An Invisible Force...

To date, scientists have been able to identify four fundamental invisible forces that hold everything together in our Universe.  Scientists all over the world have accepted the concept of these various interactions within the physical world based on pure observation and a certain degree of experimentation.  The simple fact that they are able to measure the influence that these forces have on our surroundings, apparently is good enough for them to assume that they are real.  Gravitation, electromagnetic force, strong force, and the weak force are the names that have been given to these interactions by scientists.  Gravitation, for example, has been studied for centuries and currently a great effort has been put into place by researches to discover a particle that they have already named the “graviton,” in order to explain its influence on the physical world.  To date, the elusive “graviton” has not been proven to exist or discovered in any of the experiments that have been conducted.  However, since we all can feel the effects of gravitation in our lives, it is only fair that humanity accept its role as part of our existence.  On a smaller scale, the three other interactions between the minute particles that have already been proven to exist and compose all that is contained in our Universe have also been accepted without visible proof.  If we were able to zoom in or magnify anything in our world, sooner or later we would discover that tiny particles called atoms are the building blocks of all matter.  However, even smaller are what we call sub-atomic particles which in turn are the building blocks of atoms.  Inside an atom, in its center, particles called neutrons and protons are held together tightly by another invisible force which scientists have elected to name the strong force.  The even smaller particles which fundamentally compose neutrons and protons are also held together by this strong force.  Somewhere, almost randomly hovering outside the center part of an atom which is also called the nucleus; particles called electrons are kept from floating away by the other force called the weak force.  It is because this force is not as powerful as the strong force that the electrons from atoms are able to interact with the electrons from other atoms creating molecules, which when they are abundant enough become everything we see around us.

What I find extremely interesting that in an effort to understand and explain these forces, names have been assigned, mathematical models have been created, and in many cases more than one theory has been set in motion that can describe these forces.  Still though, scientific arrogance is great enough to assume that what we believe today must be true regardless of how our experience has tough us that we have been wrong many times in the past.  Invisible forces are not the only place in science for which we have created models that are constantly changing our belief system.  Light, for example, is not truly understood.  In order to try to explain it, scientists have named its basic particle as the “photon.”  However, when experiments are conducted to verify if light is really a particle, a sort of duality becomes apparent.  On the one hand light behaves as a particle and on the other as a wave instead.  So in essence, again scientists are mostly clueless as to the true composition of light.  Interestingly though, scientist have been fine with accepting this duality for light, even though a scientific explanation for particle duality has been lacking.  In other words, as stringent as the scientific community is with regards to needing physical proof to accept the existence of their discoveries, I tend to notice a great deal of faith placed in some of the most fundamentally accepted notions of science.  Invisible forces and the duality of light are just two of many other accepted scientific controversies.

I make the above point in order to explain myself a little bit better with regards to why it is that even though I too am a man of science, I find very little controversy within myself by also being a man of faith.  Science in itself is full of controversy and leaps of faith.  I might be able to mathematically explain a great deal of what happens around me in the physical world, yet when it comes down to it at any time what I thought was solid answer to my scientific results could turn out to be mostly wrong.  In other words, just because I can prove it, does not make it right.  By the same thought process I find it safe to say that just because I cannot prove it, does not make it wrong either.  The problem is that we are, as a civilization, in diapers.  Infants to the understanding of all that surrounds us.  We might think we know the answer to incredibly difficult questions, yet our minds have not yet evolved enough to grasp the truth and reality of our existence.  This is not a putdown to our evolutionary location in time, it is just a fact that we need to accept before we can take the next step to becoming a more mature civilization.  The challenge for you and I is that our human life span is a miniscule portion of our civilization’s evolutionary growth scale.  What this means is that as a society we will not grow fast enough to reap most benefits to our efforts in attaining greater enlightenment during our own lifetime.  On the other hand, if it was not for the efforts of our ancestors, we would not be in a better place today, which in turn gives meaning and importance to our present efforts in order to contribute to the well being of future generations.

I cannot make a stronger argument towards the value of being a good parent than my belief that my efforts today will somehow reap fruit in the lives of my children tomorrow.  To me, the results are obvious when I look back at how dedicated, loving, and giving my own parents were with me.  At most junctures in my life the decisions and choices that I have made have always been impacted by the influence of my parents.  This is not to say that I have always made the right choices, however, their lives have always served me as a gauge to measure and compare myself.  Knowing how their lives have influenced mine gives me a great deal of motivation to try to do the same for my own children.  Hopefully my personal growth will trigger theirs, and theirs will trigger their children’s, and so on.  The steps that I take in the right direction are a good start for creating a path for future generations.

Just as scientists have found a justifiable means of believing that invisible forces and the controversy of lights duality are real, I find no reason to dismiss so many of the other forces that guide the choices in my life.  Just because it is a matter of the mind and heart does not make it any less relevant or important.  In fact, just because I do not totally understand it, does not make it less real.  I cannot see it but I feel gravity as it pulls on my aging body making it harder and harder with time to get out of bed every morning.  I also feel love as it pulls me towards making better choices in my life with relationships and when parenting my children.  At the risk of offending anyone that might not have the same belief system that I do, I also confess feeling God’s hand touching some of the most intimate places of my heart and soul on a daily basis.  In fact, I have found my spiritual belief system to be essential in my survival of all of the challenging experiences I have encountered in my life.  It might seem as if I am strong enough to walk this path on my own, but I know better to assume that no other force is at work in my life.  I wish I could take credit for my professional success, but when I take my own internal survey to assess where I am in life, it is much more than obvious that God has blessed me immensely.  In my ability to continue to parent my children, especially the challenges that I have faced with my oldest son, I see nothing within me that could keep my head above water on my own.  I am mostly lost when I face difficult moments, and it might sound weak, but I am typically more ready to give up than I am to go on when the waters turn turbulent and the road seems dark and scary.  I know then, and mostly then, how little power I have in making the moments survivable.  I find it impossible not to humble myself and so I pray for Devine intervention, knowing fully well that without it I am most certain to find myself in an even darker place.

Every time I feel lost, frustrated, and wanting to complain about my difficulties, it only takes a few seconds of self reflection to realize that in life things can always be worse…always!  As painful and difficult as a moment might get, I know that that exact moment is meant for me to learn and grow.  I might not want it and most definitely not like it, but it is my moment and I have to learn to embrace it in order to get to the other side and survive it.  Fortunatelly for me there is an invisible Force that has always manifested itself in my life giving me the strength I need to go on.  I'm not sure how it works, I cannot do the math to explain it, but it works, and I am grateful.

Dad