Dealing with pain
I have found the responses to T. Ono’s letter of Dec. 23, regarding the problem of pain, to be interesting but unsatisfying so far. So I thought I would try my hand at it.
On the most basic level, pain is a way for your body to tell you something is wrong. It is a warning, a way of getting your attention focused on your bodily well-being. In this respect, it is a good thing.
Most will agree that humans are able to decide for themselves what they will do with their lives. And most of the pain in the world is inflicted, directly or indirectly, by what our fellow human beings decide to do.
Therefore, the only way to remove pain from the world is to take away the human ability to decide what to do on a moment-by-moment basis. This is a practical impossibility.
To sum up: God is good and loving. Pain comes into the world through human imperfection.
Just as we release our grown children into the world to make their own way and to make their own mistakes — mistakes that cause pain to themselves and others — God releases us into the world. When we screw up, it isn’t God’s fault anymore than it is our fault when our grown children make mistakes.
Would it be thought of as loving, if we kept our grown children locked in a basement so that they don’t make painful mistakes?
God loves us enough to leave us free to make painful mistakes, and to learn the lessons made clear by the resulting pain. Because of this, pain will always be with us.
Arman Wiggins
Honomu
Clean up Bayfront
If we can remember some time ago, our County Council spent $500,000 doing a study to determine the feasibility of turning the Bayfront into a beach for our children to swim in. We all knew then that it was a waste of money, but they spent it anyway.
(Saturday) I watched the canoe clubs racing their canoes. Everyone had to step over and walk on the old bagasse that has accumulated at the shoreline. Under some of the bagasse there was rubbish, bottles and other trash. This is an eyesore and also a disgrace, not to mention the hazards had someone stepped on a broken bottle or other sharp object.
The council can spend millions of dollars on studies, and we have had many of them that proved a waste of money, but they cannot spend a couple thousand to clean up the shoreline and make it safer for our people.
The bagasse is still settling in Hilo Bay from the residue caused by washing sugar at the plantations, which are long closed. I am sure it will be a continuing item for some time to come, and I would hope the county would keep an eye open. But then, that is another thing that is wrong with what we have.
John Gallipeau
Honomu
Dealing with pain
I have found the responses to T. Ono’s letter of Dec. 23, regarding the problem of pain, to be interesting but unsatisfying so far. So I thought I would try my hand at it.
On the most basic level, pain is a way for your body to tell you something is wrong. It is a warning, a way of getting your attention focused on your bodily well-being. In this respect, it is a good thing.
Most will agree that humans are able to decide for themselves what they will do with their lives. And most of the pain in the world is inflicted, directly or indirectly, by what our fellow human beings decide to do.
Therefore, the only way to remove pain from the world is to take away the human ability to decide what to do on a moment-by-moment basis. This is a practical impossibility.
To sum up: God is good and loving. Pain comes into the world through human imperfection.
Just as we release our grown children into the world to make their own way and to make their own mistakes — mistakes that cause pain to themselves and others — God releases us into the world. When we screw up, it isn’t God’s fault anymore than it is our fault when our grown children make mistakes.
Would it be thought of as loving, if we kept our grown children locked in a basement so that they don’t make painful mistakes?
God loves us enough to leave us free to make painful mistakes, and to learn the lessons made clear by the resulting pain. Because of this, pain will always be with us.
Arman Wiggins
Honomu
Clean up Bayfront
If we can remember some time ago, our County Council spent $500,000 doing a study to determine the feasibility of turning the Bayfront into a beach for our children to swim in. We all knew then that it was a waste of money, but they spent it anyway.
(Saturday) I watched the canoe clubs racing their canoes. Everyone had to step over and walk on the old bagasse that has accumulated at the shoreline. Under some of the bagasse there was rubbish, bottles and other trash. This is an eyesore and also a disgrace, not to mention the hazards had someone stepped on a broken bottle or other sharp object.
The council can spend millions of dollars on studies, and we have had many of them that proved a waste of money, but they cannot spend a couple thousand to clean up the shoreline and make it safer for our people.
The bagasse is still settling in Hilo Bay from the residue caused by washing sugar at the plantations, which are long closed. I am sure it will be a continuing item for some time to come, and I would hope the county would keep an eye open. But then, that is another thing that is wrong with what we have.
John Gallipeau
Honomu