“A philosophy of being is based upon a simple principle. The term “being” is important to understand, but it is elusive and hard to define. Saint Augustine had a brilliant way of helping us understand its meaning. He showed us that it is the difference between what has value and what value is. He would ask students, “Would you rather have a beautiful pearl or a mouse?” The answer was always the same, of course, because we would all rather have the valuable pearl than the mouse. Then he would ask, “Would you rather be a beautiful pearl or a mouse?” The answer changed at that point. A mouse, limited as it is, has more being, more power to act than a lifeless pearl. Absolute nonbeing is OK for a pearl. But for a human being, it is an unthinkable disaster.
To explore the issue further, what is the difference between a mouse and a human being? In the judgment of a deist, the human being is more than a complicated animal. We, as humans, possess a higher kind of consciousness. The mouse knows, the human knows she knows. For the human, there is always the observer. That essence that cannot be observed itself, because the observer cannot be the thing observed. Viktor Frankl called this the ultimate essence of being. From this ultimate essence springs the human will. Consciousness is what this ultimate essence is aware of within the immense realm of thought. The ultimate essence of being, the observer, is the single unchanging platform in the universe, it is where we stand. All else, life itself, is constant motion.
— Larry Mullins.”
