What the heck? It's the day of Thanks Giving so why don't I give a little thanks...

Wilson aptly pointed out my admonission of belief in the last blog entry. It's true - when I say I 'believe' a particular thing, I'm really just pointing out the way I think it ought to be. But isn't that what everyone does? We live in a world of imprecise gray areas, and any belief that isn't rooted in concrete universal fact is just a declaration of preference.

In truth, the only thing I've ever really believed in was my own sweet self. It's always been there, it's made up of all my experience, and it's the source of every novel contribution I've ever added to this world. I don't know what there really is out there besides me, but I'm free to speculate based on the ideals and 'beliefs' that are totally unique to Eric.

When I talk about God, I'm really just hypothesizing a divine power that I think makes the most sense. That's fair enough. If he created me, and was responsible for the worldview I currently hold, how could he ever fault me for painting the picture I saw as most logical? While it's possible that there's no God out there at all, that reduces our universe and existence to a random twist of chance; one with no room for deeper philosophical debate.

I'm a thinker and a writer. I can't have that.

So for now, I enjoy speculating but remain a dilligent agnostic. While I like to think that the great creator is working in my corner, the only proof I've ever found of God's existence is the fact that our universe exists at all. I've never seen God, heard his voice, or experienced his presence in a vision. What I have had is a life filled with some unfathomable coincidences - several of which I've recounted in blogs of yore - and an inherent reassurance that I could make everything work out by just being myself.

Does that mean I'm God?

Perhaps.

But if so, I've done a damn good job of tricking myself out of that knowledge, and I have a few personal bones to pick about the stupider elements of this society I find myself living in.

Enough of this though, I'd better switch gears before alienating my fan base like the Beatles did with that whole "Bigger than Jesus" thing. It's a holiday, and I'm giving it up to the Big Guy - thanking him for the simple things that have made my life worth living.

Way to go God... you steam a good ham.

10 things I'm thankful for:

1 - Music. I'll never know why, but nothing allows me to transcend my environment like a good song. Not even drugs. (Though the two go well together.)

2 - Sports. Winning is great, losing teaches lessons, and the competition in-between reminds us we're alive.

3 - Good food. Turkey day is a primo example of the profundity of the human pallet, but fine eats are something we enjoy every day of the year.

4 - Books. The greatest teacher of all is experience. But nobody can experience everything, so we read about it through the words of others. We can even read about fabricated experiences in make-believe worlds, and everywhere we go there's something to learn.

5 - The sky. You all know how I feel about the stars. But what I may enjoy even more are cloudy overcast days. Something about them just gets my motor running, I don't know...

6 - Family. I'm the product of a damn good home life, which I never want to take for granted. Most parents wouldn't let a kid get away with the things I have, but then again, most parents aren't blessed with a kid as cool as me.

7 - Water. It's the foundation for life, and it's all I really drink now.

8 - The kindness of strangers. Sure, lots of people are jerks. But nothing would ever happen in this world without diverse people working together.

9 - Beauty. It's subjective and it's debated, but everyone still experiences it. In this way, beauty knows no bounds. It's everywhere.

10 - A warm bed. We spend a third of our lives asleep; it's the kind of thing you just have to do in comfort.

Speaking of sleep, the tryptophan is kicking in now... I'll see you at Christmas.