Believing

The day washes over me. Images and impressions from countless sources pelt my consciousness; with pulses of meaning, some inferred, many direct. The sun’s rays burst from the sky through the cold, cold window and warm the kitchen table where I sit composing on the computer. The cloudless sky on a February morning of 9 degrees below zero shimmers outside my door. Seven or eight inches of packed snow rests lightly on the patio furniture and lawn.

It is winter. It is cold. It is beautiful.

The envelope of life delivers messages to me constantly. Warmth, cold, wind, peace, serenity. These are some of the messages received. Did I get all that were sent?

The little knobs on branches – of trees and shrubs – they are the buds of spring’s new growth. Now but a hope of a green future, but also a real fact of biology. They will grow into leaves and twigs and branches this May and June. We know that because science tells us so.

Neil DeGrasse Tyson reminds us:

            “The good thing about science is that it’s true whether or not you believe in it.”

So much surrounding us is real without our knowing it. Each has life and purpose and substance of which we are mostly unaware. The complexity of it all. The universe of facts and meaning. I may not fully understand it all; in fact I capture but a small slice of it! But Dr. Tyson, famed astrophysicist and researcher, also reminds us of this simple fact:

“We are all connected; to each other, biologically. To the earth, chemically. To the rest of the universe atomically.”

I think this is comforting. It tells us we are not alone in the universe. There is a design in which we live. We didn't design it. We didn't plan it. It just is. We are a part of it whether we want it or not. Best we attempt to understand how it works so we can cooperate with it for best results.  Eh?

Lots of people make up their own facts. That’s how they best understand their universe. That approach makes connecting with others a little difficult, however. Facts make up reality. If that reality is uncomfortable or unfriendly, the mind adjusts to make a reality that is more comfortable to the host person! Trouble is they are unaware they have done this. They are not living in the real world; only a pretend universe. No wonder there are days that shock them. True reality crashes their pretend bubble. The results are not always very nice!

Poet John Trudell states:

“I’m just a human being trying to make it in a world that is very rapidly losing its understanding of being human.”

I think he is correct. We distort what we believe about the world so it is not as scary but we miss what it truly is. Along the way we lose a part of ourselves as well.

That also impairs the ability to understand the larger universe. We can continue on this path of make-believe but there will be a day of reckoning eventually.  We can choose what we will believe, but soon enough there are consequences we cannot escape just because they are uncomfortable to us.

Discovering the truth about myself, the world, other people…it is astonishing how it affects me. Think of it this way:

“Sometimes, you find yourself in the middle of nowhere; and sometimes, in the middle of nowhere, you find yourself.” ~Anonymous

Those discoveries are important. They occur throughout our journey. They inform us of who we are, what we are capable of, and how we must work with others.

As John Lennon said,

“Being honest may not get you a lot of friends, but it’ll always get you the right ones.”

We need those right friends, else we live in a pretend world disconnected from all bridges to reality.

Oscar Wilde advised:

“Selfishness is not living your life as you wish. It is asking others to live their lives as you wish.”

It helps to see those words in print so their meaning is clear! We live our lives as we wish. Others do the same. They are not obliged to do our bidding. No. We have the duty to work with them. Together we make things happen. Together we extend reality. Not a dream world.

No politics. No special meanings or opinions. Just the human understanding and hopes among us. Together we believe and produce.

When will we let go of politicians? We don’t need them to believe; and know the real world.

February 4, 2014