Matters of Faith

“Not everyone believes what you do, Morpheus!” 

“My beliefs do not require them to.”

~ Commander Lock and Morpheus, The Matrix Reloaded

 

It wasn’t until I found myself drawn into a series of discussions about the deeper issues of life and the universe that I realized this about myself.  I don’t know when the seed was first planted or when it began to grow, and I don’t know how much more growth it has before it’s fully mature and whole.  Perhaps it never will be, and perhaps that’s the point. 

 

What I’m talking about is the understanding that I do not need others – nor necessarily even want others – to believe as I do.  Regardless of my beliefs, no matter how strong my conviction or deep my faith, I see it as a good and healthy thing that others do not hold to the same beliefs as I.

 

In the search for Truth, who can say that they ever find it?  Truth, or the Way Things Are, is as eternal as we are mortal, as infinite as we are finite, as magical as we are mundane.  I don’t think we can ever fully grasp it.  So how can I, a mere mortal, say whose beliefs – including my own – are right?  If we all believe the same thing, who can say with certainty that simply because it is popular means that it must be true?  Is it not just as likely that we may all be wrong?

 

It is our differences in belief that matter, because it is through our differences and the discussions that arise from them that we may all come to see life differently, that our worldviews might shift and be changed in subtle ways.  It is through openness and humility that we can open ourselves to the possibility of learning from those around us.  I do not want you to believe as I do, because it is the differences in our beliefs that encourage the kind of discourse that precedes spiritual growth.

 

Simply put, my journey on the path to enlightenment is made swifter by your disbelief.  As I embrace our differences and we continue to speak of those deep, dark ways of the cosmos, I grow closer to understanding the whole.

 

So you see, regardless of who you are and what you believe, I want to hear from you.  If you believe as I do, I find a companion for the journey; if you do not, I find new insights that will enrich my journey in a different way.  Either way, I will honor and respect your beliefs; either way, you are a part of the road that leads to my enlightenment.

 

You do not need to believe as I do.  My beliefs do not require you to.

One Rule

It’s been a while since I last sat down to write…  I can’t say it’s for any good reason, save that I just got preoccupied with living life – and it’s a beautiful one, no matter what circumstances might bring.

 

I’ve been thinking for some time about the way I choose to live, the code of honor I choose to follow.  I’ve long held that what is lawful and what is right are often two entirely different things; virtuous behavior must come from the heart, without coercion, or else it isn’t genuine virtue.  Or, to paraphrase the Tao Te Ching, the moment we need rules to make us act kindly and justly, it is merely an act, and the surest sign that there is no true kindness or justice.  So I’ve lived by my own personal code for quite some time now, but I’ve never tried to write it down or formalize it.

 

It wasn’t until I started trying, about the time of my last entry, that I realized that it all came down to one, single, simple rule.  Saint Augustine said it best:  “Love, and do as you please.”  My one rule.

 

If I genuinely love someone – and I’m not talking about mere eros, here, although it may certainly be relevant…  I’m talking about love in its totality, including the aspects of charity, of affection, of friendship – I can do no wrong.  Love places the needs and desires of another above those of the self.  I would never lie to those I truly love, nor seek to harm them in any way; I would seek to bring about what is good for them without regard for myself.

 

If I genuinely love my community, I can weigh the merit of my actions by how they benefit all of the people whose lives I touch.  I would seek to give of my time and effort to build up the community, through acts of service or hospitality, lending my best qualities to the edification of all.

 

If I genuinely love myself, I can know my limits and respect them.  I would know when I have given enough of myself to need time for solitude and meditation, knowing also that burning out does not benefit anyone.  I would know when to rest so that I could return to the community feeling refreshed and rejuvenated and able to love them fully and without reservation or condition.

 

The trick is, of course, to live by this one rule.  It’s much easier to talk about than to actually live…  but then, even if never get it perfectly right, at least I’ve got something to strive for.

 

Here’s to love.

The Balance

“One often meets his destiny on the road he takes to avoid it.”

~ Master Oogway, Kung Fu Panda

 

I had an epiphany today.

 

I was deep in discussion with a friend at work about the subject of decision and destiny – the same paradox that I wrote of in my last entry – when an answer came to me in a flash of clarity and insight.  It was so sudden that I think I might even have stopped in mid-sentence.  I realized at that moment where the balance lies between the opposing forces of fate and free will.

 

I’m just not sure if I can express it in words.  But I’m certainly going to try.

 

I see the universe as a cosmic tapestry, a work of art, each thread woven into just the right place and pattern to create a beautiful and harmonious whole.  I see everything, great and small, forming part of a grand cosmic design – some parts in order, some in chaos, but all in their right places, all against a backdrop of perfect harmony.  The destiny of all things is to take their appointed place in this tapestry to maintain the harmony of the whole.

 

Now let us bring humanity into the picture.  I see the life of each and every person as a single thread…  not just any kind of thread, though; a thread with conscience, which can choose where it will be woven into the tapestry of the cosmos.  (I can also see the possibility that other entities have the same choices to make, from pebbles to trees to oceans to stars, and that they have simply chosen not to choose any differently.  But that is another matter entirely.)

 

This brings about a different vision.  I see the tapestry obscured by the movement of thousands of millions of individual threads, each seeking their place, trying to decide where they wish to be woven in to the fabric of the cosmos.  Like everything else, the destiny of each of us is to find a place that will maintain the harmony of the cosmic pattern – looking at both the tapestry that was here before us, and the movement of the other threads around us.

 

Destiny becomes dynamic, then, a fluid entity that is as alive as you and I.  My destiny is to find a place of harmony with the universe and everyone around me, and that will change with every choice that any of us makes.  Your choices become my circumstances; to be in harmony with my circumstances is my destiny; to follow the path of my destiny is my choice; and my choice is your circumstance.

 

At any given point in time, my destiny is to find the place of greatest harmony.  In the Book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon – lauded in the Bible as one of the wisest men of his time, or perhaps of all times – said it best:

 

There is an appointed time for everything.  And there is a time for every event under heaven:  A time to give birth and a time to die; a time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.  A time to kill and a time to heal; a time to tear down and a time to build up.  A time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance.  A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones; a time to embrace and a time to shun embracing.  A time to search and a time to give up as lost; a time to keep and a time to throw away.  A time to tear apart and a time to sew together; a time to be silent and a time to speak.  A time to love and a time to hate; a time for war and a time for peace.

 

With each passing moment, my destiny changes; the path that I am meant to walk depends on my circumstances, and the actions that I should take are those that bring me into perfect harmony with the universe and with others.  There is no good or evil.  There is simply that which brings one into harmony with my circumstances, and that which does not.

 

So I choose the path of harmony.  I choose to accept my destiny.  And therein I find the balance that I seek.

Decision and Destiny

“When you are calm and stable, careful of attention, the celestial design is always clear, open awareness is unobscured; then you have autonomy in action and can deal with whatever arises.”

~ The Book of Balance and Harmony

 

Sometimes you have to make difficult choices.

 

There arise times in everyone’s life when a decision of great importance must be made, a decision that has consequences that will reach far beyond the foresight of even the wisest of us, a decision that will change life forever.

 

I don’t know about you, but I still don’t know how to deal with those choices.

 

I believe in Destiny, that each one of us has a purpose to fulfill and that our purpose will be revealed through everyday life if we remain open and aware of our surroundings and the opportunities that present themselves to us each day.  So when it comes down to these difficult choices, I find myself refusing to make a decision to pursue one path over another, believing that what is meant to be simply will be if I allow events to take their natural course.  I hesitate to interfere in what I see as an organic process that will reveal the right path – my destiny – if I accept circumstances as they unfold.

 

It’s been working for me so far.  The question I find myself asking is whether it really is the right way of going about things, or if I’ve just developed an elegant and ‘enlightened’ way to avoid making any real decisions.

 

How do I decide what to do while still allowing Destiny to run its course?  How can I actively make a choice without trying to be the master of my fate, while still embracing uncertainty? 

 

There is a balance to be found here, I’m sure…  but I can’t see it.  Maybe this is another of life’s many paradoxes, an unanswerable question of how to exercise free will while accepting the forces of destiny, of how to take control without taking control.  Perhaps it comes back to maintaining a state of no-attachment, of making a choice without holding any expectations for a desired outcome.

 

Perhaps not.

 

I guess the only answer I really have right now is to simply live life to its fullest, and to learn – and laugh – when I make mistakes.  Maybe I’ll find that balance through trial and error.

 

Maybe I won’t – but I’ll have a wonderful time trying.

 

And maybe that’s exactly how my destiny will be revealed.