Life - What's it all about?
Bob Geldof entitled his autobiography 'Is That It?'. At one point he had just raised £50 million for Live Aid and, while standing on the stage, he heard a fan shout, 'Is that it?' Geldof writes, "It's a question I keep asking myself.' In an interview with Mick Brown for The London Times newspaper we read this: 'Ask Geldof whether he feels that his life is fulfilled, and he snorts with laughter. 'Not at all. I don't know what that would mean. I am unfulfilled as a human being; otherwise, why are these large holes here?' He thumps his chest. 'Everything I do is because I'm frightened of being bored, because I know that's what's down in those holes. I'm frightened of it; it makes me very depressed. So I stay active. Frenetically so, unfortunately. And that 'freneticism' keeps me going all the time and allows me to think I'm not wasting time.'"
Barry Humphries, the Australian comedian, entitled his book 'More Please'. He writes, 'I always wanted more. I never had enough milk or money or socks or sex or holidays or first editions or solitude or gramophone records or free meals or real friends or guiltless pleasure or neckties or applause or unquestioning love ... Of course, I have had more than my share of most of these commodities but it always left me with a vague feeling of unfulfillment: where was the rest?'
It would be a tad unfair to describe celebrities such as Bob Geldof, or 'Dame Edna Everage' as underachievers. In many ways their statements of dissatisfaction ring all the more true, because they are the ones who have had all the toys, done all the stuff that the rest of us can only be envious of.
So then...this thing we call 'Life'...what's it all about?
- Is it just a temporary, random grouping of atoms and information, with just the appearance of purpose, but ultimately with no real future?
- Is it the real thing or just a trial run?
- Is it all about 'me, me, me', or is there actually a bigger picture, a context that makes sense of our brief existence on this perplexing planet?
We'd like to invite you to a series of special events at Highfields Church, on the theme of...
Life...what's it all about?
Take your pick from the following events hosted by Lindsay Brown:
| Event | Time | Venue |
|---|
| Bands Night | April 23rd at 8.00pm | Highfields Church |
| What am I worth? | April 24th at 8.00pm | Highfields Church |
| How can I get rich? | April 25th at 8.00pm | Highfields Church |
| Why do I suffer? | April 26th at 8.00pm | Highfields Church |
| When will I be happy? | April 27th at 6.30pm | Highfields Church |
A personal invitation from Rev. Peter Baker, Pastor of Highfields Church
Welcome to 'Life - What's it all about?"
That's an issue with which I frequently wrestle. As a father to two grown up girls with lives of their own, husband to a wife with professional career commitments, son to a mother who is
getting older and minister to a church of 800, life can be untidy, confusing and difficult to get right a lot of the time!
But let me invite you to engage with the issues through this website and perhaps at some point in the future we can meet up and compare notes with people like me who are
on the same journey as you. The best way to do life is to share it with others and as far as I'm concerned, with the personal God who has made it all possible.
Discover the author of life and you may be on your way to finding the purposes of life? Enjoy!
Rev. Peter Baker
Finally...
"Life...what's it all about?" is perhaps the biggest question we can ask as human beings. Whatever stage we are at in life, it is without doubt the most significant 'Big Ask' there is.
To help you engage with the relevant issues, we'd like to encourage you to register your big questions using the form below. Over time, we'll build a question and answer section on this website which we hope will be of help.
And, if you leave your email address, we'll be sure to keep you informed of any special open-evenings organised to address your 'Big Asks'.
Recent 'Big Asks':
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