Enough

This isn't about violins. I know a thing or two about violins now, how to make them and play them reasonably well. No this is about something of which I know much more than violins. This is about people, cultures and whole societies manipulating spiritual experience for their own gain and drastically cheapening it for others in the process.

I am tired of Tim Tebow. I am tired of evangelicals. I am tired of Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney and a host of other personalities selling their bag of goods. I am tired of any and all religions that are about destinations in the next life. I am more than tired of them. I am really fed up with them and that's why I'm writing this.

I go to church almost every week. I support my church to the tune of many thousands of dollars annually. I recite the Apostles Creed, the Lord's prayer, take communion and take part in many other weekly rituals. I sing in the choir, help the homeless and regularly visit an elderly parishioner with soup and a few pops. I do all these things because it's about living life responsibly, collectively and spiritually. It is not about a destination, it is not about seeing loved ones in the future that have left this world. It is not about answering a "call" someone has decided for me. I gave all of that up many, many years ago. I'll say it again. It's about living responsibly, collectively and spiritually.

Why isn't this enough. Why do we have to invent elaborate religious narratives about stuff of which NOBODY has the remotest clue. Sure, like I mentioned above I recite creeds, say prayers and perform other weekly rituals in church. Its like getting dressed in the morning, having a cup of coffee, having a pleasant word for the waitress in the coffee shop, treating employees like family, praising sons and daughters endlessly, loving spouses unconditionally and after all that, taking your dog for a daily walk.. These prayers, creeds and what I call "living in the Kingdom" are things we do that fill a life, that create a cadence, that play music in our souls. This is the essence of "the divine". There are endless varieties of this "life" dance. No one better than the next. But it pains me to no end when these beautiful brush strokes are co opted by "holy" men and women, religious organizations and other charlatans and turned to filth with narratives of exclusivity and bigoted piety.

This is it. There is no place else to go. It's not about answering to SOMEONE out there directing us. Why can't we grow up and discover the "divine" right here. Why do we insist on adding layers of gook to a dish of exquisite simple elegance.

ENOUGH!