Monday, June 23, 2025
A loved one said, “I hate my life.” Many seem to have an unhappy life, but in much the same way as they worship an angry, unhappy God. A life is nothing but a dream with a face.
“A life” is an idol, a graven image of things, scenarios, stories, and all sorts of goodies and accolades. “A life” could also be a graven image of tragedy, setbacks, failures, and all sorts of obstacles and loss. But life is no object, and no one goes out to “get a life.” This is the issue of the so-called unhappy life that we hate – a ghost who has no emotions, power, or a personality.
Your car is part of your life. Your home is part of your life. We often call our houses “happy homes.” Is your car happy? Are your bills happy? Are your doctor’s appointments happy? Are your investment accounts happy? Is your recliner pleased?
In much the same way as we objectify life and call it “unhappy,” we objectify God and call it angry, vengeful, wonderful, or nonexistent. Either way, you are taking an idea and giving it power, authority, emotion, and something that appears as “life.”
Humans experience a tumultuous phenomenon called “unhappiness.” “The world” is also one of those graven, mental images with a frown, a scythe, and an ugly face. “I hate my life” or “the world is dangerous” is a weather report of the energy within. It is an expression of the abstraction trying to describe emotional charges deep within what feels like a bag of skin. The inner condition is in strife, and God is cruel, the world is dangerous, and I hate my life.
How could you ever have a happy life? Only you can smile. Everyone else is trying to make their “life” smile – and their gods. Graven images can’t smile.