Ron:
You know, Terry, a lot of people come to see me with all kinds of problems. Drugs, alcohol, marital problems, sexual problems, health problems
Terry:
Great job you got.
Ron:
Well... I like it. Because even in this little town, I feel like what I do is very connected with the real center of people's lives. I'm not saying I'm always Mr. Effective, but I don't feel like my life is off to the side of what's important. You know? I don't feel my happiness and comfort are based on closing my eyes to trouble within myself or trouble in other people. I don't feel like a negligible little scrap, floating around in some kind of empty void, with no sense of connectedness to anything around me except by virtue of whatever little philosophies I can scrape together on my own...
Terry:
Well
Ron:
Can I ask you, Terry: Do you think your life is important?
Terry:
You mean - Like, me personally, my individual life?
Ron:
Yeah.
Terry:
Well... I'm not sure - What do you mean? It's important to me. I guess. And like, to my, you know, the people who care about me...
Ron:
But do you think it's important?
Terry:
I -
Ron:
Do you think it's important in the scheme of things? Not just because it's yours, or because you're somebody's brother. Because I don't really get the impression that you do.
Terry:
Well, I don't think... I don't particularly think anybody's life has any particular importance besides whatever - you know - whatever we arbitrarily give it. Which is fine. I mean we might as well... I think I'm as important as anybody else...
Terry:
I don't know: A lot of what you're saying has a real appeal to me, Ron. A lot of the stuff they told us when we were kids... But I don't want to believe something or not believe it because I might feel bad. I want to believe it because I think it's true or not... I'd like to think that my life is important... Or that it's connected to something important...
Ron:
Well, isn't there any way for you to believe that without calling it God, or religion, or whatever term it is you object to?
Terry:
Yes. I believe that.
