we don't yet see things clearly. we're squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. but it won't be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! we'll see it all then, see it all as clearly as god sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!
1 corinthians 13:12 (the message)
i call myself a christian. however i consider myself a spiritual christian, and have no desire at all to be a religious one.
over the course of my life thus far, i have explored several different areas of spirituality and have obtained information about many different religions. which religions and exactly what spiritual paths are inconsequential and irrelevant to this post. i chose to state my chosen spiritual path above only to satisfy your own curiosity if, in fact, that curiosity exists. (and because this is my blog and i will write whatever i want to.)
so, let's get on with it. as a result of my explorations and experiences there is one thing that i really feel that i have learned. something that i feel is rather indisputable (which will, of course, provoke disputation). this is the one thing that i have learned and that i feel is absolutely (and really truly), true. XD
this may be difficult to follow. i am going to articulate it as best i can. however i don't think that the essence of what i am going to say will require much intelligence. just a bit of acceptance and willingness to accept the truth whether it is what we have been conditioned to believe or not. one more thing: i am not trying to generate any kind of "following" concerning this thing. i came to the realization of this thing by walking my own path. i suggest you do the same.
it would seem that there is something very powerful and very timeless that exists, something invisible. something that all varieties of people throughout the existence of mankind have claimed to have witnessed or communicated with through various revelatory experiences. people's descriptions and beliefs concerning the nature of this thing and how we should respond to it's existence are as countless as the stars.
it exists. because it exists, that means that everything else that exists has some kind of relation to it. we exist in a place and time and state of being that is relative to this thing. a central scientific fact that is important to keep in mind as i continue to blabber, is this: no two things can occupy the same space at the same time. what this means is that no two people can or will ever relate to this thing in exactly the same way at the same time.
anything that exists has form. let's pretend for the sake of illustration that this thing is similar in form to a diamond. diamonds have many facets. some facets are clearer than others. some facets are extremely flawed. sometimes if you compare different facets of the same diamond, you might not believe that you are still looking at the same diamond! everyone that has ever existed has experienced and related to this diamond from a different perspective.
now, sometimes you will have two people who are very near to one another concerning how they relate to the thing. they may be so near one another's position in relation to the thing that it might even seem to them that they are seeing it exactly the same way. they might believe that they are in agreement about everything concerned with it. however, if one of them were to ever express a perception of the thing that differed from the other person's perception, well then they might begin to think that one of them had bumped their head too hard and was going a little crazy. sadly, they would each almost certainly conclude that the other person was wrong about the point of disagreement.
often there are large groups of people who all stand together and adore the way they see the thing together. they might have a little disagreement about what they are seeing, but they see enough of it commonly that they feel confident enough that they see are looking at the same thing that they can call it by the same name. that is, so long as the important parts remain agreed upon.
while all of this agreement and gathering is going on in that particular spot, the same thing is happening at many other places all around the thing. large congregations are gathering and adoring the thing together. the farther apart these congregations are, the more obviously their collective agreements differ from each other.
each congregation is so convinced that the way they see the thing is right, and they love their perspective so much, that they can't imagine that there is any other way to see it. inevitably, people from these congregations cross paths. when they share their knowledge of the thing with one another, there is a good possibility that one group of people may call red what the other sees as blue, important as what the other sees as unimportant, and most potentially tragically (historically tragically as a matter-of-fact), wrong what the other sees as right.
these congregations may be convinced that each others ideas differ so strongly from their own that they actually feel threatened. another thing they might think is that the other people's perceptions are morally and ethically wrong to such an extent as to deem that particular congregation as unworthy to continue living. so in the name of the way they see the the thing, they wage war.
whew! that was a lot about large common congregations.
i want to touch on some other cases that occur concerning relation to the thing.
there are some people who stand alone. no-one ever approaches their way of seeing the thing, ever. the clarity of how these people see the thing can vary widely. some of them are in a position that they see it from a seriously flawed perspective. even so, i am going to venture to say that there is probably something in this point of view that is appealing and clear enough to the person that they want to stay right where they are. maybe some of the people that stand alone see the thing from such a clear perspective that we count them as radicals, writing them off as being as nutty and insane as the guy who is seeing almost all flaws, when there is a possibility that they see the thing more clearly than anyone else ever has.
some people are closer to the thing than others. some people are very far away. i don't know that nearness or farness necessarily have anything to do with how badly a person wants to be near the thing, either. a person could have a very strong desire to draw near the thing. they may inquire of other people and they might even try viewing the thing from other people's perspectives. maybe this is beneficial and maybe it's not. it's hard telling not knowing, being that it's hard to tell just how clearly others see without first getting very close to them and trying their perspective on for size. so this method of trying to see the thing better could just as easily be detrimental as productive. in turn, the person who is very near the thing may have been fortunate to be surrounded with people who have guided them to a wonderfully clear view. however, that doesn't mean that they give a rat's ass about it or that they will ever give much attention to the thing.
a bit of irony: many people who begin their lives very near the thing are so familiar with it that they regard it as a common and are hard pressed to appreciate the beauty and the energy of the thing. in contrast, the person who begins afar may find themselves charged and zealous to experience more of it every time they catch a new glimpse of the thing.
there are certain people who i have heard of (i am not entirely convinced that they exist, but i don't entirely discount their existence, either), who claim that they have never even seen the thing at all. i am going to say that even though they may have their back turned or their eyes closed, nothing can change the plain and simple truth that they are still in relation to the thing.
some people travel all around the thing gaining as much insight as they can from as many perspectives as possible. sometimes they continue this for a lifetime. often, though, they will eventually settle on a favorite perspective.
other people make it their business to run amuck and try to persuade other people to come and see the thing their way.
just this morning it occurred to me that sometimes individuals can get too close to other individuals (sometimes right in their face), obstructing people's personal points of view.
and just as i wrote that, another one came to me. some people actually try to make such a spectacle of themselves that they distract other people and divert people's attention off of the thing and onto themselves...
i think i have successfully exhausted all of the examples in my arsenal at the moment :)
now, for the point of all this...
no matter how we see it, we are all looking at the same thing. at it's core, in the middle, the meat and potatoes of the thing is the same. consider how many different faiths all over the world, throughout time, are possessed of people who claim to have had profound, and intense spiritual experiences through which they have claimed to have some sort of contact or touch or message or revelation from this thing. i, myself, can be counted among them. i have had an encounter with the thing that i will never be able to deny. it was physical, it was spiritual, it was emotional... it was very real.
there are people all around the world who speak other languages and who have different daily routines and who have beliefs that are very different from the beliefs than i have who claim to have had an equally undeniable encounter. hell, there are people who live down the block who see the thing differently than i do who can stake the same claim.
i would be remiss (as well as disgustingly egotistical), to suggest that they are liars or that they are mistaken or that their experience came from some kind of dark and hellish realm.
the core of this thing is love and acceptance of everything that surrounds it, for all "us things" came from it. can we do as the thing does? can we just exist and love and accept without forcing everyone else to abide by our own will and ascribe to our own ideas?
my ways are flawed. i know that much. it is because i know that than i can accept that everyone else's ways are imperfect as well. i can be willing to not judge them. i don't find it necessary to wage war with you because you don't choose to come over here and see the same flaws that i do.
blessings!
---j
"when you have reached your own room, be kind to those who have chosen different doors and to those who are still in the hall. if they are wrong they need your prayers all the more; and if they are your enemies, then you are under orders to pray for them. that is one of the rules common to the whole house."
~c.s. lewis
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