From: utzoo!decvax!harpo!esquire!cmcl2!philabs!sdcsvax!laman
Newsgroups: net.women
Title: Re: 10th anniversary
Article-I.D.: sdcsvax.92
Posted: Sat Jan 29 02:51:07 1983
Received: Tue Feb  1 01:48:24 1983
References: amd70.1337 sdcsvax.84 houxo.142

Now that I'm in this up to my nose, ....

To discuss this with any hope of meaningful communication between each other,
we should know what each other's (relevant) basic beliefs are.
The last thing I (we) want is a discussion where everyone is talking on
different levels.  As I'm sure many of y'all know, this topic quickly boils down
to a person's basic beliefs.

My principal belief is in life.  Everything else is secondary.  Yes even my
career; even though I am nearing completion of my masters degree.  When
I am in my later years and looking back on life, I'll be proud of my achievements,
but I know that there are more important things in life.  My programs will
slowly fad away in time (assuming they hadn't done so already).  So what
will be the most important thing?  Not my programs, degrees, or jobs.  Time
will come soon enough when "Mike Laman" will be forgotten along with the other
BILLIONS of men and women that have lived, worked, struggled, achieved,
contemplated, and died before me on this earth.  Think about that : BILLIONS
of people have lived before us.  They have had the same hopes and dreams as
we have.  Look where those people are now.  *Gone*.
Sure many people have made contributions to mankind's
knowledge.  (I personally believe that it is a relatively small number).
But is this all that remains of all of the people who have walked on this
earth before us?  I do not believe it is.  There is something else.
What about all the other people that exist with you now.  They live and breath
just as you do.  We have descended from so many people before us.  And
it is here where I believe the answer is.  I'm smart enough to know that
all the articles I make, all the programs I write, all the buildings I
build, ... will disappear with time.  You will read this, hopefully
think about it (maybe even reply), and go on to the next article.  But
my words and thought have touched you.  Who knows maybe even influenced
or changed you.  And it is here where all people make their strongest
impression on this earth.  All the materialistic things will disappear as
time goes on.  But you have touched something that goes on for all mankind.
You have touched someone.  It is here where we think back (at least I do).
How have I treated others?  It is here where I believe we take true account
of ourselves.  To me, that is what really matters.  Not the things I've
made or the dreams I've dreamt, but the people I've helped, and more
sharply in my mind, the people I've hurt.

At this day and age, man has accumulated a LARGE amount of knowledge.  But
how is it used?  We scrutinize everything.  Take for example, the development
of the zygote.  We have separated its development into different stages.
Now we sit around and try to convince ourselves when it is human enough to
pass OUR OWN criteria.  In our attempt to try and determine when WE think
life begins, we seem to lose our grasp of the meaning of "life" itself.
You can't see it under a microscope.  You won't see it on a million
slides.  Look in your heart.  That is where you will see life.
You see life in the person you've held, the person you've yelled at, the
person you've ignored.  What really makes it difficult, is you haven't done
any of those things with the unborn baby.  If you somehow could, I believe
you would be convinced that it is alive.  Unfortunately, it is far too easy to
alienate ourselves from something we haven't gotten attached to emotionally
(it's already attached physically).

					Mike Laman
					sdcsvax!laman