Getting Out Of Bed In The Morning

"Why do you even get out of bed in the morning?"

This was the question asked of me by a man during a conversation about personal beliefs a number of years ago.  The gentleman I was talking with at the time was a devout, fundamentalist Christian who was also an activist in the Republican Party.  He also held dear to his heart the belief that "liberalism was a mental defect and those who perpetuated such a philosophy were sick."  I am not making this up--I have met such a person!

During the course of our conversation this man realized that not only was I a confirmed liberal (and a proud one at that) but that I did not hold a belief in God like the Christians, Jews, Muslims or Buddhist.  He seemed to be so shocked about my comfort level of disbelief in a supreme being that he raised his voice in an almost aggressive manner and said:  "If I didn't believe in God there would be nothing to live for.  I might as well go out and rob a liquor store and shoot the clerk just for the fun of it."

This statement speaks more about that individual's personal pathology than about living a good and honest life just for the sake of doing so.  If I had to live the good life because some big guy with a big stick up in heaven told me to, that wouldn't be much of a life worth living.  I would probably commit suicide if that were the case.  I have always and will continue to live the good life because it is the moral and ethical thing to do, and the advancement of the positive aspects of world civilization depends upon it.  This is what I would refer to as my higher calling.

Now back to the question of "Why do you even get out of bed in the morning?"  There are many reasons extraordinary and mundane that keep me going day after day, even when it seems like the entire world is coming apart at the seams.  The one extraordinary reason that gets me out of bed each and every morning is the hope of putting into practice during my day one of the higher humanist ethical principles like respecting others, doing no harm, self improvement, helping those in need, etc.  It is the same way of looking at life as did the character played by Jimmy Stewart in the classic film "Its A Wonderful LIfe."  Every word and action has som rippling effect on your personal world as well as the world at large for good or bad.  So if you have a chance to make the world just a little better--why not?

There are many mundane reasons also that get me out of bed each morning; it's a new day--anything can happen--that's very exciting; discovery of a new book to be read; having a new culinary experience; walking through my neighborhood and discovering new things and meeting new people; sitting on the porch after a thunder shower and smelling the damp sweetness around me; watching how happy my dog Clifford gets while waiting for his breakfast; anticipating the stories my wife will bring home from her work that day; and the discovery of colorful birds, insects and butterflies in my garden that I haven't seen before.

These are the things that get me out of bed every morning and no matter how ugly, nasty or brutish the world becomes, these will always be important enough to me to keep on going, to live life to its fullest and maybe, along the way, discover an extraordinary moment in time.