Beguiling Utopia

Humans are drawn to Utopia.

From our earliest days, as children, we search for Utopia. We search as a reaction to unfairness, injustice, discomfort, loneliness, misery.

Political systems, philosophies, ethics, even religions evolve with Utopia as the desired endstate. Writers, artists, poets, dreamers wax endless poetic about it. Talk show hosts and pundits build their empires on the longings for it.

The Utopian ideal is an escape from the suffering that characterizes human life. We seemed hard-wired to pursue it and we pursue ad infinitum.

But might there be meaning beyond the elimination of suffering? Might the constant pursuit of Utopia distract us from experiencing a whole life? Might not the centrality of struggle elude us altogether?

Jesus Christ teaches us - in body, mind and spirit - that suffering is an essential part of life's journey. My experiences confirm this. And, as I journey toward my destiny, I am less inclined to consider Utopian ideals and drawn instead towards the fruit of Christ's life - freely given charity, generosity and works -within the framework of life's inevitable inequities.