A Reflection on Maybe (Maybe Not): Second Thoughts from a Secret Life, a Book by Robert Fulghum Essay

Robert Fulghum opens his book, Maybe (Maybe Not) Second Thoughts from a Secret Life, with going back in time to an intellectual conversation he had once had with a rabbi on the summarization of human wisdom. The rabbi believes that the Hebrew term, timshel, meaning may summarizes human wisdom based on the very beginnings of the Bible. Robert Fulghum then goes on to tell readers the story of Adam and Eves eldest son, Cain, who happens to be the first man born outside of paradise after his parents expulsion from the Garden of Eden. Cain got older and became a cultivator of land. When Cains first fruits sprung, Cain brought them as an offering to God, only for them to be rejected, because of Cains being tangled up with evil. God then tells Cain, But, you may triumph over evil and have abundant life (3). According to Robert Fulghum, this is a very crucial sentence because as mentioned earlier, may in Hebrew is, timshel. Robert Fulghum then continues to keep speaking of the Hebrew term and its many interpreted meetings over time, such as, you shall and you will and oddly, you cannot (4). Robert believes that, All these interpretations define a relationship with God that leaves little freedom (4). Continuing on timshel, Robert believes that interpreting it as you may gives the option of choice, making humans believe that the destiny of their lives is in their hands. To end this summary, Robert says that, Whatever we may think or believe, what we have done is our story (5). This brings him to the conclusion that human wisdom is actually based on a simpler word, maybe.Although it took a while to actually get to what Robert Fulghum believes in and actually understand it, now that I am able to, I agree with him. The lives that we are given are based on maybe and they are already planned out for us. It seems that...

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