Opening A Canny of Worms?

Ok the title of this post isn't being used for what it was originally intended :P But it applies nonetheless.

It seems it's just not polite in social situations to discuss certain things. Politics and religion being at the top. Sure you discuss them with friends, but don't you find that no two opinions are the same? Is it really true that, in this case, religion or spirituality cannot be discussed without a hail of arguments or one-sided righteousness by all involved? Probably. I have always prided myself on being open-minded but when I look back at some of the ways over my life that I have closed myself off to different aspects of various religions I question how truly open-minded I have been.

Recently I had an experience where this guy just walked up and sat beside me on a bench. I had noticed him carrying some religious reading material. However, when he approached where I was sitting he was praising Jesus and reciting scripture out loud. He was alone. I squirmed. What exactly do you do in this situation? Smile and nod politely? Pretend you're hard of hearing? Or that you speak no English? Well, I'm kinda a polite person... I guesssss. And I hate for people to feel weird or awkward. So, I smiled. Notice how he's the one on his soapbox and being vocal by choice and I'm worried he'll feel embarrased :P

Anyhow, being nice sometimes leads inevitably to having a conversation against your will. About? Well, in this case about Jesus Christ Our Lord and Saviour, of course. Now, like I mentioned I haven't always been as open-minded as I should have been regarding other people's religious or spiritual beliefs. Years ago a conversation between myself and this gentleman might have gone kinda like this: Him lecturing and me arguing. Me finding ways to get him to answer questions that in my opinion were always avoided when I asked them in this context. Knowing that I may have closed myself off to alot of things in the past and curious about some parts of the ways people practice their faith or stay true to themselves, I really tried for understanding and interest in this case.

"Robert" was born again at age 35. Daily he reads from about 8 different little 'Word of God' books and also scripture from the Bible. He gave me a little booklet called "Seek God for the City 2006" because he thought I might find it useful and because he didn't have time to get involved in this latest publication because it might derail his other daily learnings. He explained that he had just cancelled his reservation to camp on the beach at Carlsbad because he had hit his head twice since checking in there. It was a sign that he shouldn't be doing it, he said. He quoted scripture to me in showing me through this newest pamphlet and the verse he read to me had to do with how all should feast and rejoice. It dawned on him that by "accidentally" picking that random scripture to read, that God was telling him that he should now conclude the fast he'd been on since the previous day and it was time to eat. He invited me to lunch. Although I declined the gracious offer, it did occur to me that maybe the bonks on the head had less to do with an angry God that didn't want him roughing it on the beach for some yet unknowable reason... and more to do with the lightheadedness associated with not eating for over 24 hours. Just a thought.

See and I'm doing it. I don't mean to poke fun, but sometime you gotta question stuff. I find that I am open to learning more and more about spirituality and honestly that my beliefs change. That doesn't mean though that I'm ok with the kind of fanaticism that causes someone to sing out loud by themselves or speak quickly reciting verses they memorized from the Bible for their own reasons. I'm not saying it's wrong. Just that it's not something I'm entirely comfortable with. I wouldn't be comfortable with anyone just singing or soapboxing on any subject in the same manner. There's a certain light of "woahhh-gah-eek" that can come into a person's eyes and I'm not sure the sane response would be to just accept it and move on.

So this experience got me to thinking. Isn't it all the same really when you come down to it? Whether you're a person who says "I'll pray for your recovery" or a person who says "I'll visualize a healthy you"; aren't these two things the same? I don't know everything and I don't claim to be any kind of expert in any way. Just seems to me that if you are doing the right things and seeing the little things... the "coincedences" or the bonks on the head, that maybe you're really doing what needs to be done for you. Isn't praying for an answer or solution to come to you putting as much energy into making your life better as it would be to visualize an answer or a conclusion? Yeah I yakety yak with no point. My blog. Cope. I guess I have just realized many similarities between organized religious practices and just being open to life and all that it offers and the ways that one is warned or clued in to which choices to make or which directions to take.

Yet and still fear is a huge part of all things spiritual and religious and this just shouldn't be so. Fear is really nothing more than not having all the details. Why is it that the devout religious become scared or defensive when there are other ideas or options set before them. I guess I've always thought that it had to do with the "thou shalt not worship any other god..." or whatever portion of the Bible. Is that it? Is that why the idea that a person could carve their way using whatever they believe most in and what feels right to them would cause fear and discomfort to those who practice being true to theirselves in another way?

My thoughts are be who you are. I don't have the answers... if I did I prolly wouldn't be here anymore :P Just don't let fear or ignorance keep you from finding the peace you need or the roads you need to take to find harmony :)