Catastrophic Drought, Rising Seas: Which Is to Be Feared Most?
The Late Dr. Noomen Offered Answers That Might Provide Perspective
Los Angeles, CA, September 29, 2022 — A recent news feed from The Associated Press coincidently put two headlines in close proximity: “The worst drought in Europe in decades” and “Zombie ice from Greenland will raise sea level 10 inches.” Which should be feared most? And is it possible that the rising sea level will cancel out the drought, and all will be well?
Climate change, by most accounts, is a real threat, but perhaps it’s helpful to step back and look at the big picture. The late author and scholar Dr. Pieter Noomen wrote at length about how to approach the ups and downs of life in a way that doesn’t lead to high anxiety.
His writings remain available free on his website, www.wordsforall.org — a treasure trove of philosophical and spiritual information that he said he was given from the highest of sources. One of his many musings begins with a hypothetical question from humankind to that higher power: “Is there any limit, ending or moment of saturation that could pose a threat to existence itself?”
The answer that Dr. Noomen said he was given: “No. The totality of all that exists expands forever in size, density and newness. For human intelligence, this is all but impossible to figure out, tied as our thinking is to the earthly ideas of distance, time and place. The vastness of the galaxies and how it all began is therefore seen as a mystery. Human brains reach only so far, so they have to forgo grasping, in spite of theories, beliefs and scientific formulas.
“Even fantasies or dreams about life's totality have their limits. Yet, in the meantime, each person is at any moment part of the one seemingly elusive Total, whether one cares about this or not. These lessons provide a map for gaining insight that transcends the customary modes of coming to conclusions.”
In other words, there’s a “big picture” that’s bigger than anyone can imagine, and it includes what some might call eternity.
Born in the Netherlands, Pieter Noomen worked as a psychotherapist and staff member at a Los Angeles church. He completed doctoral studies in theology and pastoral psychology at the Free University of Amsterdam and became senior minister of three Protestant churches.
An example of Dr. Noomen’s Wisdoms of the Week from his website:
“It seems scientifically proven that laughing is good for our health. (I still regret that I can't even tell a joke. Sorry!) Yet I know a source that always lets me smile inside. That happens when I realize how awesomely great the universe is and how tiny I am. And much more, when I realize that this Totality of all, Life in its full volume, is essentially a love reality. Many may not feel or believe that, yet now I know that not my sense of reality counts, but the fact that He/She/It Who is the All doesn't focus on that but just wants our relationship to be a love affair. That thought often causes more than a smile inside. I want to sing!”
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