Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Google & Life's Biggest Questions - Question 3: What are we here for?

A couple weeks ago I asked "What are life's biggest questions?"
This question was asked in response to the Church Sign posted below:
Searching Google (with minimal effort) we have looked at Evil & The Future.

My deep and philosophical friends Jon & Bennett asked similar questions.

Bennett's primary question is exceptional worded... " 'Why did I walk into this room?' Which I guess could be translated, 'What are we here for?' "

Jon similarly asked in a series of questions: "Why am I here?"

Now neither Bennett nor Jon knew why I was asking this question, but I enjoyed googling the existensial question the way Bennett asked it because it pulled up the song (Walk into this Room) by the front man (Edward Kowalczyk) of a favorite band of mine (Live). You listen to the song on youtube or read the lyrics here...but like many of Live's songs, this song does seem to heavy spiritual themes that relate the question Bennett and Jon are asking with lyrics like: "The whole wide world feels like a shrine built to the worker bees/ Who stole it from God anyhow/ Lay it down child Lay it down child And walk into this room."*

Interestingly enough, Bennett's question isn't the only one that turns up videos. When I search "Why am I Here?" on Google I actually get links that points to a unique video that does a series of man on the street interviews tackling the question of why are you here, how do you connect with God, and what would you do if you knew you'd die tomorrow.

This search also pulls up the site for the help line 1-888-NEED-HIM which the St. Peter's Church Sign would probably approve of, because this website, phone, and associated resources help people answer those tough questions with Christ.

The question of "Why am I here?" seems so big, you'd think it make Google explode. But it didn't but it's also odd to think of people searching out that question and wondering, what is going to come up? Will it be helpful? And beyond that Why Am I Here? can be a personal question and a question for the human race as a whole.

It's is interesting to see what Google pulls up...include this Dilbert comic strip:

*Interestingly enough, I don't think this song has appeared on any album except the sound track to Playing By Heart in which the song is Song by Edward Kowalczyk and Neneh Cherry)

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I concur with Bennett, and am not sure that you interpreted his question the way I did. When I ask myself "why am I in this rrom" it is because I went into a room to do a task, or to return something to where it belongs and can't remember why I am in that room or what I was supposed to do... old age, I suppose.

Heather said...

Mary Ann,

I don't think there is any way that Google can help you remember why you went into a room. However, Cosby has a bit about how those thoughts sit in your lap, and when you stand up they fall off. Maybe you just have to go back and sit back down?

Good luck! :)