If everyone lived their lives like...?

Question

Earl Hickey from the show "My Name is Earl"? Wouldn't the world be a better place if everyone went out of their way to make up for bad things they have done, instead of speaking to the spirit in the sky and just saying they are sorry?

Answer 1

Life seems to force us to atone for our mistakes.

Although we may not be able to go back to each event / person, it does seem that most of us have a vice / sin / addiction / crime that haunts us until we conquer it. That we will continue to make the same mistakes until we learn from them --- kinda the way we learned to walk.

Law suits / man created punishments seem to keep us from obtaining these forgiveness from those we have wronged. I was watching Oprah a while back where she did a show about atonement. One of her guests killed a man's pregnant wife because he was driving while sleep impaired. The layers kept the families apart, and they never talked to each other for 10 years, but on the Oprah show, it was all teary and we witnessed atonement.

However, there is some validity in keeping people apart during duress. First, many people are easy to forgive without witnessing a persons true sorrow. When a man beats a woman repeatedly, often, this woman is the ultimate forgiver, and the man has never learned how to mature into a non-beating person until he finds a reason to mature.

Second, when life is lost (or other valuable stuff), then the victim can become closed minded and vengeful ... separation here is good so that this victim does not have to go against their true nature and harm another. How tragic the Greek plays about revenge were. Family member gets killed and generation after generation feud until all are dead. So, ya, here it's good to separate the people who are in turmoil.

"Earl" seems to always benefit the most when he gets to cross someone from his list, as it seems when I learn my lesson, that I get that same satisfaction too.

PS: Hope Earl wins an award ... hee-hee.

Answer 2

I love that program. Being a Christian, I have some concerns with his interpretation of morality. Now the program is is written by people who are trying to sell their ideas so naturally everything works out for the best all around everytime. My problem with the practicality of his new lifestyle is that what seems right to a man can and often does result in terrible damage, even death.

Example: Lets say a pedophile decides to make up for the terrible things he's done. So he goes around to his victims and confesses and asks them to forgive him and what can he do to make it right.
1. Immediately the victim feels violated all over again
2. That broken person is likely to be involved in their own secret issues they don't want opened.
3. If they're not prepared to deal with their abuse related problems, most likely much more damage can come of it than waiting until the victim seeks out help.

Some things just can't be fixed by anybody but God. And since God knows all, and loves us, and wants to restore us to healthy status, doesn't it seem like His plan for restoration is better than any we limited beings could come up with.

Life would be better overall if we avoided screwing things up in the first place. Not saying we shouldn't make amends where we can, just saying we can't always make it all beter.

Answer 3

To practice good religion, not just attend church, means to do exactly that. Go out and make a positive difference in the lives of others. Look at the Hezbollah. They're using that philosophy now. They're going around helping the Lebanese who lost their homes and belongings. Israel did more to strengthen the terrorists, than what was done to weaken them. And it would seem the Hezbollah had this planned for all along, ready and waiting for the bait to be taken. But, yes, helping others is what really makes a person a good follower of their religion, not going out and killing for it, or going to prayers weekly.

Answer 4

Living your life daily as if it were the last day is the only way to go throught life. Experiencing the beauty in everything and everyone around us, knowing that we are all connected and are reflections of each other is as important as breathing. Life is full of many pleasureful experiences and each one is designed to help us grow and evolve into better human beings. When we are "awake" we may realize that we haven't lived our lives as impeccably as we may set out to do, since life comes at us from so many different angles. We are human and may respond or react in a way that is detrimental to our own selves, and in turn, detrimental to others. I believe that being "conscious" of our own actions and thoughts can be rectified as we begin to live our lives truthfully and with the realization that we are all human-beautiful in our flaws which may be perceived by others as wrong. There are as many life paths as there are people in this world, and living honestly and living true to who we are will reap benefits from life beyond what we could imagine, and after life take us to a much more fruitful and rewarding existence.

Answer 5

The world would be a better place if we all went out of our way to make up for bad things we've done ... but I don't see that much harmony in the world right now. Doesn't hurt for us to try though ... right?

Answer 6

Yes, as someone has said before me, 'Lead the way'.

But also, if everyone lived their lives in a number of possible ways, as long as EVERYONE did it, life would conceivably be better, quote un-quote, so to speak, because I imagine life would also be quite boring if everyone lived the same way, and I hate boredom.

Answer 7

I agree but I believe most people are to lazy to even start.
Maybe in all our next incarnations we can aim to be like a guy on a TV show who won the lottery :)

Answer 8

I agree. But also why not go out of your way to do good things for people without a reason or agenda?

Answer 9

i think both are necessary. earl speaks to karma as if it is in the sky.

Answer 10

Most of my friends do, actually, it is called working a 12 step program.