A MATERIAL WORLD?

A MATERIAL WORLD? by Joseph Tom Riach

We are spiritual beings – but we live in a material world. Our physical bodies, the planet on which we tread, the creatures which inhabit it and all that grows here are tangible entities, material if you like. But to the fabric of the natural world – the rocks, woods, earth and minerals – mankind has added, through ingenuity, invention (and sometimes accident) new and wonderful materials.

Concrete, glass, textiles, metals, silicon and the myriad other human creations are the materials of our civilisation. Our clothes, our homes, our cities and all our other stuff are not just a display of our technological wizardry, they are part of who we are. They are, largely, what allows us to behave like humans. Remove them and we are quickly confronted by the same basic struggle for survival as wild animals.

From the coffee cup to the Kodak camera, stainless steel and paper clips; from ancient technologies of fabrics and ceramics to today’s self-healing metals and bionic implants – we invented them and made them. They in turn make us who we are.

Steel defined the Victorian era. Sheet glass and structural steel produced skyscrapers that invented city life as we know it. Product and fashion designers adopted plastics and used them to transform our homes and dress. Polymers were used to produce celluloid and bring about the cinema, the biggest change ever in visual culture. Aluminium and nickel super-alloys led to jet engines and worldwide cheap flight. And our bodies can be redefined by silicon, ceramics, plastics and tungsten. Yes – materials maketh the man!

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This fact should not, however, distract from the reality that we are spiritual beings. Our spiritual well-being is far more important than the simply material. Without it we are greatly diminished as human beings. Those who pursue material wealth to the exclusion of all else are without soul. They risk never experiencing inner serenity, only shallow and short-lived carnal pleasure.

Know that spiritual wealth is the bedrock of your existence. First and foremost strive to understand and follow the spiritual laws. These demand that you seek inner peace through helping others. With that belief in place and functioning, then you are well placed to explore and enjoy things material.

This perfectly natural marriage of the spiritual with the material, allows for the creation of technology beneficial to mankind which both enhances the general well-being, and satisfies the inventive and innovative urges, of the species. Everything is possible.

You can build your heaven here on earth – spiritually and materially!

I am Tom Riach. I live and write in the sunny south of Portugal. I hope you enjoyed this sample of my work. Find all my current titles (novels and ‘personal achievement’) at Amazon, Barnes and Noble and other leading book stores. Click the image below.

© Joseph T. Riach 1998-present. All rights reserved.