Friday, November 20, 2015

Reflections on Wisdom


In this past week we have heard a lot of reactionary views on the tragedy that happened in Paris on November 13th.  People are upset and in the heat of the moment they lash out with first impulses.  But after that initial burst of vengeful or retaliatory feelings we should cool down and think about who we really are.
I cannot speak for other people but I can say that I have spent this week thinking a great deal, listening to so much on media until I got a little overwhelmed so I shut out the noise and started listening to myself.  I think this is the lesson that I learned; turn off the news rather than be drawn into it so I don’t hear the same things or see the same pictures over and over again until I am whipped into a frenzy of violent emotion.  I need distance so I can hear my own thoughts and understand where my values really lie.
At the end of the day I feel like I want to be a good, compassionate person and that means I cannot shut the door in someone’s face.  This week in both my theological reading and my meditation I was moved to do some additional reflection on God.  I was walking on the treadmill and trying to come to grips with the idea of God as a Being.  As part of the meditation we are working on 4 core beliefs – I am loving & loved, I am worthy, I am safe & trusting, I am whole & fulfilled.  So far so good, I can understand these beliefs and agree with them.  From there I thought “the vast majority of people are good people, they want these same core beliefs to be the reality of their lives”.  Again, so far so good.  Now here is something I cannot explain but for as long as I can remember my strongest belief is that good will always, ALWAYS, triumph over evil.  I may not have one hundred percent belief in God but I do have one hundred percent belief in Goodness.
So if this is true, and I believe it is, then most people are good.  So why should I be afraid of them?  The greatest wisdom of the world errs on the side of goodness, fairness, compassion and peace.  I’m on the side of that wisdom.

 

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