They

They say; you know, the mysterious all knowing "They" whose collective wisdom make Aristotle and Confucius look like a pair of special needs kids drooling over their rusks and fingerpainting with their own faeces.  The anonymous, omnipotent They who, more than any other factor, have been the motive force for humanity's journey from the predator haunted plains of Africa to the glittering pillars of civilisation that now grace our planet.  They; guiding, watching, warning, encouraging, always in the shadows, never claiming the credit that is their due.  It's as though the human race has a benevolent stalker one hand always ready to rescue us from disaster.

Who is (are?) this mysterious They?  So nebulous and insubstantial yet so wide reaching and powerful extending into every facet of our lives.  Not a single act, endeavour, idea or emotion is untouched by They now holding us back, now propelling us forward.  They envelops the whole of humanity and yet we are completely ignorant about They.  Or are we? 

Consider this; we do not go to heaven when we die.  There is no paradise, no virgins, no celestial bureaucracy, no serried ranks of ancestors waiting for us to take our place amongst them.  There is only They.  On death we leave our bodies and become part of They residing in the minds of the living guiding their thoughts and actions, bringing a fractious and disparate human race together.

We are our own Gods.  Without temples, without worship, needing no tithe, hearing no prayers yet always present.  The worship is subcontracted to deities created for the purpose to satisfy the human need to have a spiritual focus for their prayers.  In this as in everything else They have provided without giving more than the slightest hint of their own presence and power.  Even as we invoke them we do so half mockingly or with an implied roll of the eyes yet invoke them we do.  We don't even have a name for them, they are just They and  They have never demanded more.  The wisdom of They is apparent in even the most mundane of circumstances.

They say you should never shop for food when you're hungry.  This would explain why I walked out of my local convenience store last night with a bottle of milk, a piece of baklava and a packet of twisties.  Somewhere They are shaking their heads in despair.