To question spirituality is to question reality.
It is our way of seeing things which form our world around us, and each individual sees that world through their own eyes and values. We all judge everyday. We all see our world through our morals and judge others by those morals that are formed in our learning, growing years.
There is an old saying which is true in many ways.
“Give me a child until seven and I can form you the adult they well become.”
At seven my parents where questioning their own faith and visited many different religious institutions. This I believe cemented my own thirst to know about all faiths and now in my middle age years I have settled into acceptance of my own personal relationship with the universe and the power of life on this Earth of ours. For me, God does exist. But I don’t push my understandings down on anyone else. Religious understanding has become personal and individualized, not as a whole and one institution.
From seven on wards, it is fear which stops us from doing something morally wrong, or against our family values. Fear rules our world more so these days than anything else. For by going against the childish learnt behaviours we must change ourselves deeply on a spiritual level. Either improve ourselves or slide into the depressive state of low self esteem without reaching out to others to help.
Depression can rise when one’s values and morals are challenged and questioned. You no longer can believe in what was once drummed into you as those values and understandings have mortified into something seen as alien.
Who then is right?
Which person has the right to say what is right and wrong?
At one time it was the spiritual leaders now it is select groups pushing their own understandings so they can be accepted. I don’t blame them, they suffered all types of discrimination and do have a right to live and love. But do they have the right to push their own individual understandings onto the vulnerable? Do they have the right to infiltrate all our institutions and favour only one way of thinking? Are they just repeating the same prejudicial behaviour on those who think differently from them, as was done to them?
I question? There is no answer for me.
So the acceptance must be to allow , let live all creeds and believe in the universal goodness of human love. That love which connects to our universal collective, and to love yourself as to who you are and not judge the other by your own values and beliefs. All then are treated with respect and all must be given the same opportunity to express themselves.
This I believe must go for everyone regardless of their judged alien understandings. They have reached their own understandings by searching themselves deeply, courageously and hopefully achieved happiness by doing so.
“The un-examined life is not worth living.” Plato Apology (38a5–6)
Even so, there must be a general consensuses of allowing the other to have rights as well. Remember we are all different and we all need to learn to live side by side, that is why we are alive in the first place, on this planet. We must all have a place, even those who don’t see our own values as being correct. Those people are human too and need to be able to express their right to their lives and live within their own understandings. Only they need to give way at times to allow the other to have just as much right to their own codes of spirituality or difference in how they wish to live their lives.
This is all part of acceptance of the other. And I will not preach nor express , or impress my own personal understanding on anyone else. Can I hope that one day , the other can do the same?
rosewriter3 