(Here is
link to original blog post; since I'm the author, I'm posting here in its entirety. Have a good day, everyone. :) )
As someone who has never followed a religious path, I struggle with how to outwardly honor Christ and Christianity, or any religion, without seeming to be a hypocrite or offending The Faithful.
I embrace Christianity in the sense that I greatly admire and try to follow the teachings of Christ as I know them. I also embrace Buddhism in the sense that I greatly admire and try to follow the teachings of Buddha, as I know them. The same with other spiritual paths and leaders throughout time.
I respect others who follow a deeply devout path, a path which follows and is genuinely steeped in the teachings of those who seem to embody All That Is Good and Divine. We are human, we won't always succeed in following such teachings, but a genuine desire and attempt to put such teachings into practice is something I respect wholeheartedly.
One of Easter's most powerful and uplifting messages, for Christians and non-Christians alike, is "rebirth" and "renewal."
While the idea of rebirth and renewal is positive and inspiring, many religious and spiritual paths also seek to transcend this human experience and "rise above." Something has always bothered me about that, and it wasn't until this morning that I identified it clearly.
Why do we want to transcend being human?Are we afraid to be human, to truly immerse ourselves in this human experience?
I fervently believe fear is the guiding force behind many of our decisions and actions; we're often influenced or controlled by others based on our fears.
I wonder if one of our most primal, core fears is that we are afraid of being human?
Why can't tap into the good within us – it is there – and join together to heal the ills of the world and create something divine and uplifting right here, right now?
Why can't we at least try?When I think of Christ and other great teachers, I think of Compassion, Honesty, Integrity, Reverence, Community, Cooperation, and so much more.
Compassion is not the same as sympathy or empathy, or even altruism, although these traits and others are part of being compassionate. The compassionate person feels the suffering of another and takes action -- makes positive steps -- to alleviate that suffering, done with respect, integrity, cooperation.
To me, that is The Golden Rule.
I humbly suggest we start with showing compassion for ourselves. Compassion about our fears and doubts and feelings of failure or being unworthy of….well, you fill in the blank.
To do this, I also believe fervently that we must be brutally honest with ourselves. We don't have to be honest with the rest of the world as far as revealing our inner truths, but we need to be honest with ourselves. We must strip away all the layers and barriers we've constructed to protect ourselves from pain and disappointment.
To protect ourselves from this human experience.
What if instead we embrace this human experience, acknowledging the pain and suffering and heartache, even if we believe – or have faith – that there is more to us beyond this physical being, and more to come beyond this physical life?
What if we release the fear or sense of shame of Being Human, and allow our hearts to open to one another and start creating a human experience we CAN fully embrace and delight in? One steeped in Love, Respect, Compassion, and genuine Cooperation, rather than competition and greed (fear, masked) that we've come to identify as human nature.
The one truth I believe we can all agree on is this: We are human. We are here on Earth now. Some of us may believe we are spiritual beings having a human experience, but isn't that the point: We are here to have that human experience?
Let's recreate it be much more loving and joyful, full of more grace and ease, less suffering. Not run from it or try so desperately to transcend it, but dive in to unite and raise the human experience … together.
I sometimes wonder why I am so called to create genuine Community and Unity, which is the foundation of
Wishadoo!, because I make no secret of the fact that people can really, really bug me. And, I really, really bug myself when I am not able to be the best person I can be.
But it always comes back to my truth which is that
I LOVE HUMANITY. I have tremendous faith in Humanity. This faith is the heart of who I am and all I do.
And, because I have a profound love for Humanity, I believe – I know with every fiber of my being -- we can do so much better and elevate this human experience by joining together, by tapping into the better angels of our nature, and by opening our hearts.
By not being afraid to BE human.
I invite anyone with whom this resonates to choose to be reborn right here, right now, as a human being with an open heart, choosing Compassion and Cooperation -- Love -- not fear.
Your choice to do so can be the start of a rebirth of Humanity.
I have faith in you…in us.