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Gratefulness
I am not only grateful for “good” experiences but also for the “bad” ones too, because it is these experiences that bless us with wisdom.
I used to be a fairly conservative Christian and took the Bible as inherent and infallible. This brought a lot of pain to me, however, because I worried about being condemned to hell or of God being angry with me. Rather unexpectedly, however, I made some discoveries that led me to believe that, while the Bible is a sacred text and provides an account of people’s experience of God in a particular time and context, it does not mean that the ideas and beliefs expressed in it are always 10...
I used to be a fairly conservative Christian and took the Bible as inherent and infallible. This brought a lot of pain to me, however, because I worried about being condemned to hell or of God being angry with me. Rather unexpectedly, however, I made some discoveries that led me to believe that, while the Bible is a sacred text and provides an account of people’s experience of God in a particular time and context, it does not mean that the ideas and beliefs expressed in it are always 100% accurate or meant to be taken literally. Today, I am a Unitarian Universalist who thinks it unlikely that anyone will be eternally damned or that there are some people that God doesn’t love, and to me, all religions are valid paths to the sacred.
“Every contraction is naturally followed by an expansion. Every time you feel your heart shrivel, be confident that it will blossom in turn.”-Rumi
Learning about different religions or even reviewing what I already know about world religions often awakens my mind and emotions to the beauty of the world as it is experienced through particular faith traditions. For instance, when I study Sufi Islam, it helps me to recognize that Allah is manifested in all of creation.
I can see the fallen yellowing leaves of Autumn, a slight wind blowing in the dying plants, the yellowing grass, and smoke in the air from some distant wildfires. .
Before I begin doing my schoolwork, I always say this prayer: “O God, You have spoken through the Prophet Jesus, saying, ‘Without Me, you can do nothing.’ In faith, I embrace Your words, O God, and bow before Your goodness. Help me to complete the work I am about to begin for Your own glory. Amen.” This prayer helps me to hallow my schoolwork and do it with awareness that I can only complete it and learn from it with God’s help, not effort alone.
The Dalai Llama is a beautiful example of true humility. He is one of the greatest religious figures in the world and has brought a great deal of Tibetan Buddhist teachings to the West, yet he does not parade himself as special or seek the praise of people (even though it’s inevitably what he receives anyway because he is so humble). He’s not long some of the past popes, for example, who wear fancy outfits and wave at crowds for the purpose of accolades. He simply seeks to lead wi...
The Dalai Llama is a beautiful example of true humility. He is one of the greatest religious figures in the world and has brought a great deal of Tibetan Buddhist teachings to the West, yet he does not parade himself as special or seek the praise of people (even though it’s inevitably what he receives anyway because he is so humble). He’s not long some of the past popes, for example, who wear fancy outfits and wave at crowds for the purpose of accolades. He simply seeks to lead with compassion and love for all sentient beings.
In college, there was one time when I was having a mild panic attack at a restaurant we were eating at the night before our cross country meet. One of my friends sympathized and asked if I needed them to quiet down. I told her no and that I would be fine, but just the fact that she cared enough to say something and show concern was really sweet, and it was one of those small acts that had a big impact on me.
One way I can tend my path to make it attractive to those who follow is to talk about it in terms that are uplifting. Merely telling people, “I participate in justice work because I believe that everyone deserves to be treated kindly” is rather vague and uninspiring for some. If, however, I use more compelling, perhaps even theological, language, it will be more attractive for others. For instance, I could say, “I participate in justice work because I believe that I have a s...
One way I can tend my path to make it attractive to those who follow is to talk about it in terms that are uplifting. Merely telling people, “I participate in justice work because I believe that everyone deserves to be treated kindly” is rather vague and uninspiring for some. If, however, I use more compelling, perhaps even theological, language, it will be more attractive for others. For instance, I could say, “I participate in justice work because I believe that I have a spark of divine Love within myself and so believe that I am capable of doing this important work. I also believe that those who I am serving with also have a spark of divine Love within them and so ought to be treated as fully human.” THAT will get people to listen.
I can make more space in my life for beauty by reading texts about religious and spiritual philosophy (including world scriptures) and maintaining an awareness about what they reveal about the beauty of nature and of sentient beings. For example, reading the Upanishads reminds me that everything in existence is part of Brahman and makes the world feel more beautiful and colorful.
When I let go of my preconceptions about how life “should” be, as hard as that is, I actually see that, on some level, there is no “should” about life. We are creatures like all others and have evolved to be a part of the environment that is the world. Just as we observe nature and don’t typically judge the lives of fish swimming, lions packing together, or wolves hunting as “bad” or “good,” we see that our own lives are just like there’s. Everything that happens is part o...
When I let go of my preconceptions about how life “should” be, as hard as that is, I actually see that, on some level, there is no “should” about life. We are creatures like all others and have evolved to be a part of the environment that is the world. Just as we observe nature and don’t typically judge the lives of fish swimming, lions packing together, or wolves hunting as “bad” or “good,” we see that our own lives are just like there’s. Everything that happens is part of a natural cycle of life even judgments about how life “should” be.
For me, to trust life is to feel whatever you need to feel about whatever situation you’re in but also to simultaneously know that all is well and that whatever is happening, even if unpleasant, is an opportunity to grow in wisdom and in love of God, self, and others. It’s okay to acknowledge when something is unpleasant, but it’s good to simultaneously acknowledge, “I am learning something from this that will make me wiser in the future!”
Awe at the wonder of the complex structures in the body (the human brain and immune system are considered the two most complex systems in the universe) arises in me when I think about my body. It’s also amazing how a patterned code from DNA can give proteins instructions for creating such a complex system. Also, the fact that our brains affect and are affected by our consciousness is very fascinating when we think of it. And the limbic system, which allows us to have the deepest kinds o...
Awe at the wonder of the complex structures in the body (the human brain and immune system are considered the two most complex systems in the universe) arises in me when I think about my body. It’s also amazing how a patterned code from DNA can give proteins instructions for creating such a complex system. Also, the fact that our brains affect and are affected by our consciousness is very fascinating when we think of it. And the limbic system, which allows us to have the deepest kinds of spiritual, emotional, and relational experiences with other humans. It’s all an amazing miracle!
Sometimes, people do stupid things that really get me riled up, but when I allow myself to get that way, I find that I am less open to unconditional love and care for others. On the other hand, when I work to cultivate forgiveness and remember that the person in question has a story that I could never fully understand, I am able to embrace them with love, remembering that they are acting from their own pain.
I think I need to love the parts of me that are broken more. Sometimes, I try to get away from the sadness and anxious feelings about my past traumas and value myself when I can “move past it” or “conquer it.” Sometimes, though, there might be something beautiful about crying, obsessing, shaking, and feeling scared and just loving that part of myself. I don’t have to be a victim, but it’s also okay not to be a warrior all the time either.
Since I’m chewing gum right now, I’ll focus on taste. Something about being able to chew on something with a relaxing mint flavor helps me to focus and feel more productive and less worried. I also love the cool sensation it gives to my tongue and the mildly sweet taste mixed in it.
Living sustainably, directing my own desires and skills to the needs of others, gratitude, consulting the I Ching, listening to all sides of ethical issues with the open and “empty” mind that Zhuangzi describes, reading sacred texts, prayer, studying forgiveness from various cultural and academic frameworks, studying UFO and alien encounters, participating in theater, running, watching movies on forgiveness, practicing creative visualization, respecting and admiring the interdepen...
Living sustainably, directing my own desires and skills to the needs of others, gratitude, consulting the I Ching, listening to all sides of ethical issues with the open and “empty” mind that Zhuangzi describes, reading sacred texts, prayer, studying forgiveness from various cultural and academic frameworks, studying UFO and alien encounters, participating in theater, running, watching movies on forgiveness, practicing creative visualization, respecting and admiring the interdependent web of existence, having clean space (that’s the hard one for me), experimenting with the Law of Attraction, and reading classic literature all feed my soul.
Right now, I’m working on being in a deeper relationship with my dad, with whom I’ve had a rough relationship with throughout my life. I’m also coming to a place, however, where I see how much trauma he went through as a child and how that probably impacted the way he has responded to things since. It’s just hard to know how to let him know because I struggle so much with insecure avoidant attachment, and so it’s hard to show him affection because of that.
My mythological imagination and fascination with the paranormal/spirituality are some gifts I have had since I was a child and still retain to this day.
In seminary, part of what we do is listen to the voices of those from developing countries and the voices of the marginalized from within our own context, as well as those who understand faith from a different cultural lens. One way I can stretch myself is to listen to these voices carefully and actually incorporate their insights into my own theology as best as I can.
I can absolutely live with the knowledge that all I do has an impact on the world. Perhaps my goal should be to use as little technology as possible and to reduce, reuse, and recycle when possible, so as to reduce my pollution footprint on the earth. Also, taking appropriate precautions related to the pandemic (wearing a mask and social distancing) will help me to reduce the chance of accidentally contradicting Covid-19 and spreading it to others.
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