What possesses a man to think nothing of walking regularly into a pub or restaurant and spending his hard earned cash on a few drinks? Drinks that enter the body at one end and exit at the other without quenching any of his thirsts.
I have nothing against a cold beer or a margarita over friendly conversation, it is a fine social affair that is all well and good. You could say its product or outcome was fun, laughter or creative bullshit, but properly put into perspective it’s value is only fleeting. When it is gone it is gone, there are no tangible remains but piss, a fart and a hangover.
And what was lost besides brain cells and money, brain cells no longer capable of unclouded genius, money no longer capable of buying something more uplifting and everlasting as a book of wisdom, a book of poetry or knowledge. For the price of those few drinks one could have exchanged for such things full of eternal value and yet few do.
That is the cruel trick of materialism, of thinking that we came from mud and that we will return to mud instead of another life, another body and a new identity with more wisdom in our new attempt to get it right. This one life view is a dead end, it is the seduction of materialism and the debasing of the spirit.
Who and what truly has more value over the long haul, the Pablo Neruda’s of this world or the Donald Trumps? It all depends on that which answers, the thirst of the body or the thirst of the soul.
Richard Rensberry, author at QuickTurtle Books® http://www.quickturtlebooks.com
QuickTurtle Books® 
Actually we need both Neruda types and Trump types,for the world to keep going and that there is some balance, not a perfect balance but some. How many jobs did Neruda create? For people to feed their families that month? None, intellectually he did give us greatness though. And then comes the Trump type that he does provide that monthly paycheck for all the employees, going down to the guy putting the electric wiring on some building he´s constructing. So we need both.
As always, balance is the key. And they guy working in construction, well we need people like that( and I have worked in construction) other wise who´s going to build the home of Pablo Neruda for him to write his words of wisdom.
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I agree. The real point I was making is that most people see only the materialistic side of the coin.
The balance has gone way toward the materialistic. Our culture has begun to perceive life as a one lifetime gig. This is such a narrow viewpoint, a viewpoint that justifies no responsibility for the future because they believe there is no future beyond this lifetime. I say, the joke is on those that believe so, when next time around they find themselves still imprisoned by the same spiritual lacks they garnered this lifetime an even further engrained into the solidity of materialism. Without that balance you are speaking of, this planet seems to be destined toward more and bigger conflicts. As an example, take the pharmaceutical industry that now has managed to convince and bully millions of parents into believing their kids have a mental disorder in need of being controlled through the use of psychiatric drugs. Not only insane, but child abuse on a grans scale a whole lot worse than a spanking. The thousands of jobs created to label and drug kids are jobs counter to the goals and purposes of the human spirit. It is simply materialism devoid of any higher virtues.
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I completely agree with you here.
So we agree to agree!
I hate it when people say we agree to disagree. Sounds strange that phrase, why can´t you just say: I disagree. Period. Although it does have a good ring to it the agree to disagree thing…..I think I´m high on caffeine, to much.
Anyways, I agree with you.
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