Dialog

Maybe one of life’s big questions is the on that that lurks in the backs of most our minds is “If we began a relationship with God, would it feel good?”. The answer is apparently not a given, right, or we’d all be signed up. I continue to have thoughts deepening in my spirit that believes we are all connected to God whether we like it or not. All we have to do is awaken and participate. That will have to wait for another post. Not everybody feels good about God. Most of us have not been allowed to have our own experience. We’ve only seen the Creator in the box in which we were given. I think we are all hungry to understand the big mystery, we’ve just never had the permission to ask the questions.

I hear controversy all the time. Who is right, who has never been right. Rob Bell has stirred a hornets nest and he is talking about the abundant love of the Creator. So go figure, but anything that is said will have another side to debate it. Like any of us are rarely right about such matters. I think we will all be surprised beyond our mortal abilities when we find out the real deal. What does it say? “The peace that passes all understanding”.

I had coffee with a friend this morning, and every time we get together, I walk away feeling so refreshed and full of light. We dialog. We discuss and we listen; really listen to each other. Listening is lost on most of us. This friend listens really well and it makes me feel like I then do it better. Point is, the dialog. The openess to question all that has been taught, all that has been passed on to us. To shake out the pieces that don’t fit and examine them.

But our spirituality, our journey isn’t static. Isn’t it ever evolving? Who feels about things at 50 the way they did at 15 or 25? Is anything really static? Doesn’t feel that way to me. If views and emotions are constantly growing and shaping, then dialog is key. We learn when we listen, we grow when we are challenged and the glimpses of peace are so wonderfully sweet when we find them.

The two things I left our coffee time with today were, being present and being awake. Two tough tasks for us over worked, over driven members of western society. To slow down and be present in any given moment, taking it all in, is an exercise of difficult proportion. And to be awake to our world and our emotions, and how we are in the world, is a complex notion, but a rewarding one, once the practice is begun.

So there we were two guys in their 50’s, talking of family, children, heritage, God, life, mystery and journey. Sharing our stories, listening, trying to remain as present as possible and to be awake to all that our Creator has for us in those moments. We were dialoging, freely, safely exchanging views and fears of life. Trying our best to shed a layer or two of the fear and shame that our cultures have laid upon our spirits.

It’s good to talk. To share. To dialog. When I find myself in conversations with people that know it all, I do give myself a pass on being present. Then that isn’t dialog at all. I want to say that we are not alone. That we are not the only ones having these thoughts. There are many of us in the human family digging for a truth, a view of our Creator that makes us feel connected. It’s ok to look at things differently, from a non traditional slant. Remember that the word tradition goes back to day one, and history and tradition are different things.

Anyone want to weigh in on this? Do you feel honest questions are a valid thing for us to do, or should we cling tightly to the tried and tested ways of the ones that came before us? Is there a middle ground; a way to do both. A way for each of us, with our remarkably different natures, to find peace and contentment with our beliefs?