More Thoughts on Religion

I've been giving a lot of thought to religion this week, specifically organized religion.  As stated in a previous post, we've begun attending church again, and the priest is having informal get togethers after the early service to talk about the denomination and other religious issues.  The first meeting last week was extremely enlightening.

I was raised Southern Baptist.  We were an "Amen-ing" congregation - well steeped in fire, brimstone, self-sacrifice (no drinking or dancing) and solid forgiveness.  Dutifully, church was attended twice on Sunday, plus Wednesday, with misson studies, choir practice, witnessing, youth activities, etc. thrown in.  I even went to school at the church.  And yet, with all of this continuous emmersion in the faith, there was no sense of guilt when I stepped back from the church to pursue my own spiritual journey.  It never even occurred to me that there could or should be.

It was therefore very surprising to me to find that others experienced extreme guilt and loss when they separated from their original church denominations.  For some, the division was several years ago, and yet it was apparent that it was still very fresh and in some cases painful for them.  This has led me to a lot of consideration on this issue...

If God is a loving God, why would he want to have an earthly system in place that causes so much guilt and pain?

It leads me to believe that there is something in human nature that seeks the direction that organized religion provides.  And there are those committed to providing a system that neatly indoctrinates them from birth into that sytem to the point where they can see no out.  If this is the case, does that not make every organized religious system, regardless of belief structure, a cult?

Weight for It

So there are millions of people out there who have determined that this is the year that they will finally lose the extra weight they are carrying around.  You can tell that by the barrage of weight loss products being hawked on TV and the special get-in-shape section at the end of every aisle.  This is the #1 annual resolution, and commercialism is there to get it done for you.

In the fitness industry, there is a name for those parking place stealing, cardio-machine hogging people that only show up for a month or so every year - it's "poinsettias."  Like the flower, they bloom in all of their glory, and fade by February.  But for a short time, they are committed!

In the midst of all of this, there is one company that is encouraging you to "Help yourself to happiness."  Let's face it, getting up in the cold pre-dawn hours, dragging yourself to the gym, and sweating for a while does not sound like the most fun on the planet.  So why not have a little "happiness" to go with it?

At this point, you're probably wondering where you can sign up to just "Help yourself to happiness."  Heck, I want to get in line too, and that's exactly what we'll be doing for our happiness at the Golden Corral Buffet.  You can serve up happy as much as you want for one low price.

I wonder how much the fitness industry is paying Golden Corral to advertise all that happiness?

And Now for a Little Religion

There is an amazing compulsion that comes over many to start the week off with a little dose of religion.  Dutifully, we get up and put on our "going to church" clothes and manners.  Then we head off to sit-stand-sit-kneel-sit-stand, sing a little and listen to the sermon.  Most of the time, there is little new to hear, but there is comfort in the ritual of it all.  This is why millions of people turn to their religion everyday.

We recently started attending church again.  It had been a long hiatus for me, as I was raised Southern Baptist and figured I had logged enough hours in church before the age of 18 to get me through until the end.  But the husband wanted to go, and the ingrained religious lemming inside me thought that it may be time to be a follower for a while.

This church experience has been different for me thus far.  Yes, the denomination is new, but the real difference is the minister.  She embodies the phrase "radiating joy" and works to make her messages (not sermons) relevant - but not in a Joel Osteen kind of way.  This is church and ritual, but it has a liberal dose of humanity thrown in too.

Don't ask me what this morning's biblical passages were, because I heard them but didn't really listen.  I also can't tell you how the message began.  But, a little ways into it, she got my attention.  She was talking about the Hebrew people wandering in the desert for 40 years before ending up at the promised land - a land of milk and honey.  This had been the goal and the "pay off" for all that they had suffered in their nomadic existence.  But when it came time to reach out and take it, they were afraid.  They were paralyzed because the promised land was populated by "giants."  Everything they wanted was right there.  They had a guarantee that it would all work out.  And yet, they were paralyzed by their own fear.

Wow.  Talk about a true lemming moment. 

It made me realize how so many of us, including me, are able to see exactly what we want.  We put in the time and work, all we have to do is take the final step for the "pay off."  Then fear steps in and cuts us off at the knee.

We once again fall prey to that lemming trap of the "comfort zone."

So pick up your slingshot and stone.  What's your giant?

Chucking It in the New Year

Sitting at my computer, I am surrounded by all of this stuff. The accumulation of important papers, junk mail, and other things that build up in my daily life. As I look at all of it, the question is, how did I end up here - again?

Yet, I am loathe to participate in one of the most common lemming sports - setting New Year resolutions. This time of year, you hear it almost as often as the Salvation Army bells ringing. Friends, family and complete strangers all get on a kick of sharing how their lives will change - as soon as the new year rolls in. They are going to lose that weight, clean the garage, get that promotion, etc, etc, etc...

I say just chuck it all! Take those New Year resolutions and throw them out with the dried up tree and wrapping paper. Why spend this year feeling the pressure and guilt of all the years past - again?

Don't resolve to do anything, especially not something that will have to be monitored and nurtured for a whole year.

Instead, make little choices everyday. Smile at the cashier who has been on her feet for hours. Remember the name of your server at dinner. Choose the broccoli instead of fries every now and again. Take a walk down the block and maybe even around it. Find a moment to rest your spirit. And most of all be thankful and thank others.

When Did I Change?

A few months ago, I changed positions within my company. It was a good move, and I have to admit that I like what I'm doing and the people I work with. One of the benefits of my new job is that I get to work out of my home office when I'm not traveling. This is great for convenience, comfort, and the occasional load of laundry, but lousy for inter-work socializing.

Which gets me to my thoughts. Today, I attended a holiday get-together at the office. The people attending I've known from 1 to 10 years. Many of them, I watched start their first day at the company or have known for my entire career. Yet today, I felt like I was on the outside looking in. The information they were delivering in the meeting portion had nothing to do with my current job. I was surprised at the number of new initiatives developed in a short span of months. Most of all, I wasn't an insider anymore to the personal lives and jokes.

It surprised me. It even made me a little sad.

I realized that we each become part of the culture we are immersed in at that time. Lemmings within our own microcosm and part of the greater macrocosm of the companies we work for. And for a moment, I missed the lemming I used to be.

Standing at the Edge

So now we are poised at the edge of our chosen cliff. What next?

If true lemming mentality exists, we wait. We wait to see what those around us will do. Will they stay still and watch the sunset? Will they run forward and leap to a new adventure? Or, will they simply turn around and return to their current existense, untouched by the opportunities avoided.

And then, we choose. We can follow the other lemmings. Or, we can make our own decision, separate from the group and become a lead lemming.

My life has been a series of cliff ledges. Most often I have been content to watch the sunset. Then life happens, and I find myself with things changing around me waiting for the result. It is easy to live this way and more often than not, things work out well. However, recent events are moving me to believe that eventually I will need to become the lead lemming in my own drama. There is comfortable and then there is the rut. Up til now, I have been comfortable. But that comfort is starting to look a lot like a rut. So how do I "buck up" and take the lead position?

Trying to Choose the Cliff

Now the lemmings are following along and jumping off the proverbial cliff.

The big questions are the same as in every good investigative piece of journalism.

Who? What? Where? When? Why?

Who: The Lemmings i.e. a large percentage of the population (myself included) who have been meandering through their day to day lives and just letting life happen one minute at a time.

What: The Flow i.e. the propensity for not questioning life and the choices made in it... just going with the flow.

Where: The Cliff i.e. that place where change is possible, inevitable or avoidable.

When: The Moment i.e. every moment that a person is aware of their life and able to make decisions within it.

Why: The Big Question i.e. that inevitable point at which a person stops and evaluates their life if for only a moment.

Taking all of the basics into account, how does one change the course of life and not run right off the edge of the cliff with everyone else. Or, better yet, how do you decide which cliff to jump off of. How do you choose the right cliff?