Faith & Life Inspirational Message

We live in it at all times.   It surrounds us, penetrates us and yet is probably separate from us.   It is independent and dependent at the same time.   It is mysterious and, yet, completely transparent and knowable.   It’s reality. Of course, there are different philosophical and theological perspectives on just what reality is.   I am sure there must be scientific versions, as well.   Psychologists might tell is reality is a matter of perspective.   I suppose some extremists are confident there is no such thing as reality.   Maybe I am in illusion, but it seems to me pretty clear there is such a thing a reality.   The good news is, I do not intend to explore its philosophical and scientific roots.   I am going to take reality for granted.   For me, it is.   Let’s think about the reality of reality. What prompted these beginning thoughts was a random sentence in an article I was reading.   The article was not very g...

Anybody who lives to adulthood knows that there are times when life gets tough.   I suppose Adam and Eve had it made in Paradise, but they blew it and found out even then that happiness was not guaranteed!   God had told them not to do one thing.   Of course, they could not resist!   So they grabbed the fruit, ate it, blamed the serpent and each other, and paid the price.   They were kicked out of Paradise.   To quote the famous book title of John Steinbeck, East of Eden, that is precisely where they were condemned to live.   And all of us know we live “East of Eden.”   In that place---our place really---is the place of toil, pain, and often, unhappiness.   I could ask for a better deal, but it won’t matter.   We are no longer in Eden.   We are in Cleveland or New York or London or Moscow.   It does not matter where we are in the globe, because the whole globe is East of Eden.      I am not sure Eden was ev...

I am part of a group that meets weekly.   It is a great group of fairly diverse people.   The folks have a variety of jobs.   Both genders are represented.   The age range is significant.   Some are retired and others are newer into their careers.   Not everyone has the same religious background.   We have Christians and Jews and some who probably are not institutionally affiliated.   But the greatest thing about the group is how well they get along.   I like being part of a community.   Usually, I can tell if a group is a community or if they are just a collection of individuals.   They may even be working to some common end, but a collection of individuals will not automatically become a community.   I am pretty sure I cannot give you an academic definition of community.   But I do know there are some key aspects. Community requires commitment from the various members.   Typically, the community members have v...