Thursday, May 21, 2009

A Tree in the Cosmic Garden

cosmictree

Throughout time we as humans have asked a question. It is asked by all races, by all ethnic groups, by people of faith in every walk of life. It is a question linked to our mortality, and to our very existence. What is the meaning of life... What or who is God? Granted, the answers are as individual and as diverse as life on this planet, and perhaps.... in the Universe itself. People everywhere have their own beliefs. Who is right and who is wrong? Perhaps, we are all right.... yes that's what I said. There are countless religions on this planet. Each one claims that they are the right one, or in some cases the only one. There are arguments, sermons, testimonials and numerous written historical documents that will, the say explain it all. What it actually does just confuses people more. It has started wars, been responsible for the rise and falls of many civilizations over the centuries, and still nobody has an answer. In my own quest, I have always felt that I have an interesting point of view on the subject. I prefer to put in the center of my beliefs, a more broader definition of things.

I will say right here that this is my choice, and mine alone. I'm not here to soapbox for anybody to change their own personal faith. We all have to come to that point of clarity individually. I have studied various forms of religions over the years and I've found that in most of them no matter the path....the story is basically the same. Its a much broader path than most religions want to accept, and what has always bothered me most was how some of the organized religions try to influence your choice. They will tell you, that to follow any other path but theirs will lead you to a less than perfect afterlife. I think in many ways that is the worst sin of all.. coersion.

My standing example is as follows. A tribe of humans living in the rainforest. They have no modern way of existance. No power, no cell phones, and no contact with any other people but their own. For as long as the tribe has existed, they have worshiped the tree at the center of their village. They pray to the tree for forgiveness, for the food that feeds them, and for every other reason that all technologically advanced people do. No one has ever doubted the tree.. for it has been their God, their protector and their salvation for as long as they can remember. In every sense of the word, they beleive in and love the tree as Christians love Jesus, as Buddahist to Buddah.... the list goes on. My point, are they wrong? Are they any less faithful to their God than any other religion? Do they, have no salvation because no missionary has ever walked in and tried to convert them with fear?

In my opinion, they simply see God in the only way they have ever known. God is the hub in the center of a wheel with many spokes. Each spoke is a differnt path, but they all lead to the same thing. God speaks to each person, in the language they respond to. Universal love and the promise that when this mortal life ends, there is something else... it does not end with our last breath. It changes from body to spirit, and where it goes from there, be it Heaven or whatever the word may be, we all benefit from our faith. To me it is as simple as that. I choose to beleive in God in my way, a unique view that only myself and God are aware of. That is my path. I beleive in the Universe... I beleive in God as a force of nature. The most important part... is that I beleive.