An Open conversation on Religion…
Good morning!
This is the kind of thing that I usually hesitate to post, because I do not want to make anybody uncomfortable by getting too political or too religious ever. We are fostering an open and welcoming place- so I typically try to steer clear of overly divisive topics.
But I was flipping through old journals whilst looking for inspiration and the right words as I was writing my wedding vows and I came upon something I wrote awhile ago very early on in my own spiritual journey and I had to remind myself that the topic is only divisive if you make it divisive, and that part of the way to create an open and welcoming space where people CAN discuss things, and learn from each other, and decide WHAT they believe for themselves is by talking CALMLY to people who believe differently.
That specifically, the reflection in question was full of questions I was asking myself and that I wished I could ask somebody else. It has always amused me, talking to the parents of friends or other people’s families who don’t allow their kids to learn about other religions because they are afraid their children will be “taken in” or “converted” and it never made sense to me growing up. How are our young people supposed to know what they believe in if they don’t know what they don’t believe in, or what other people believe. I always wanted to say “you must really not trust how you have raised and taught your children, or in their decision-making abilities if you think that learning about the rest of the world is going to change them that quickly. What are you afraid of them finding?” It always sounded to me like people were trying to teach their kids what to think instead of how to think. Which is a very different thing.
However, I digress. As I was rereading this old reflection it reminded me that what Taylor and I are trying to do requires courage. You must be open, and self-exposing, welcoming, and willing to discuss difficult topics yourself first before you can ever hope to inspire somebody else to be willing to do the same. That this is the place for those intimidating conversations to happen. We want to normalize the inner thoughts and the questions that we all have.
So, in what I truly hope is the first of many conversations, I have posted below my thoughts from a younger Mikaela who was just beginning to find herself after a rough period of growth and self-awareness. It’s okay if you don’t agree. I hope you ask questions. I hope these sparks thoughts and reflections of your own. I hope we can talk and teach and learn from each other. I hope if we do disagree- we can do so with grace. So, from a much younger me:
What is God? How does a person define it? Is God a single being, omnipotent and all-knowing? Is God wrathful? Or forgiving? Does God look as we do, or is he a fantastical looking ever shifting creature? Is God even Physical?
What is God? How can mankind, as diverse and widespread of a species as we are, expect to successfully condense down the creation of the cosmos and all those creatures within her with our own limited vocabularies to one word: God?
Is God a man? A miracle worker of flesh and blood walking among us? Or is God a concept, a set of morals and a type of humanity to strive for? Who then, is Jesus? A Prophet? Or the savior of my soul, my salvation and my redeemer?
How is it that Mankind is always ready to commit such heinous atrocities against his neighbors in the name of their own God and beliefs- all while preaching love and redemption? How is it that we can overlook continued crimes “In the name of God”? Why are we as a people, so ready to commit crimes in an ongoing religious war while consoling ourselves with the misguided belief that all sins will be forgiven- and use that as a free pass to hurt others simply because “we’re all sinners”?
What happens then, when our short time on Earth is done and we get to the end? What if you’re wrong? What if all sins aren’t forgiven? What will you do when you realize that in your long push for religious justification you forgot to love thy neighbor? What if you didn’t treat others as they treat you? What if he doesn’t forgive us our trespasses because we never forgave those who trespassed against us? What will we do when we realize the whole world has forgotten to turn the other cheek? Because no matter who your God is, or what form they take, at the end of the day- the balance will always be due.
What if we’re all wrong? It wouldn’t be the first time. What if God, Jesus, Buddha, Abraham, Allah, Shiiva and all of the others throughout time are the same person? What if they are all different faces of the same being, here to teach us and send us the same message and somewhere along the way, something got lost in translation?
We are all a point of light in the collective soul of the universe that is God. Call it blasphemous, but the father, the son, and the holy spirit are in all of us. Just as I am a part of you and you are a part of me. We all share a piece of God, no matter what name you choose to call him by. And I think he is testing us.
Don’t fail. Don’t short-sell yourself that way. Stop trying to be right and focus instead on the real lessons behind all the religious messages. Love your neighbor, love yourself, be better than you were yesterday, leave the world a better place than you found it. Donate your time, not your money. Stop trying to teach people before you have learned. Practice what you preach.
If people spent more time practicing instead of preaching, I think we’d all find we have much more in common than we care to admit, and the world would be a much holier place as a whole.
It’s been a long time since I originally wrote that in 2017 and there were a number of upheavals and hate crimes happening in the world at the time. But I think the bulk of this thought process still holds true for me.
No matter your beliefs, or your stance on the matter, I hope we can discuss it with kindness, curiosity, and a genuine desire to understand and love others.
All the best, Always.
Mikaela
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