Think Good Thoughts
Today is a day when someone in my large family is at a crossroads.Depending on the outcome, it could radically change lifestyle, family life, and family dynamic.
The outcome will be both positive and negative no matter the outcome. There certainly will be pros and cons to either result. There is definitely some scary risks as well.
Have I mentioned I am risk averse?
So I am asking just for some good thoughts coming my family member's way.
I often believe that life gives you what you need which may not necessarily be what you want, but it all works out in the end.
Definitely, there are ying-yang, kharmic elements, and/or higher forces at work.
I myself am still at a crossroads in life spiritually still unable to identify which of those I believe.
I think a little of all?
I guess I am putting a little faith in each basket, hedging my bets if you will. CG and I have been discussing religion and church of late. There has been this need for more spirituality in our lives.
We are looking for a faith that does not eliminate or judge others' faiths. Does not judge or claim to be the only truth, the only choice. We believe in perpetual education and seeking for truth, but know everyone's truths are different. We are looking for a tolerant source of spirituality after neither CG nor I having graced the doors of a house of worship in a dozen years. Neither of our childhood faith's fit our beliefs, he having a Catholic upbringing and I a Mormon childhood.
Both of these faiths have merits, but they are just not what we believe nor what we can stand for and most importantly, faiths to which we would feel comfortable introducing to our children. We seek a faith with open-minds allowed. We seem to be leaning Unitarian since it certainly appeals to our beliefs and ideals although we have only read about it, but are minds are still open.
So I guess we also are at a crossroads.
So be they prayers, positive affirmations, or just crossed fingers, please send them in my family's general direction, m'kay?
Many thanks my friends.
Many thanks also for the Flickr pic by NKPhillips.
8 Witty Comments For Me:
You just described my thoughts exactly. I did attend a Unitarin service about a year ago. As odd as this sounds it was almost TOO open for me. By that I mean I almost wished that they stood for SOMETHING. I still haven't found my niche. I hope you find yours. Please let us know what you decide. :)
I don't know if what you're looking for exists in a organized church. It sounds a lot like how people just live their lives today, without a church or church family. Me, I'm a Christian and believe in the One True God and His Son, Jesus. Yup, I'm a Jesus Freak. If you have any questions, I would love to talk to you about it. I'm also a theology major.
I'm a firm believer in religion being the cause, not the cure.
The best person to ask about crossroads is Ralph Machio.
Hey Scouty ~ You can have all my prayers, best wishes, thoughts etc..
My advice (you asked for it right) is to research and discuss. Rinse and repeat.
I myself am a Christian, but can't stand 'organized churches' that pick apart everyone else. So I just settle on loving folks as much like Christ as I can as a human. Ben and I travel from church to church sharing music, our kids get to see lots of different styles.
I think the focus of religion should be relationship, not doing an act (like going to church)religiously. That seems empty to me.
Regardless, we are all on the same journey of discovery. I hope you and yours find...IT. Whatever it is.
Blessings.
Sandhill Sis http://reclaimsimplcity.com
so...being from the same background as you, I found it hard to accept anything different than what i was used to. We tried a few Christian churches and found that the large getting lost in the crowd environment worked for us. It gives us the freedom of being as involved or not as we choose without the harsh judgment or laser beam focus of those around us (as i was used to growing up). You might think that the large out of control huge-ness of the church would be lacking a community feel but again it gave us an opportunity to get comfortable and then seek out people at our discretion. So whatever you figure out works for you guys I hope you find it. Love you guys!
Scout:
I'm a firm believer that there is something after this life but it is more of a physics answer, i.e. all energy is conserved, etc. rather than a spiritual one, i.e big guy with huge white beard surrounded by angels strumming harps on clouds.
Frankly, I think religion has done more to F-up this world than it has done to help it. We have the whacko versions of each religion, whether it be Muslim or Christian or Judaism or Hindu or Buddhism or whatever, whose main goal is to attack those that do not believe in their visions or their moral codes or that consider women as second or, rather, no class members (they can't become ministers, or they can't attend services where there are men, or they must use separate entrances or sit in different areas of the churches or mosques) or the even stranger versions that have to sacrifice animals or swing rabbits over their heads while chanting away their sins, etc.
There are certainly religious groups out there that are doing good things like helping to build shelters, or helping to feed the poor, or trying to stop wars and violence but many of these actions have strings attached to them.
Obviously, religion and belief are personal choices that we all have to make, whether in choosing a belief or in choosing not to believe. Only you can make that decision for yourself but I think you must be careful in your decision as there are many out there in this big ol' world that have hidden agendas and are always anxious to talk up their beliefs and recruit new converts.
For me, I try to be honest with people, I try to be a sharing and thoughtful guy, and I try not to judge people even if I believe that their belief system is warped. By treating people the way that you expect to be treated, with respect and good will, I think that is the best you can do. If there is something after this life that judges you on how you acted as a human being you'll be covered and if there isn't something after this short spark of life that we are fortunate to experience then, you probably won't know it.
I believe Mark Twain once said of death "I do not fear death. I had been dead for billions and billions of years before I was born, and had not suffered the slightest inconvenience from it."
Celebrate life because maybe the true "Heaven" is really the period of consciousness that we have been lucky enough to have been born into.
Good luck on your quest!
Dave and I are in a similar position, I guess, although I'm starting to think that it just comes down to the fact that organized religion isn't our bag. The challenge of that for me is, people tend to assume that since we don't belong to a church or identify ourselves with a denominational label that we have no beliefs at all. That's not the case. But it's hard for someone like me who cares so much about what other people think of me!
I wish you lots of luck. I hope you find what you're looking for.
I call myself a "Buffet table spiritualist": I pick and choose what I like from different schools of thought. It does seem like Unitarian may be the way to go, I think I would enjoy them if I wanted to have a church to give stability and structure to kids or whatever. :P
I had an upbringing, of secular Christian stuff mixed with New Age explorations, and a Catholic best friend.
I think that all religions are just trying to help us find our place in the world [Universe]. Some succeed more than others. :P
One thing I learned in Anthropology of Religion is, "People believe in something because it works for them".
Good Luck. I'd be interested to hear if the Unitarians work for you.
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