During the holidays, "boyfriend" and Mom spent nearly an evening debating how literally one can interpret the bible stories we explain to children at Christmas. (Mom teaches Sunday School in Ohio; boyfriend's best church story is about climbing to the top of a Swiss church tower as a prank -- an adventure my brothers sadly missed by not having been raised Swiss.)
I mostly enjoyed and appreciated the directness of the questions and answers, although they were both so opinionated that I felt I almost had to separate them into their corners after some hours. We all had early times in our lives when we learned the "rules." Now as adults of various ages, we still interpret their meaning differently and individually.
During the Fall, several people had raised spirituality with me in a range of contexts. And I recognized that I could say more about what I didn't believe (e.g. in the interpretation of rules by organizations, which are always about Power in some form. That "religion" does not always respect the individual right to choose what he or she believes) than what I did believe. And yet, this is an important dimension of a whole life -- what one feels or believes about the larger world does drive certain actions and attitudes. And so as I've had a little time to ponder I recently wrote these things in my journal:
What is a belief in something "Spiritual?"
It's an ability to let go to life and accept it as it is
To listen a little better to the inside voice
To trust a little more
To control (or try to be in control) a little less
To relax better and adjust better
To love more
To show more kindness, generosity
To hope for the best in all situations and to believe that it is sometimes possible
For me, the point of the story-telling is a way to communicate that no one can be perfect. Stay open to new perspectives in life and learn from them. Or at least try.
Comments