were not the ones we should take. Then, we ask to ourselves: "Could we get some kind of revelation in order to feel we are doing 'the right thing' from now on?" What is the nature of this source of revelation? Can we trust this source of revelation? How can we be sure of the value and scope of revelations given? Are revelations only possible inside a theological framework?

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Topics: advice better life crossroads decision making revelation trascendental
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  • andrew jones

    • +1
    Aug 2 2012: Yes, I think ( or more accurately, feel ) that there are revelations for everyone. I think a part of these revelations is that they are time or event sensative. In other words, the revelation will only come after a certain highly stressfull experience has occurred. What that event is can be unique to each of us, or things we all have in common.
    Examples of things in common include the births or deaths of close relatives and friends. Such massive changes can occur to our lives when these events happen that there is a revelation we feel - a certain knowledge that our own lives are forever altered. All our habits and routines can become irrelevant in an instant - like when a house burns down. And then there's that bone-chilling revelation that, yes, we are just as mortal as everybody else.
    Theology does not cause these events, but can help us get through them by showing us the common nature of what to an individual can seem overwhelming, and offering role models and coping strategies that have worked in the past.
    All our ancesors were smart people - and they wrote down their most valuable insights on how to live and stay sane through such experiences. The revelation is that we can get back to feeling good after tragedies.
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      Ramiro Benavides

      • +1
      Aug 2 2012: I think you have got the spirit of this debate. Your classification in event or time sensitive revelations is very useful. Besides, you show us when an individual faces a near-to-revelation scenario. In my case, I'm feeling right now the need for taking the best decision about a problem, in which two groups of people are involved. One of these groups will be affected more than the other. So, I think I'm entering the fuzzy space of a near-to-revelation scenario, where moral constraints will, paradoxically, determine that one of these groups will loose less than the other, at least in the short term. But, when I'm tying to see what will happen in a larger term, I feel that the group which looses less at a short term may be the one which will loose more in the large term. So, I think I need a kind of revelation, because I feel I'm not able to take the best decision with all the information I have and all the resources I could invest in the solution of this problem. Thanks, Andrew, for your sound insights.

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