Going Around In Circles

Janet and I were taking our three-mile walk around the neighborhood this morning when we met another couple walking in the opposite direction. The woman smiled and said in passing, "Ever feel that youre going around in circles?" I looked back over my shoulder and quipped, "That's life!" Then I glanced at some grass on a neighbor's lawn, and this article formed in my mind.

The years pass by so swiftly. It seems only yesterday we were wrapping gifts to send here and there during the wonderful Christmas season; and here we are, doing it again! The stages of our lives go by in a blur -- we find the right one, and soon we find ourselves reading all the baby books, looking for names, and in a flash; its high school graduations, grandchildren, and the grandchildren are soon reading the baby books themselves. The cycles are comforting, and we can feel proud that we did our part in the cycle to create life, and to ease our loved one's burdens.

This is enough for most of us; the feeling of accomplishment, the consolation of seeing our next generation and their next generation gain a foothold in life with our help. We watch them grow and prosper, watching them pass through their own cycles, and we are quite satisfied to accept our own fate with our bodies growing old and diseased, and we accept a death that is inevitable because our sacrifice was worth it. When the cancer comes, we are ready. A few of us, however, will contemplate these cycles of life that are so predictable, and wonder what it's all about. Is there a plan of some kind, Gods plan for us; or is it merely cause and effect, no different from the cycles of the blades of grass on our lawns? Not many of us will want to delve into these kinds of foolish matters; these philosophical things; it's enough to live life well and trust that God will take care of us in the hereafter. nn. . . For a few, however, questions remain.

It seems simple enough -- we are born, we have children, we die, and God welcomes us to an ete
al life with Him. This is the basis of all monotheistic (a single creator God) religions. But why did God create us? It seems that He created us for his own pleasure: (Revelation 4:11 says, "Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created." Colossians 1:16 reiterates the point: "All things were created by Him and for Him.")

But there really are no clear answers about these kinds of questions that we can comprehend, so we must trust that God knows what he is doing, and this trust is the basis of our faith-based religions. In this day and age, however, we have learned not to trust everything we read or hear. At one time, we did, in a simpler time, but we have become increasingly more cynical as time has gone by because we have discovered more and more underlying agendas that attempt to control our thinking for the purposes of establishing power. The handshake has gone the way of the horse and buggy, and now we must carefully investigate all propositions that are presented to us, and read the fine print.

For the few that look into the afterlife, and admittedly these are only a few, they resist "only believing," and instead use their intellect to discover what life is all about. They become scientists, and question a life that goes around in predictable circles. This questioning by a human intellect is blasphemy according to many religions, because it is believed that the human intellect cannot understand these things, and therefore we should trust the Church, or God, and not investigate the spiritual life at all. This is fine for most people, but if you are one of the few who wants to find out for yourself about life and the afterlife, perhaps the kind of person that doesnt fall for dishonesty and deception in other areas of your life, including politics, government, society, and so forth, then you might be one of the very few who will take this inquiry about life and the afterlife as far as you can.

It's not belief versus inquiry at all however; each has their following. It's just that if you have an inquiring mind, a scientific mind, a mind that questions rather than takes things for granted or at their face value, then some philosophies and practices may be more easily adaptable to your particular way of looking at things. If you have an inquiring mind, a scientific mind, you will be completely at home with philosophies such as Buddhism. The Buddha once said, "Believe nothing unless you can prove it true for yourself." And a scientist, Einstein, once said, "The religion of the future will be a cosmic religion. It should transcend a personal God and avoid dogmas and theology. Covering both natural and spiritual, it should be based on a religious sense arising from the experience of all things, natural and spiritual and a meaningful unity. Buddhism answers this description. If there is any religion that would cope with modern scientific needs, it would be Buddhism."

Having the courage to love people of different predispositions; those that believe, those that inquire, those that neither believe nor inquire, is the hallmark of a mature society. If we all went with our hearts and not our fears, love would prevail instead of hatred, and the world would be a better place.

And, if you are one who has a healthy disdain for all religions and spiritual groups, please at least consider meditation. Without religious affiliations of any kind, this practice has the power to shift consciousness, and if your consciousness ever shifts far enough, all of your questions will be satisfied. Meditation does not rely on beliefs, and it goes beyond the intellect; therefore, meditation is in a philosophical class by itself. n