I think of John Lennon’s song “Imagine.” and I also like this quote that I found on Facebook:
Baruch de Spinoza was a Dutch philosopher considered one of the three great rationalists of 17th-century philosophy, along with René Descartes in France, and Gottfried Leibniz in Germany.
Here’s some of his wisdom:
God would have said:
Stop praying and punching yourself in the chest!
What I want you to do is go out into the world and enjoy your life. I want you to enjoy, sing, have fun and enjoy everything I’ve made for you.
Stop going to those dark, cold temples that you built yourself and say they are my house! My house is in the mountains, in the woods, rivers, lakes, beaches. That’s where I live and there I express my love for you.
Stop blaming me for your miserable life; I never told you there was anything wrong with you or that you were a sinner, or that your sexuality was a bad thing! Sex is a gift I have given you and with which you can express your love, your ecstasy, your joy. So don’t blame me for everything they made you believe.
Stop reading alleged sacred scriptures that have nothing to do with me. If you can’t read me in a sunrise, in a landscape, in the look of your friends, in your son’s eyes… you will find me in no book! Trust me and stop asking me. Would you tell me how to do my job?
Stop being so scared of me. I do not judge you or criticize you, nor get angry, or seek to punish you. I am pure love.
Stop asking for forgiveness, there’s nothing to forgive. If I made you… I filled you with passions, limitations, pleasures, feelings, needs, inconsistencies… free will. How can I blame you if you respond to something I put in you? How can I punish you for being the way you are, if I’m the one who made you? Do you think I could create a place to burn all my children who behave badly for the rest of eternity? What kind of God would do that?
Forget any kind of commandments, any kind of laws; those are wiles to manipulate you, to control you, that only create guilt in you.
Respect your peers and don’t do what you don’t want for yourself. All I ask is that you pay attention in your life, that your consciousness is your guide.
My beloved, this life is not a test, not a step, not a rehearsal, nor a prelude to paradise. This life is the only thing that exists here and now, and it is all you need.
I have set you absolutely free, no prizes or punishments, no sins or virtues… no one carries a marker, no one keeps a record.
You are absolutely free to create in your life heaven or hell.
I could tell you if there’s anything after this life, but I won’t… but I can give you a tip. Live as if there is nothing after… as if this is your only chance to enjoy, to love, to exist.
So, if there’s nothing, then you will have enjoyed the opportunity I gave you. And if there is, rest assured that I won’t ask if you behaved right or wrong, I’ll ask. Did you like it? Did you have fun? What did you enjoy the most? What did you learn?…
Stop believing in me; believing is assuming, guessing, imagining. I don’t want you to believe in me… I want you to feel me in you when you kiss your beloved, when you tuck in your little girl, when you caress your dog, when you bathe in the sea.
Stop praising me, what kind of egomaniac God do you think I am?
I’m bored being praised, I’m tired of being thanked. Feeling grateful? Prove it by taking care of yourself, your health, your relationships, the world. Express your joy!… that’s the way to praise me.
Stop complicating things and repeating as a parakeet what you’ve been taught about me.
The only thing for sure is that you are here, that you are alive, and that this world is full of wonders.
What do you need more miracles for? Why so many explanations?
Look for me outside… you won’t find me. Find me inside… there I am beating within you.
Baruch de Spinoza via post found on Facebook Aug 17 2020.

I stand for willingness.

I say the Third Step Prayer each morning because I believe my job is willingness. God’s job is transformation. All is grace and I want to commit myself to let it flow.:
“God I offer myself to Thee to build with me and do with me what you will. Relieve me of the bondage of self that I might better do Thy will. Take away my difficulties that victory over them may bear wisdom to those I would help of your power, your love and your way of life. May I do thy will always.”
That said. Some difficulties cannot be removed and I pray for the grace to accept them and learn from them.

This question made me think of a quote from Pema Chodron: “Whatever moves us beyond self-centeredness sows positive seeds in our mind-stream. With the right causes and conditions, these seeds will blossom into fortunate circumstances. This good fortune is called “merit” and manifests as supportive outer conditions and mental states.” Personally my perspectives lately have not been sowing the best of seeds. Thankfully, I’m aware of that fact and as my 12 step sponsor used to say, “When you know better, you do better!” Wish me luck.

Appreciate it and behave accordingly. Reminded me of a poem I wrote in 2010 in response to a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Ode to Mother Nature

O Mother of us all,
We watch you while you bleed.
We’ve drilled a hole in your heart.
We’ve harmed your creative reed.

O Mother of us all,
Fingers point here and there.
We want to blame and shame.
Our guilt we cannot bear.

O Mother of us all,
When will we learn to see?
We dwell within your womb.
Without you, we cease to be.

Orphans we’ve become
Through our own collective fault
When will we stop this rampage,
this unrelenting assault

on the Mother of us all?

My focus today is on “letting go.” I don’t want to fight. I don’t want to flee. I don’t want to freeze. I want to be the peace I seek here and now. I value knowing over knowledge, experience over man-made dogma. I know that my tense body makes it difficult to embody peace. Today’s question asks me to explain how I can be that peace. Today and hopefully every day, I will be mindful of my thoughts and feelings. I will use the mantra, “Relax and Release.” I will remember to act not react, to forgive my self and others when we fail to do so. The decision to forgive does not mean that I totally “let go.” It does mean that I’m willing and that allows grace to flow. It reminds me of the song, “Peace is Flowing like a River.” I want peace to flow in and through me. Pilgrim shared the verse of a Gary Ault hymn on this site a couple of days ago. I found it very helpful because it reminded me that my heart is both frightened and free and that is okay. I share it again here:
All that we have, and all that we offer,
Comes from our heart both frightened and free.
Take what we bring now and give what we need,
All done in His Name.

I guess feeling grateful does not always lead to action. Being grateful often does. Feelings pass. Being demand presence. Grateful presence changes things both in and around you. It’s healing energy is bound to assist both you and those whose lives cross your path. I think today’s quote reflects what I’m attempting to express!
“The future is not some place we are going, but one we are creating. The paths are not to be found, but made. And the activity of making them changes both the maker and their destination.”
John Schaar

Hi Christine, I agree. To have faith is to trust. It has nothing to do with dogma. It took me many years to realize that life is trustworthy. That living my questions was more important than getting answers. I do my best to Be here now and claim the wisdom Presence offers. I think of the Psalm that tells us “To be still and know that I am God.” My bible translates that as “Desist and know that I am God.” Go with the flow. Desisting is a lot different than resisting! Blessings always and all ways.