Closer Than We Think

"Choose being kind over being right, and you'll be right every time."       - Richard Carlson -

The last three or four weeks have been the beginning of a slightly new direction for me spiritually.  It's a little hard to explain so maybe I should just start at the beginning.

I recently posted a new status on my Facebook page that resulted in a response I hadn't expected.  It clearly offended and even angered some people I respect and whom I consider to be friends.  It was a post of a religious/spiritual nature and, as usual, was meant only to invoke thought and reflection.  It did much more.  Not long ago, I would have dug a trench, stood my ground, and defended my position as "right".  This time I did something different.  I offered an apology and deleted my post.  I spent two days agonizing over backing down like I did.  It seemed to be the right thing to do, yet it was not part of what has historically been my nature.  I think that's changing.  There's more.

I remember distinctly the day I "became a Christian".  The details of that time aren't nearly as important as the change it initially brought about in me.  During that time, although it wasn't always comfortable, I professed my new-found faith and tried to convert non-believers with my "testimony".  After all, my way of belief was "the way" and I felt it necessary to share that with others lest they spend eternity in hell.  I also remember the period of time when I began to study about world religions and physics, thereby casting doubt on my faith.  The details, again, aren't so important.

In my journey from Atheist to Agnostic to Christian, back again to Agnostic and "finally" to  Gnostic, I have also tried to share my new discovery and "knowledge" with others.  I've argued against the religious establishment and pointed out what I felt were inconsistencies in religious dogma, etc.  I felt like it was my duty.  I felt like it was wrong for people to live, what I believed, was mythology.  I see now just how arrogant that stance was.  But wait.  There's more.

A couple weeks ago I went with Linda and a friend to see an independent film, The Nature of Existence, by Roger Nygard.  The web site is worth checking out and I actually recommend the film.  http://www.thenatureofexistence.com/.  Again, details aren't important.  Roger traveled the globe over a period of 4 years and interviewed a variety of people regarding the nature of our existence.  He asked people on the street, scientists and religious "gurus" a series of 85 questions regarding God, religion and our existence.  The film was interesting, but it was what Mr. Nygard said after the film during a question-and-answer period that caught my attention most.

After being asked how making the film might have changed him, Roger replied, "I think it's made me more tolerant of other's beliefs."  He went on to say the thing that has started my transformation.  He said that whether or not you believe we were created by God (a la Adam and Eve) or a cosmic miracle of stardust that began with the Big Bang, we can surely agree that we were "created".  I've thought about that comment a great deal, and I can't find a loop hole.  Christian, Muslim, Jew or Gentile, surely we can agree that by SOME event, we were indeed created.  And that's when I realized that for me, it's not so important that I'm right about my beliefs or that you're wrong.  What's important is that we find common ground as humans.  I can take it a step further.

We both pray.  You may actually call it prayer and I may call it meditation or "sending positive vibes to the universe", but the word "prayer" works fine for me.  I'm actually not doing anything much different than I did as a Christian.  I just call it something different.  We both believe in God.  You're specific about yours and even His name and I see things on a more cosmic level, but the term god works for me.  Higher Power, Universe, Supreme Being, Yaweh, Lord, Alien from another galaxy.....makes no difference to me.  It's someone or something greater than us.  On that we can agree.  Let's call it God.  Works for me.

As it turns out, if you really take liberty with the definition, I'm religious.  You go to church and may even follow a specific doctrine.  You may identify yourself as Catholic or Protestant, Lutheran or Follower of Allah.  I adhere to no specific doctrine and don't go to church, but I see the world and people as my "church".   You might say that the fact that I follow no religion IS my religion.  We can agree on that, right? 

So there you have it.  We were both created.  We pray.  We believe in God and follow a religion.  I'd say that's a pretty good start.  We have alot more in common than we think.  And in the end, isn't that really all that matters?  It doesn't matter so much who's right.  What's important is that we hold hands while we're all finding our way on this tiny little planet which couldn't even be considered a dust speck relative to the 100 million galaxies in our universe.  We're the same.  Sure we differ in some details of our beliefs and we look different, but we're all humans. We're all brothers and sisters.

I think there's still great potential for Peace, Love, Joy and Harmony.  I believe we're alot closer than we think.