I am very sorry about your son. I cannot precisely relate but I have experienced metaphorically being murdered by my middle son (of three sons). I am effectively "dead" to him, his two brothers, his wife and my only two grand children (his son and daughter) because he took them all with him in the murdering of me, his Dad.
Thank you, universe, for providing me with such a wonderful lesson opportunity. Thank you, God. Thank you, Holy Guardian Angel for not intervening that allowed this occurrence to happen - or... was there some other type of "angel thing" demon? daimon??? that played some "unseen" role in placing insane ideas into the mind of my son?
Ahhh... so maybe its not about "me?" Maybe its a lesson my son needs to learn. This actually happens to be the assumption I have onboarded as a belief because it is the only thing that gets me through the day. I have to bet on a belief to live with the pain... to transcend the pain in fact... (which has been my goal).
Have "faith" (as Whitley says) - just focus on love (I pray for them all often... and my prayers are not riddled with outcome attachments other than the only one that matters... that their well being is enhanced! None of it about me... all just heartfelt "love" cast their way via "God" and "the Universe" (maybe they are both the same).
Compassion (as Whitley also said) - I have compassion for him and for all he carried down with him as one day, either in his current lifetime, or after, he will come to the truth (that he was terribly wrong as to his conclusions) and my sadness is due to a projection of mine which actually may or may not come true - that he would suffer from the regret he "should" feel for being so wrong and about something so important it effectively murdered me in his eyes and all the ones I mentioned - my entire children and all their children and spouses.
Humility - that's the BIG ONE IMO. I am indeed humbled yet perhaps not enough as I have questions and would argue my case to God's face if God would have a direct conversation with me... and if God wouldn't (and so far God hasn't) I can only hope the angels, demons and/or daimons (who may in fact represent both and who in fact preceded in historical appearance to "demons" from my information) see what's going on and begin to question this God thingie... because something smells about all this and (in my very most humble opinion) not enough people who are a.) open to extended reality and b.) are open to the idea there be "God" are doing this questioning.
How does one exist anchored to a paradigm where you are held 100% responsible for all your actions (which include your words written and spoken) and yet, you are supposed to operate with "faith" when things don't make sense?
Something doesn't connect here. Something doesn't jive.
I enjoy your posts, Chester. You bring up some very interesting points. I too, have a family member that refuses to communicate with me. He pretends it is because of a philosophical disagreement However, it is his own insecurity with how he handles his life, at its core. It boils down to that fact that he is a jealous, insecure fuck. I have offered olive branch after olive branch in an attempt to "be the bigger person," apologized to him profusely for anything that I have ever said that may have offended him....and still, no response. I know it is a bitter pill to swallow, but sometimes we have to accept the fact that many people are just assholes; - whether we are related to them or not. Also, these assholes have a pretty solid track record of being insecure, pompous fucks.
One of the most alluring aspects of Skeptiko, for me, is that Alex unabashedly questions everything....even when he is interviewing people with laudable academic accolades! This immediately attracted me to everything Skeptiko. I agree with you concerning the stench of "guardian angel" theories and so forth. Likewise, I can't stand that shit stained bromide, "Everything happens for a reason." Just to throw people off, when something of disappointment happens, I often say, "Just remember, everything happens for no reason."
I do believe the capacity to forgive and move on is important in some aspects, but it must be reciprocal, otherwise it is a waste of one's energy. If somebody truly is an asshole after you have already offered toilet paper, flushable wipes, and even bidets to clean up their shitty attitude.....then forget about them. If they come around one day, and let me tell you, they probably will once you have taken this stance, don't let them get to your core. They need to know their boundaries!
Good stuff, man! Keep up the interesting posts!