There's a great Tolkien quote I'd like to share it goes like this I wish it need not have happened in my time said photo so do I said Gandalf and so do all who live to see such times but that is not for them to decide all we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us and that is the great question of our time I know many of the religions of the world have a message that this life is a test and I'm not going to say that all the religions are the same or try to oversimplify them I'm not but I'm just going to say that with many religions and in many of the compelling philosophies that existed throughout time there is a message that life is a test so yeah we will be put through to 2 * that are hard we will be put through that you know suffering you know for example in in my case I am a cancer survivor when I was diagnosed in 2017 I was told I was going to have to go through very harsh and severe treatments in order to deal with my cancer I'm talking about chemotherapy I'm talking about radiation I'm talking about was that fun no it was not but I had to go through all of it I had to grit my teeth and bear it so I could come out through the other side and and and and survive and be healthy and so for many people life may not offer that specific tests but we're offered suppose you know similar tests we're faced with hardship and we're faced with death and disease an eviction in poverty and I don't want to put I don't want to sugarcoat these issues are you know I'm not going to say all this isn't so bad. Just pull yourself up by your own bootstraps and you know and pretend everything's okay that's that's not my message but what I'm saying is that the religions of the world offer you know a compelling message that life is a test that life is suffering so what do you do about it do you curl up into a ball and cry do you just do jump off a bridge know you know you left to get out there you have to do something about it and I'm not going to say everybody has the ability to do something amazing you know some of us are poor some of us are not terribly articulate some of us are not terribly educated so I'm not saying everybody can get out there and be some profit politician Rockstar what have you but I'm saying everybody with their own capabilities can do something and that's where meaning is meaning is found in the areas where where in a struggle is needed where strength is needed where perseverance is needed and the individuals who have the courage to step forward and two to accept this burden these individuals will find meaning in that struggle end in life is full of struggle life is full of suffering you know if you want me to tell you that it's not going to be hard I'm sorry you have to go listen to somebody else you know that's just been the nature of existence as as long as existence has been around for the billions of years that nature has existed life has been a brutal struggle of of the wolf ripping out the throat of its prey of a of a weed overcoming you know a tree and is sapping it of its nutrients so so life isn't a fairy tale I'm sorry it is brutal but the religions of the world the philosophies of the world have a message about that in the message is that life is a test and we are here to see what we will do so what will you do what will you do when the government is presiding over a system that is destroying the biological foundations of life and not offering any real solution what will you do when we live in a society where 600,000 people have died from a virus when when that number could have been far lower if we had a competent Healthcare System are you just going to stay home and play video games and and watch TV and and drink and try to drown it out that's that's not a real solution and that's not where meaning or that's not really where meaning is found when there is a crisis when there is struggling when there's suffering feet compels people to step forward and to take action. Will you?