First--you should check out:
http://jimdietz68.blogspot.com/2015/03/a-summary-of-religions-in-140.html
It's pithy, but generally accurate, and an easy way to remember differences.
Anyways, today I'm at a volleyball tournament (what else is knew...) and in my hotel room avoiding the noise for a little longer after suffering the worst migraine I've had in at least five years yesterday. I'm still physically exhausted from it, but it is gone. (If you suffer migraines--you understand and I share my sympathy with you as well)
So I decided I'd write a blog. I've been working on this for the past several weeks...basically the length of Lent, though in the modern sense of the word--I'm not really Christian, but that's a different discussion entirely. Though I am not a "Christian" as defined by most Americans, that should not suggest that the teachings of Jesus are wrong or worthless--far from it. They are timeless. They are awesome to strive for--if impossible for me to ever truly obtain.
So, six weeks ago, I started working on forgiveness and compassion. For better or worse, throughout life, I've been slow to anger, but once I get there, I hold grudges and struggle to forgive. I've vowed in my anger that given a chance I'd willingly kill certain other people--all with the intent of making them suffer the pain they inflicted on me. No--this is not good and typing it, it really makes me look like a jerk. Of course, some of it is awkward because no one likes to ever consider himself mean, petty, or anything like that. In the end, in our hearts, we all have things like that though.
So, six weeks ago...I realized there are a few people in life that I'd grown to hate, really hate, and I realized--that's not what any of the world's holy books teach, and with the start of Lent, I realized--I need to change. I've tried and what I've found is, I don't really hate any of those people. Actually, I pity them, I'm sad for them--that I want to know how they became twisted.
Why did Person A break up a marriage? Was the money, the gold-digging, that important? How does the money bring happiness?
How can Person B serve as a minister/priest of a Christian faith and yet put money before ethics and the teachings of the Bible? What happened to cause that? Was it a desire to be loved by those with money, or was it a way to gain influence or status?
How can Person C make false accusations about me--serious enough that I really ought to consider pressing charges of slander? Is C that twisted? Her daughter was removed from a team I coach because she skipped practice, skipped a team obligation, and skipped her community service--not to mention skipping a dozen classes? Does that justify trying to destroy my career or my life?
Here we are now--Easter Weekend. The point where the stories say Jesus returns to life from the dead (I don't buy that it literally happened that way)--but its point holds true...we are able to gain new life after 'death'--but that holds true with our daily life. We can succeed after failure, we can suffer the greatest emotional injuries, yet live to fight another day. We can break down our own personal internal barriers--and we can move on to focus on the good and the better things.
I'm not writing that to say I'm perfect--I'm not. I'm still struggling with these things, but I think I am in a better place than I was six weeks ago, and I think it's a place I'll be able to stay in emotionally and mentally. If you read this, try it in your life. If we all work to be better, then bit by bit, we have the chance to make the world match the ideal held up to us across all faiths.
Showing posts with label grudges. Show all posts
Showing posts with label grudges. Show all posts
Saturday, April 4, 2015
Monday, March 2, 2015
Now and Zen...
A couple weeks ago as Lent approached, I had a great conversation with John Marsaglia, softball coach at LLCC. John is the staff/faculty sponsor of the FCA on campus, and when combined with his background as an educator--we spend quite a bit of time discussing stuff not-directly related to sports. It may be history, maybe it's adolescent psychology, or it could be our favorite restaurants in Springfield.
We'd had a recent talk on religion and in doing research for a novel (a sequel to a novel I've written but don't yet have a publisher for...is that overconfidence on my part, or what?), I came across a fascinating quote from Werner von Braun, a Nazi scientist, responsible for the V-1 and V-2 rocket programs, and later, after being brought to the United States as part of Operation Paperclip, the Apollo program.
His quote: "Nature does not know extinction; all it knows is transformation. Everything science has taught me, and continues to teach me, strengthens my belief in the continuity of our spiritual existence after death."
Given that it's Lent, in Christian terms the point where Jesus is executed and then returns to life, that proved to me to be a very interesting quote. The two issues are the same--transformation.
So me and John talked for a bit regarding allegory, metaphor, and historic truths, and the subject of death came up again--in terms of deceased family members and friends. John had just had a close friend have a scare while someone I attended high school with died from a rare form of brain cancer. We'd just passed the 2nd anniversary of my step-father's death, which for me means that two weeks from today, it'll be the fourth anniversary of my mom's death.
When she died, my sister showed me an email she received from a friend of hers--a practicing Buddhist. With everything going on at the time, the pain and loss, reading that email proved a great comfort (and it's related here, too...).
The gist: Day follows night follows day. Being awake follows being asleep follows being asleep. There is a cycle to everything, thus, why do we worry about death? What once was comes again. Thus, death follows life naturally, and after death, therefore, there must be life.
Isn't that interesting? A Buddhist story that parallels the story of Easter and a core tenet of Christianity? Isn't it equally great that both find a mirror in Braun's quote and his observation on nature? I think that says a great deal about the reality of an Almighty and the separation from Him/It caused by the creation of religions. John thought the parallel was fascinating, maybe empowering, for his own faith, but really--how many people do you know who would get upset or poo-poo the story that doesn't already match with their notions?
All of that? Not my point. It's all how I got to here. I realized there are some other parallels regarding behavior--things like compassion and forgiveness. I lack forgiveness sometimes; I hold grudges. I know this and I don't hide it from any body. But I've been talking with John and some of the lessons he's taken from the Bible, and I've been reading observations from the Dalai Lama via his website and his Twitter account. I realized something--I need to work on that grudge thing I've got going.
After all, how can I be compassionate, how can I be a role-model for my athletes, young people, my own children, if I continue with those grudges--isn't it better to show forgiveness, maybe even pity? So I've been trying to let those go--and it's not easy. It's necessary, but I feel like I'm trying to buck something hard-wired into me. I know that's not true. I got this way, so I can reverse-engineer my way out of it, but I'm not there yet, probably won't make it by the solstice or Easter or Passover, but I'll keep trying.
There's a good deal of wisdom in places like the Bible or Koran, in words of wisdom from men like the Dalai Lama (or John Marsaglia). I suppose I need to be more mindful of people. Like I said, I'm not there, but I'm trying....I'm tryin....
We'd had a recent talk on religion and in doing research for a novel (a sequel to a novel I've written but don't yet have a publisher for...is that overconfidence on my part, or what?), I came across a fascinating quote from Werner von Braun, a Nazi scientist, responsible for the V-1 and V-2 rocket programs, and later, after being brought to the United States as part of Operation Paperclip, the Apollo program.
His quote: "Nature does not know extinction; all it knows is transformation. Everything science has taught me, and continues to teach me, strengthens my belief in the continuity of our spiritual existence after death."
Given that it's Lent, in Christian terms the point where Jesus is executed and then returns to life, that proved to me to be a very interesting quote. The two issues are the same--transformation.
So me and John talked for a bit regarding allegory, metaphor, and historic truths, and the subject of death came up again--in terms of deceased family members and friends. John had just had a close friend have a scare while someone I attended high school with died from a rare form of brain cancer. We'd just passed the 2nd anniversary of my step-father's death, which for me means that two weeks from today, it'll be the fourth anniversary of my mom's death.
When she died, my sister showed me an email she received from a friend of hers--a practicing Buddhist. With everything going on at the time, the pain and loss, reading that email proved a great comfort (and it's related here, too...).
The gist: Day follows night follows day. Being awake follows being asleep follows being asleep. There is a cycle to everything, thus, why do we worry about death? What once was comes again. Thus, death follows life naturally, and after death, therefore, there must be life.
Isn't that interesting? A Buddhist story that parallels the story of Easter and a core tenet of Christianity? Isn't it equally great that both find a mirror in Braun's quote and his observation on nature? I think that says a great deal about the reality of an Almighty and the separation from Him/It caused by the creation of religions. John thought the parallel was fascinating, maybe empowering, for his own faith, but really--how many people do you know who would get upset or poo-poo the story that doesn't already match with their notions?
All of that? Not my point. It's all how I got to here. I realized there are some other parallels regarding behavior--things like compassion and forgiveness. I lack forgiveness sometimes; I hold grudges. I know this and I don't hide it from any body. But I've been talking with John and some of the lessons he's taken from the Bible, and I've been reading observations from the Dalai Lama via his website and his Twitter account. I realized something--I need to work on that grudge thing I've got going.
After all, how can I be compassionate, how can I be a role-model for my athletes, young people, my own children, if I continue with those grudges--isn't it better to show forgiveness, maybe even pity? So I've been trying to let those go--and it's not easy. It's necessary, but I feel like I'm trying to buck something hard-wired into me. I know that's not true. I got this way, so I can reverse-engineer my way out of it, but I'm not there yet, probably won't make it by the solstice or Easter or Passover, but I'll keep trying.
There's a good deal of wisdom in places like the Bible or Koran, in words of wisdom from men like the Dalai Lama (or John Marsaglia). I suppose I need to be more mindful of people. Like I said, I'm not there, but I'm trying....I'm tryin....
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