Justice

So much controversy around George and Trayvon! Especially with the "Not Guilty" verdict. Everyone has an opinion. So do I, but I'm not going to share it. Instead, I'll share this from the daily meditations I read:

The sin warned against at the very beginning of the Bible is “to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (Genesis 2:17). It does not sound like that should be a sin at all, does it? But the moment I sit on my throne, where I know with certitude who the good guys and the bad guys are, then I’m capable of great evil—while not thinking of it as evil! I have eaten of a dangerous tree, according to the Bible. Don’t judge, don’t label, don’t rush to judgment. You don’t usually know other people’s real motives or intentions. You hardly know your own.

I hardly know my own.

There is a beautiful prayer often used in 12 Step circles, known as "The Set Aside Prayer."

Dear God;
Please set aside anything I think I know
about myself,
about my disease,
about the Big Book,
the 12 Steps,
the Program,
the Fellowship,
the people in the fellowship,
and all spiritual terms - especially you God;
So that I may have an open mind and a new experience with all these things.
Please help me see the Truth.
Amen.

Truly, a beautiful prayer when you think about it. Asking God to set aside anything I THINK I know about anything.

What do you ask God to set aside?

Experience as Perception

I've been reading a lot of posts by this Franciscan Priest named Richard Rohr. He's more insightful than I can ever imagine to be, and he takes a view on God and spirituality that I love. He wrote a book called "Everything Belongs" which I can't wait to read, but given the heaviness of this Philosophy class I've recently undertaken, I have to. I've caught excerpts of this book here and there, and most recently today, I read his Daily Meditation and was once again floored. It caused me to ponder, "What is the WHOLE truth?" As he states, it's easy for me to assume that because I don't agree with someone else's experience of God, they haven't experienced God. THAT is thinking I must destroy.

"Who are you, God, and who am I?"

Fear and the "can-nots"

A friend of mine recently started a blog and in his first post he discussed the fear he experienced which was preventing him from creating said blog. He challenged his readers to think about their own fears, and to consider what fear was keeping them from accomplishing. My thoughts came to me quickly, as there is something I've always wanted to do, but fear has truly kept me from doing it. I'd love to start my own business someday. There is a certain attractiveness in being my own boss and providing a service to customers as I have designed it. My dilemma lies in this: I'm wishy-washy. I change my mind often... Particularly over the last four years. Since September of 2010, I've changed jobs three times. They've all been promotions and better pay, but after my first experience of change (which was more necessity than choice), I've simply gotten bored and sought a different path. Another part of my dilemma lies in the instability and lack of security I anticipate when I truly start to pay my own salary (and maybe someone else's). I must admit, it's nice knowing Michael Dell cuts me a check when I've earned it. He's got clout. I've got... fear. Of course, his is a very encouraging and inspiring story. He started Dell as a college dropout with a $1,000 loan and turned it into a multi-billion dollar empire. After all, Great things start from small beginnings.