Dear Class,

Several items:

I told you that I want my dean to call me into her office to explain why 88% of you aced this class. I have never had a better semester in over two decades of teaching.

As for the final, I was impressed by your essays. I graded your final based on your thinking. Some of you fell back upon what was told to you by your religious background. My response is how did you obtain that background? The answer is that you were born into that faith. No one in this class was born into the Sunni faith and at thirteen joined the Shinto religion. No one in this class was born into Christianity and at thirteen joined the Jains. Therefore, the means by which we all became what we are was tied to birth. Truth is related to chance…the chance of being born into the right religion whatever that religion is. All religions see themselves as the correct religion.

As for the need of a creator deity, a handful of religions don’t have a deity. Therefore, why is a creator necessary? Some will say that we need some deity to create all that is in the vast universe. If you think a deity is necessary to create the universe, who created the deity? Some will say that some deity, which happens to be that person’s personal god, just existed. That may be, but it is arguably true that the universe just existed if some deity just existed.

Now, I’m 75 and probably will find out one way or the other a lot sooner than this class.

I’m writing this to the class at 3 pm. This is my response to the reason for my being. It has to do with what I did today?

• I was scheduled to see my attorney to incorporate We Are Family and then begin getting it registered as a not-for-profit corporation. This will allow contributors to deduct their donations to We Are Family from federal and state taxes.
• However, I got up and took Ginger for a walk around the lake. By the time we got home, she was sick. Off we went to the vet. Then I went to my attorney’s office after dealing with Ginger.
• When I got home, I sent some general gifts to my family in Taunggyi, Myanmar. However, I sent another birthday present to one of my granddaughters. My first gift was lost en route between my home and theirs.
• This morning, this essay appeared on my website: https://www.wolverton-mountain.com/articles/BeingLikeBobby.html

I don’t buy that all these events were predestined by some deity 13.78 billion years ago. What I do believe is that I am in control of what I deem to be important…and I will act on those items. These things are my reason for being.

Finally, you must discover, if you haven’t already, your reason for being. I can’t, nor do I want to suggest to you what your reason for being is. Ponder what it is or should be. My only suggestion is to base it upon what will drive you, not what someone else told you. You are a person…you decide.

My two trips to Myanmar during winter break in the last four years radically changed me. Go to https://www.wolverton-mountain.com/articles/index.html, look to the column on the right entitled, Critical Issues, and read the introduction to On Seeing the Light and We Are Family.

My two trips to Myanmar during winter break in the last four years radically changed me. Go to https://www.wolverton-mountain.com/articles/index.html, look to the column on the right entitled, Critical Issues, and read the introduction to On Seeing the Light and We Are Family.

If your reason for being drives you…really drives you, you have chosen wisely. If not, rethink your reason for being. Your clock is ticking. Don’t waste the precious time that you have.