Letting Go!

Letting Go!

We always want good things to come to us, even if some of the good things aren’t always what we expect. I have learned to live life with open arms, trying to let go of the many plans that I have constructed within me that usually do not end the way I expect or even wish. I have had devastation slap me squarely in the face, and I have had blessing that enter my very being as if it were an electric charge driven into my very core.

Living this way, I am reminded that whatever is buried deep within me, whatever dreams and passions I have for myself and those around me are not solely mine. Those dreams and prayers that I have, that construct my very being, are also the dreams and prayers that millions of others have on this planet. We are joined by our desires; we are joined by our prayers. I don’t care whether it is a fellow Christian, a Jew, a Muslim, or an atheist. I also don’t care whether the other is male, female, hetero- or homo- sexual. We all share in these common desires.  

We are all subject to the same human condition; we lack the ability to see beyond our own slanted ideas, our own elementary lifestyles. And if we are equal in all these basics, then we should be, we must be, recognized as equals in all things. Jesus knew this; Jesus taught this. It was his distant followers that demanded inequality. Why should a person who does not pray, does not meditate on God, be sacrificed because we disagree on spirituality? If Jesus didn’t care, then I cannot care.

I am awaiting all to recognize that we are children of God, no matter what our circumstances. Our differences are recognized only by us, not by God. I refuse to be so religious that I cannot join in the suffering of those on the fringes of our man-made societies. I meditate on the coming of that single genuine moment, when I can truly say that my thoughts, my prayers, my desires, are recognized as true gifts given to me by God.

I have many blessings; my family, my friends, my academic associates, and my students, are all gifts given to me . . . gifts, not prizes that I have earned. I believe that when this moment of reality occurs within me, this single moment, this genuine moment will have great consequences for me and those around me. I pray for this much desired gift from God.