I believe that "god" is a collective energy. Humanity. In the musical Les Miserables it says: "To love another person is to see the face of god." I believe this is true in a figurative sense. When we love others, we are most plugged into Humanity. We feel happiness. We are most receptive to feeling the collective energy of those around us.
I believe that we as humans have no pre-set purpose for existing. "Why are we here?" is a moot, generalized question. Why does that deer exist up there on that mountain? Why did that serf exist in 1344? Irrelevent, all of it. We are part of the circle of life, just the same as billions of humans before us, just the same as all living things. And so, because I have no specific guideline or reason for existing (other than simply "I exist"), I set for myself a purpose. And that purpose is to experience all walks of life and culture. My self-determined reason for existence is to find and cherish the Best of Humanity. (subtopic for another time: how to define the "Best of Humanity")
I believe that I am responsible for my own actions. I can choose to do something, or not choose it, and my reasons are my own. The way I interpret others' actions is based on my own life experiences and insecurites, and is therefore biased. The way others interpret my actions is based on their own life experiences and insecurities, and is therefore biased. No one can truly and exactly understand another human being. But I find I'm most at peace with myself and am positively connected to the collective energy of Humanity when I'm actively engaged in trying to understand others. I believe that relationships are most functional when the parties involved care enough to put themselves into their partner's place and look at things from their point of view. It's a journey, a path, but one without destination. Just walking the path of Trying To Understand is courageous and speaks volumes as to one's priorities.
I believe that attacking others based on your own personal preferences or opinions of how life ought to be is destructive and counterproductive. I believe to do so actually pulls one further from Humanity, and creates a harder time of plugging back in.
8 comments:
Wow, La, I really like this. You have a great idea here. Thanks for sharing your view.
Excellent insights!!! :D
BTW this sort of thing is one of the reasons I say that I can't prove that God doesn't exist. God isn't well-defined -- it's different things to different people...
Our oldest daughter (of our six kids) called me a couple nights ago very late, nearly midnight, to talk. She's pretty much a 22 year old single mother who has resigned from the Morg and lives in St. George. Not an enviable scenario.
She talked about longing for something to believe in and asked me what I believed and if I still believed in a god... or what? She mentioned having a difficult time feeling some purpose without belief in some sort of "god".
I told her that all I can come up with anymore that I believe in is that honesty is an unwavering value. Being honest with others and with yourself. That I believe kindness to others and to ourselves is the other universal value. That I believe we should do what we can to brighten and improve the lives of those we come in contact with by being, and living our lives in the present. In the moment. And that I believe being "in the moment" and present is where the "miracles" of life are to be found. They are all around us. From the beauty of a sunrise to a sunset. From the beauty of a young child to the beauty of a woman. From the smells of nature to the warmth we feel from the sunshine on our skin. It's all wonderful if we are present enough to notice them all. And.... more importantly these are reason enough for us to take joy in LIVING !!
Beyond that I told her that I believe monotheistic religions for sure and many others for that matter tend to remove our focus from the present to something else. To another world, another existence, another paradigm which is most often NOT of the present.
Being present helps us focus on "humanity" and "connect" with those who touch our lives. Being present helps us understand our place in the larger world around us and to feel of it's many gifts in our lives. From the feel of a breeze blowing across our face. The feeling of water running across our body (did this today again with Christine in Lake Tahoe.. always a joy), to the savory tastes we are allowed to enjoy in the things we eat.
Life is GOOD if we are present and available to notice and soak it in. IF wea are present enough to bless the lives of our loved ones, our friends, and those we meet. A smile, a kind word of encouragement, and embrace. Present enough to take in the beauty that surrounds us in the grandest ways and in the smallest of things.
I enjoyed very much what you wrote Laura. Christine and I read a few posts of yours and Eric's last night. They made us smile and gave us a laugh or two. Dogs eating underwear. Coworkers in Happy Valley guessing about ones "mormoness"... or not. All too funny.
Ross & Christine
1) Argh. I felt all guilty when I read, "...attacking others based on your own personal preferences or opinions of how life ought to be..." I KNOW I do that, and then I lambast other people for doing it. SUCH a hypocrite.
2) "Les Miserables" is an example of what we call "deadly theatre." Blah.
3) I TOTALLY commented on two tiny points of your post, but not on the post as a whole. That's way annoying.
All of these thing are thing that I work on. I don't have these traits perfected, but the reason I wanted them written out is to provide some kind of guideline for myself.
The "attack" one can be specific or generalized. It's something I am only now just coming to put into practice. In the past, as a follower of Christ, I tended to attack first, listen later. NOT a good quality in a person.
Thanks for the comments you guys! (except you Rebecca. kidding, gosh!) I really like others' philosophical insights.
I love your insight on this topic. I just hope my path isn't filled with too many potholes!! ;0
Don't feel bad about missing out on your Tv shows...I only get to watch about 50% of any given show...too busy with life, as it should be!! Have a great day!! Look I already sound positive...but then again, it isn't even noon yet! :)
Love your site.
Your thoughts on life are very insightful!
Jennifer
Blogger isn't letting me post comments - I keep erroring.
Note to self: compose notes in notepad and copy/paste to here, otherwise Blogger will eat your comments and you won't remember the brilliant things you typed in the first place.
One thing I remembered:
The London cast for Les Mis is my fave - not the US production. The specific line you quoted, LA, is very poignant.
Oh, I wrote something about my purpose in life right now is avoiding the masses of humanity - I'm peopled out after the last several days at a conference. Being home is a good thing.
Woot! I have lots of reading to catch up on.
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