I made a terrible mistake last week. I mentioned religion on Facebook. I am probably making my second error today
blogging about it.
The item that I responded to said something about praying
for Christians in Egypt because their religion was killing them. I stupidly commented that we should pray for
those who think their religion is the only right one.
I was raised by fanatic Christians who condemned everyone
around them. The Baptist were sinners
and were going to hell. The Catholics
were even worse and would spend eternity in purgatory. I kept wondering who had died and made them
God. I respected them and their religion
but I kept thinking that maybe the Baptist and Catholics were plenty happy in
their religion.
I was lucky that my fanatic Christian parents did not force
their religion on me but allowed me to make my own decision. Well I decided to burn in their hell. I tried out many religions. I went to Catholic mass, took Eastern
Religion in college and listened to many friends and acquaintances speak their
minds about their religious beliefs.
One of the things that happened with the hubster was one of
the reasons I was drawn to him. When I
asked him about his religious beliefs, he told me he was baptized a Lutheran
but that “his beliefs transcend most organized religions.” That just blew me away. This thought felt so warm within me.
My first yoga class was when I was about 22. I was taking some business classes because I
thought it might help me to get a better job.
Along with the classes I decided to try yoga. I enjoyed the many postures but what really
kicked my ass were the meditations. I
have been hyperactive most of my life and the thrill I get when I “learn to be
still” (Thank you Eagles for this expression) is so ecstatic to me.
I realized I had found part of my spirituality. I unfortunately did not continue to practice
it much until later in life.
I feel that religion is kind of like an outfit. You try it on and if it doesn’t feel right
well don’t condemn your neighbor if they buy it and wear it proudly. Not everyone looks good in that outfit. And so I went out and found my proper
outfit. I am a Pantheist. I don’t go out of my way to announce the
fact. But the first time I read about Pantheism
I knew that was my religion. The outfit
looked pretty good on me.
I have much respect for life in general. If I start a bunch of seeds it is hard for me
to thin them and keep the strongest. I
have these stupid cherry tomatoes that keep coming up in my garden and it is so
hard for me to pull them by the hands full and pitch them into the compost. Last year I had this unknown squash thing
come up and it was decorative gourds.
They drew every squash bug in the vicinity and really pissed me off.
I do kill houseflies.
They are dirty and nasty and I won’t tolerate them in my home. I also don’t care for mosquitos or
snakes. If I find large insects in the
house I do try to move them outside without hurting them. I am growing an unnatural hatred of Japanese
beetles. They are invading my red
raspberries and I am getting fed up with them.
Back to the religion subject – I don’t understand the Muslim
thing with killing all infidels but I think not all Muslims believe in
this. I really should look further into
this.
I personally believe if you want to worship dog turds, you
have every right to do so. If it isn’t
affecting my outfit then go for it.
I found it extremely funny when Addi told me that Jess had
told all of their friends that I was a Buddhist. I do have a couple of Buddhas in my home but
I just really like the dude. I like
Jesus too. I think what he preached was
pretty cool. However, I do not believe
in evangelism. Don’t criticize my outfit
and I won’t try to convince you to get one just like it.
One of the most influencing things I have ever heard that reflected
my beliefs was in the song Windup by
Jethro Tull on the Aqualung album. They
sang “he’s not the kind you have to wind up on Sunday.” Thank you Ian Anderson. I usually spend most of my Sundays in the
garden when I can. It is there that I
find most of my religion. And now
retired, sitting Zazen. Learning to be
still…
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