Peripherals

I'm going to attempt to weave two separate (but somewhat related) trains of thought. Let's see if this works. It's always fun to see when thoughts make their way out if they still make sense to you like the way they do in my head. :)

First, to elaborate on religion per Vcious' request: I've just seen myself get wrapped up in the things I do, even if they are "good" things to do, while forgetting why I do them in the first place. When I was reflecting on lent, on giving up things in order to devote oneself to prayer, to service, to fasting, I saw that I was more preoccupied with what I do for God rather than who He is, or, for that matter, who I am to Him. I was wondering how the tradition of giving up things started. People feel like they have to give up certain things (chocolate, meat, alcohol, coffee, swearing, blogging, etc.) and they do, and they probably should, but then do they actually use the time they give up in order to get closer to God? This religion business somehow manages to make me forget about the person I'm doing it for in the first place. No wonder Jesus hated it so much; not the tradition or the observance/ritual in and of itself, of course, but that we've skewed it, mutated it, into becoming an end in and of itself. We lost the point along the way. Additionally, I think our culture, despite expressing our dislike for organized religion, actually quite excels at creating "religion." But that might be for another post...

Second train: I watched the Heaven special that Ms. Walters (of Thwenthy-thwenthy) aired back in the winter. Man, it irked. I tend to be ultra critical of newsmagazine shows - I blame it on my training in college - Anyway, regardless of demerits, I got a lot out of it. BW interviewed various religious leaders (Jewish, Christian, Catholic, Buddhist, Muslim) about their respective views on heaven. What is it like? How do you get there? Who gets to go there? etc. etc. So interesting. I have studied most major religions and most of the time, heaven is a place where there is no pain, no suffering, no tears. Some of them think it's a place where you get to indulge. We give considerable thought and effort to the concept of heaven, of after-life. Some religions use it as an incentive. Here's where you get to go after a lifetime of... life. Sounds real dandy.

But then I started thinking about how we fight and argue about who gets to go to heaven, how you get to heaven, etc. and then I just get really annoyed.

Maybe because to me religion and spirituality shouldn't be all about getting to go to heaven. While I wholeheartedly believe in the existence of it and of how to get there, I hate to see our discussions focus on it. Maybe because to me heaven wouldn't be heaven without God; I want to go to heaven because He is there. The whole thing is pointless without Him. Maybe because I believe being with Him is a gift, not a reward after you perform a certain number of good deeds or observe the rituals.

I started to understand what MBL said - it's not even about her "salvation" i.e. going to heaven, to her it's about salvation from the here and now. Her relationship with God/Jesus is not about the "destination" of heaven because she needs Him for this life. Her life is so good with Him in the picture, that whether or not there is an after-life is an after-thought. What a magnificent place to be...

Maybe you saw it, maybe you didn't, but the common thread I tried to say is: Don't let the peripherals like traditions and "getting to heaven" distract you from the real deal. Don't miss the real deal; He is much more fun and exciting and beautiful and complex than all the other things combined.

And oh, I just saw the Invisible Children. I don't even know where to begin so I won't yet, let me ruminate and get back to you soon. But please, go to www.invisiblechildren.org - you won't regret it.