Am I self-righteous or am I responsible?

To rationalize is human.
To self-justify is human.
To take responsibility is divine - or, if you prefer, just very mature.

Today's blessings, tomorrow's strength

What if my present blessings do not last?  What if today turns out to be the very zenith of my blessings; that life gets, and stays, harder starting tomorrow?  Would I enjoy today less if I knew that?  Would fear of the future make me less grateful for my present blessings?  Would I not strive to use my present blessings, and gratitude for them, to grow and to increase my capacity to bear travail?

January 11, 2015

“Send me.”

Those two words* sum up the Bible’s message of service.

Send me to places of confusion, loneliness and anxiety.

Send me to places afflicted by anger and hatred.

Send me to places of conflict and violence.

Send me – for a moment or a life’s commitment - guiding me and strengthening me with love, dear God.

Send me.

It is a request, an offer, an exhortation, a prayer.

How often will I say it?

* Isaiah 6:8.

Learning, not judging?

There are an infinite number of subjects to discuss or contemplate.
If we are talking, or just thinking, about something - whatever it may be - isn't it more interesting and valuable to ask what we can learn from doing so, including why we are talking or thinking about that subject, than to judge the importance of talking or thinking about it?

January 4, 2015

Attaining the Buddha self.

Allah’s gift of peace.

The peace of Yahweh which passes all understanding.

The peace of Jesus, the Son of God, which passeth all understanding.

The peace of God which passes all understanding.

The peace which passes all understanding.

The peace . . .

There is the human experience of transcendent peace – that everything is all right just the way it is – rare and brief as that experience may be.

Then there are the attempts to describe that peace, and how to find it, developing and diverging over millennia of religious and cultural history.  Then there is self-righteousness – the notion that our traditions and our paths are the right ones, not just the right ones for us.

Let us strive not to better describe that peace, but to better live and share it.