It’s been a tough couple of days. I feel adrift which is an odd feeling for me as I usually stay “my version” of focused. I don’t believe that positive words or statements solve problems, although they may bring a needed momentary distraction. A motivational speaker would hang himself in frustration trying to “lift me up”.

I am a fixer; identify said problem, create solution and then work the problem. But not today. I’m a bit farther down the rabbit hole than usual. I have too many questions that I can’t quite answer and that brings frustration. I am not at peace and I’m not sure why.  Today, I need solutions.

I once asked the pastor of a church why he felt the bible had the answers to life’s questions. He replied, “because it’s divinely inspired”. I was about ten years old at the time and that answer has always bothered me. It bothers me more today as I could really use a book with all of “the answers”. I would love the bible to be the answer to my problem but divine inspiration sounds too broad a qualification to rely on the writers word alone.

What is it to be Divinely Inspired?  The dictionary defines it as “a concept of a supernatural force, typically a deity, causing a person or people to experience a creative desire”. That sounds simple enough. Perhaps if I was divinely inspired, I could focus and make the hard decisions necessary to bring clarity to my world.

Wait a minute, sixty-six “books” all by different authors who were divinely inspired?  What about Dante, Milton or even Joseph Smith. They all wrote of heaven and hell. The argument could be made that they too were divinely inspired.  Inferno, Paradise Lost and the Book of Mormon, respectively, all contain the writer or writer’s version of  heaven/hell, what’s considered right or wrong and offer suggestions on how to bring your life back into alignment.

I was in the shower this morning thinking of where to find answers; the Bible, Plato or even “Hey Siri”, when I decided to write of my internal conflict. Was it divinely inspired? I did think of God, multiple times, but it’s probably a stretch to say that it was divine. I’m suddenly feeling very alone in this world as it seems that the answers to life’s problems are actually the written thoughts of men and women of history who have a questionable pedigree for offering advice to future generations. In other words, if you’re a “religious” person, I imagine that you are divinely inspired every day.

So for the future’s sake, please watch what you write as today’s snippet’s of wisdom may become a chapter in tomorrow’s Bible.

I’ve also come to the conclusion that most of the answers to our questions lie within the passage of time and not within the written muses of man.