Skip to main content

Confessing What I Know

Oprah used to have this thing about "what I know for sure" (and maybe she still does?).  It made my uncomfortable.  I never feel that I know much of anything for sure. But certain things do seem clear to me.

 And having the news on most of the day for a few days has me convinced that those who think they know for sure are misguided and dangerous.

And I am not just talking about the terrorists and the threat they pose to the world.

I am not a Christian.  My personal religious symbol is a question mark.  Still, it is clear to me that this is my country too.  I was born and raised here, as were my parents.  Before that, not so much.  I guess there are those, some of whom are running for president of our country, who would say for sure I should pack my bag and leave.

I am not strictly an atheist.  I don't believe in an all-powerful God, but I do believe in something, akin to a spirit of Godness in the universe.  I guess those who do know for sure would say, "She is totally an atheist!"

I do understand that what I think and feel and experience in life has been shaped my soul's journey.  I don't know for sure, but I do believe with all my heart, that we are all here for a reason.  And I am hoping with all my heart that that reason is evolution toward peace--the Garden of Eden story in reverse.

Obviously, sadly, we have a long way to go.

Doesn't history demonstrate over and over that to fight hatred and evil with hatred and evil only means that hatred and evil will always win?

So what I know is not very much...but I will continue to treat people with compassion and kindness in the hope that the pool of love and compassion will grow.

Comments

  1. GwenNovember 19, 2015 at 11:10 AM

    I have no issues with anything you said, Olga. I do believe known terrorists should be destroyed, though. Will it end terrorism for good? I don't think until Almageddon that that is possible, but it certainly can lessen it.

    But, as for closing our borders or letting no refugees in, that's bullshit. Do a cursory background check, but they are human beings and worth a shot at compassion until proven otherwise. It would've been no different than branding all 1940's Germans as Nazis. They weren't. That's my philosophy.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Linda ReederNovember 19, 2015 at 7:39 PM

    If you are a caring, thinking person it is hard not to be angry with what is going on in our country right now. The fear mongering, distrust, and even hatred are appalling.
    I am not a Christian either, even though I was raised to be one. I recently had an email debate with my sister, who KNOWS that God is real and Jesus guides our lives and Christians are under attack. She cannot see the difference between knowledge and belief, faith and fact. But that is her choice.
    I consider myself an agnostic, a knowledge based person. I actually think I do know a few things! And what I think I know right now is that a lot of "Christians" are hypocrites!

    ReplyDelete
  3. SextantNovember 20, 2015 at 12:09 AM

    Your post reminds of two of my favorite quotes:

    "Grant, O God, that we may always be right, for Thou knowest we will never change our minds."
    Old Scottish Prayer

    "The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts." Bertrand Russell

    I think the Founding Fathers were more on your wavelength. Somehow their thoughts have been hijacked by those who are very certain of themselves.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Arkansas PattiNovember 20, 2015 at 9:53 AM

    Loved the quotes from Sextant. I have follow no organized religion but do have a faith that I call on now and then, usually to seek aid for another.
    However I recently read the lyrics to John Lennon's "Imagine" that was so poignantly played after the shootings by that lone man on a piano in the streets of Paris and found so much truth in his simple words.

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousNovember 20, 2015 at 10:37 AM

    I agree with you. But, it is so difficult to deal with hatred with love, isn't it?

    ReplyDelete
  6. TomNovember 20, 2015 at 12:38 PM

    Nicely phrased post. I like your notion that we didn't come from the Garden of Eden, but that we are all evolving toward the Garden of Eden. May it be so!

    ReplyDelete
  7. SakuNovember 20, 2015 at 10:44 PM

    So true, hatred breeds hatred, while caring and compassion creates understanding. I hope someday we'll all come to that realization.

    I don't think of myself as a religious person, but believe there is something somewhere bigger than we are. My brother calls himself an apathist, he doesn't really care and he'll find out for certain after he dies.

    ReplyDelete
  8. oklhdanNovember 21, 2015 at 12:32 PM

    Hates certainly does breed hate. I too loved your thoughts on the Garden of Eden. It reminds me of the idea of reincarnation...the opportunity to "get it right" so to speak.

    ReplyDelete
  9. BarbNovember 21, 2015 at 5:05 PM

    Hello Olga, I believe there is much more goodness in the world than evil, but it seems to be evil that we hear about most. When people are fearful or less confident, they try to find scapegoats - it has always been this way. Is it human nature? I came by to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving. My wish this holiday season is for peace and understanding. It's a big wish, I know.

    ReplyDelete
  10. UnknownNovember 22, 2015 at 6:10 PM

    A friend and I were just discussing politics and wondered how we, the hippies of the 60s who preached peace and 'no more wars" could let us get to here. I don't know what I believe anymore but I am pretty sure any God would shake his head with shame at the hatred that is being spewed by people proclaiming themselves to be good Christians. Good post Olga.

    ReplyDelete
  11. fiftyoddNovember 28, 2015 at 11:21 AM

    You reflect all my thoughts in this post. Thank you for expressing them.

    ReplyDelete
  12. KayNovember 29, 2015 at 2:43 PM

    Oh wow! I didn't know there were so many people who believe as we do. I find the religious climate in Hawaii is turning toward Christian intolerance and that scares me. There is the constant assumption that all people believe as they do. How did this happen? I don't know. When our governor said he would welcome Syrian refugees, the backlash he got was incredible. Sigh...

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

I appreciate readers' comments so much. You don't even always have to agree with me.

Popular posts from this blog

It's TIme

 It's been a while since I have posted anything and even my reading your posts is falling by the wayside. I am in Florida now. I have a yard where little attention was spent on landscaping for the past years so I am slowly and (somewhat) methodically addressing that. I also volunteer to work at the pollinator garden and the edible garden I helped install at the UU grounds and I took over the volunteer job of cleaning out the overgrown community garden by my neighborhood mailboxes. The neighbor who was doing that got sick and could no longer attend to it. It's a bigger job than I'd thought at first -- not only overgrown with weeds, but the plants that are wanted there are in life and death competition for each others' spaces. And two walks a day, morning and evening, so Levi can keep up with addiction to canine social media and a daily rousing came of stick or ball midday take up another chunk of my time. I have a weekly meditation group that I co-facilitate, and my own ...
10 comments
Read more

New Furniture

 We went shopping for a new couch. I liked this one, the first store we went to. Of course it would be an impulse to buy the first one so we trekked around to other stores -- something we liked more, a better deal? No surprise that we ended up going back to that first store the next day and purchasing that couch for our living room. Also a matching love seat for the den where we watch TV. Because I had replaced my old love seat with two recliners. We couldn't keep three households worth of furniture after all. Well, my recliner was not big enough to accommodate both Levi and me. Poor boy had to watch TV from his bed on the floor. There! This is much better! Spoiled much? The little tail on the floor belongs to his toy squirrel, Buddy. It's like having a toddler with the need to be picking up toys or risk tripping over them. But his very favorite play thing is that bathmat that can be found anywhere but the bathroom floor.
10 comments
Read more

Walking

 I have always been a walker. Now that I have a high energy dog there is no excuse for not getting out there. And the weather is not an interfering factor here. Early morning and early evening are our preferred times so even when it gets hot we should be okay. We can get quite a long walk going around the neighborhood, greeting neighbors out working in their yards or walking their own dogs. But the landscape changes quickly just beyond the confines of the housing developments. It could be described as natural Florida or as sites of future housing developments. I do prefer the first option. And I really enjoy being out in natural areas so I often opt to head to a nature setting. I would have liked to put a picture here. Unfortunately my iPhone has made a unilateral decision. It will no longer be sending my photos to my computer. Why? I have no idea. However, we may be walking along happily enough -- me listening to the birds or trying to identify wildflowers and other plants while L...
10 comments
Read more