Re-Gifting!

What better is there to do on the day after Christmas than to re-gift?  I give you a quote from Howard Thurman that a friend gave me today:

When the song of the angels is stilled,
when the star in the sky is gone,
when the kings and princes are home,
when the shepherds are back with the flocks,
then the work of Christmas begins:
to find the lost,
to heal those broken in spirit,
to feed the hungry,
to release the oppressed,
to rebuild the nations,
to bring peace among all peoples,
to make a little music with the heart...                     --Howard Thurman 

May Christmas Blessings continue in your life! 

"You Go To Heaven When You're Born"

Next Monday is Christmas Eve. It is also the fiftieth anniversary of one of the most iconic photographs ever taken. The astronauts of Apollo 8 were the first humans to orbit the moon and see Earth "rise" on the moon's horizon. On that space mission they saw, and shared in photography, what no human had seen before - Earth suspended in space.

James Lovell, the last surviving member of that crew describes it this way: "...we brought back a picture of the Earth as it is 240,000 miles away. And the fact is, it gives you a different perspective of the Earth when you see it as three-dimensional between the sun and the moon, and you begin to realize how small and how significant the body is. When I put my thumb up to the window I could completely hide it, and then I realized that behind my thumb that I'm hiding this Earth, and there are about 6 billion people that are all striving to live there."

Earth, he says, "...has the proper mass, has the gravity to contain water and an atmosphere, which are the very essentials for life,..  orbiting a star just at the right distance — not too far to be too cold, or too close to be too hot — and just at the right distance to absorb that star's energy and then, with that energy, cause life to evolve here in the first place."

From this amazing perspective, Lovell concludes, "You have to really kind of think about our own existence here in the universe. You realize that people often say, 'I hope to go to heaven when I die,' In reality, if you think about it, you go to heaven when you're born. God has really given us a stage, just looking at where we were around the moon, a stage on which we perform. And how that play turns out is up to us.

Next Monday many people around the world will tell an ancient story of the birth of a child named Jesus, which means "the one who saves."  Could it be that the salvation we seek and the salvation Jesus brings is similar to Lovell's observations? Jesus tells us the kingdom of heaven is already here and now.  When we realize this, we are born into harmony with our planet and all of its inhabitants-- heaven!

( I recently read the title quote in the Dec-Jan "AARP Bulletin." Quotes from Lovell are from this article: https://www.businessinsider.com/earth-is-heaven-james-lovell-lunar-astronaut-2017-3 )

Behold! Good News of Great Joy!

A wrong number started the whole thing. Way back before the internet, smart phones, cell phones, caller ID, or even answering machines, we used dial telephones, got busy signals, and "hung up" after too many rings. And since there were no robo calls and telemarketing, there were very few unsolicited phone calls.

In those more simple days, one year about two week before Christmas my uncle received a call from a child who asked to speak to someone not known by him. He gave the usual reply for such a call, "Sorry, you have the wrong number."

The child asked, "Who is this?"

My uncle decided to have a little fun, "This is Santa Claus."  He had no idea what he was starting.

"Really?" The child said.

"Yup. That's me"

"Where are you?" The child asked.

"Why, the North Pole, of course."

After some conversation about what the child wanted for Christmas they hung up.

Immediately the phone rang again. It was the child.  "Is this Santa?"

"Didn't we just talk?" My uncle asked.

"Yes. I just want to make sure I had the right number."   Click.

For the next two weeks my uncle's phone rang off the hook, as we used to say. Child after child called to speak with Santa. He played the role with every caller and even enlisted my aunt to be Mrs. Claus when he wasn't there. Hundreds of children in our community were filled with joy that Christmas because they got to call the North Pole and talk to Santa and Mrs. Claus. And there's no telling how many called when my uncle and aunt weren't home.

One amazing thing about this story is how fast Santa's phone number got spread around. Remember there was no email, texting, or snapchat. This happened the old fashion way by passing notes in class, whispering in lunch lines, huddling on playgrounds, and walking to school in packs. Another wonderful thing is how one simple, spontaneous moment of fun ignited joy in so many, especially my aunt and uncle. Small acts of kindness can be and often are contagious.

There is an old saying about news - "Bad news travels at the speed of light, good news like molasses." I'm not so sure about that, especially when there is so much bad news around and good news seems to be rare.  The first words of the angel announcing Jesus' birth are "Fear not!" The next words are, "I bring you good news of great joy!"  Maybe if more of us would actually "fear not" and act upon our impulses of "kinder angels" more joy would be ignited and shared.

By the way, my uncle was a "newsman." He was News Director for a local radio station, and columnist for several local papers.  His spontaneous, "This is Santa Claus," may have been his best ever lede!

Miracle Babies

Somewhere in every genealogy is an unexpected birth, a story in our lineage of the baby who was not supposed to be. In many cases that baby may even be us. The scenarios of unexpected conceptions are many. Among them are: supposed infertility, way too fertile, illicit liaisons, miscalculations, chance encounters, unleashed passion, desperate measures, violence, careless contraception, or past the prime years. Whatever the story is and whoever the baby was, the reality is that if they weren't then you aren't. Most of us don't have to look very far to find a "miracle baby" in our lives that allows our life.

In the Bible all of the major birth stories of iconic figures are stories of barrenness, infertility, obstacles, and impediment to conception and birth. In many cases the these stories are actually the same story, retold with new characters and circumstances. The Christmas story is one of these.

The story of Mary, Joseph, and the birth of Jesus is an echo of Abraham, Sarah, and Issac; the Hebrew midwives and Moses; Boaz, Ruth, and Obed; Elkanah, Hannah, and Samuel; David, Bathsheba, and Solomon; Zechariah, Elizabeth, and John. Miracle babies galore!

All of these stories of unexpected, unplanned births remind us that life itself is often unexpected. Even lives that are planned and come off without a hitch are possible because somewhere, sometime, someone in our past was born unexpectedly.  In a fanciful way, we are all Miracle Babies!

Path to Tyranny...do nothing.

A bully finds someone who they think is weaker, then taunts and terrorizes with name calling, lies, barriers, demeaning gestures, lines in the sand, and physical threats. Ignoring and walking away from the bully is always one option, however a true bully will always pursue, drawing another line, then another until their victim is in a corner, back against the wall, with what seem to be only two options: submit or strike back.

Submitting, like walking away, leads eventually to more derisive treatment from the bully because what the bully really wants is for their victim to strike back, even in the least way. Unfortunately, because of the bully's gradual, incessant tactics, striking back without force becomes more and more difficult. Then the bully has a reason, although twisted, to attack with pseudo moral authority.

However, when the bully is confronted with true moral authority they will melt. Standing up with such authority reveals that the bully is actually the weak one. The bully is actually a coward. The bully is the real victim of his or her own delusion.

There is a lot of bullying going on in the world today that needs confronting. Already there are too many backs against too many walls. A bully, large or small, left unchecked by true moral authority will become a tyrant. As numerous wise people have noted, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do nothing.”  

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm taking a few days to relax away from the regular hustle and bustle of daily routines, the internet, etc.  I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day wherever and with whomever it may be.

Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart!

Here Forever!

"Let's stay here forever, Papa!"
the young boy said to his grandfather
"Ok. Let's." replied the old man,
stretching out on his back
in the shallow water of a warm tide pool
while proclaiming
"This is the life!"
A broad grin filled the boy's sun kissed face.
"This is the life!' he mimicked.
They laughed as one.
"Where will we sleep, Papa?"
"Right here. Under the sun and stars."
"What will we eat?"
"I dunno. Tiny crabs maybe.
What ever comes into our tide pool."
"Maybe a big fish!" the boy stretched his arms
nearly as wide as his grin.
Laughter.
"This is the life, Papa!"
"Yup! This is the life.

Silence settled in.
They both watched
wet sand sift through the boys fingers.

Here forever
knowing without knowing
forever is here
in a moment
in a tidepool
on a beach
under the sun
wrapped in laughter
held in silence and wonder.

Looking up from the sifting sand,
eyes toward the sky
as if he knew the sand's source
the boy said
"Let's talk about planets, Papa."
"Ok, let's."

A Better Place?

Yesterday, while a quarter of the people of the "United" States of America were voting, word came  that a parishioner had been admitted to a hospital with chest pains. I went to check on her. It turned out that she had already been through a corrective procedure, was in a better place, and looking to go home in a day or so.

On the elevator back down to the lobby I struck up a conversation with a woman with an armful of cards, other papers, and a flower arrangement. Her forty-something daughter had been in the hospital for a month and was going home - under hospice care. I offered empty words of consolation for which she thanked me. Her parting words were, "At least she will soon be in a better place."

A better place. We all seem to be striving for a better place. Some walk across Central America and Mexico escaping violence, poverty, and oppression most Americans can't even imagine. Many Americans simply want adequate health care, or security in old age. There are others simply looking for meaningful work that provides shelter, food, and comfort for family. There are even those who appear to have everything anyone would could want or need, yet they too look for an even better place. And yes, some look to death for their better place. We all have an idea, hope, or dream of a better place.

The elections are over. Some people feel, at least for now, they are in a better place than they were yesterday.  Many are still walking, still wanting, still looking, still needing a "better" place in life. Our hope, to quote Thomas Merton, lies in "...labor[ing] with inexhaustible patience and love, in silence, perhaps in repeated failure, seeking tirelessly to restore, wherever [we] can, and first of all in [ourself], the capacity of love and which makes [humanity] the living image of God.”

There is a better place.   

Reformed and Always Being Reformed

I'm thinking about Martin Luther this morning and wondering how he may have felt five hundred years ago when he nailed his grievances against the empire on a church door. As he looked around his world,

• Did he see power and wealth in a few people who used their privileged positions to manipulate and control the masses? 
• Did he see persecution of people as a way of dividing, conquering, and turning fear into loyalty? 
• Did he see truths of faith being twisted in order to portray God as the source and authority for the absurdities surrounding him? 
• Did he have any idea what he was starting and how his courage was part of an unleashing of freedom that would change the world?
• Did he have any idea that five hundred years later there would be the need for another list on another door, another unleashing of freedom?

How Much Is Enough?

What does is profit a person to gain the whole world but lose their soul? ~ Jesus

When speaking of someone considered to be rich and exactly how rich they may be, I often quip, "Let's just say they don't have to worry about paying the light bill."

Last night somebody in South Carolina won the largest single jackpot in lottery history, 1.6 billion dollars. Yes, that's "billion!" They definitely won't have to worry about paying their light bill. However, they are probably in line for many other worries never dreamt or imagined.

All of this begs a question - what is my/your benchmark for being "rich?"  If it really is "not worrying about paying the light bill" then a whole lot of people are rich, even those who don't have a light bill to pay. Some people will immediately go to a broader definition of "rich" and talk about the riches of family, friends, community, etc. Others may consider safety, freedom, or security as riches. But whatever our commodity, we all have, or need to have, a standard for how much is enough. Finding this standard is not so easy in a culture of production and consumption that survives and thrives on creating scarcity in order to convince us that we never have enough of anything.

Once we can come to our own personal place of enough, anything over and above is superfluous and available to help others reach their place of enough. And there really is enough of everything for everyone to have enough.

Enough, whatever the commodity,  really is the place where we begin to find our soul.

Tea Time

“A young seeker, keen to become the student of a certain master, is invited to an interview at the master’s house. The student rambles on about all his spiritual experiences, his past teachers, his insights and skills, and his pet philosophies. The master listens silently and begins to pour a cup of tea. He pours and pours, and when the cup is overflowing he keeps right on pouring. Eventually the student notices what’s going on and interrupts his monologue to say, ‘Stop pouring! The cup is full.’ The teacher says, ‘Yes, and so are you. How can I possibly teach you?’”
~ A Zen story conveyed by Cynthia Bourgeault in The Wisdom Jesus

The story above arrived in my email box today by way of Inward, Outward, Together.  It speaks to me in a way that illuminates the darkened times in which we seem to be living. Some may even ask, "What dark times?" Aren't the markets at all time highs? It's reported that world-wide poverty is at an all time low. My life is better than ever. And perhaps they are correct.

However, many people feel as if the world has become un-moored and is flailing about in a sea of unprecedented deceit, cruelty, and violence, driven by insatiable appetites for wealth and power. All of this is fed by floods of unexamined information that is calculated to confuse and distort reality. Our lives, like the young seeker's life and the master's teacup, are overflowing.

Perhaps it's time for someone, anyone, you and me to place our hand over our own cup and say "Stop pouring." Then and only then can we begin to clean up the mess and begin to enjoy the cup of tea.

The Journey Continues

Seven years ago this week I started writing this weekly blog. I had just come off of a three month sabbatical much of which was spent participating in and exploring several spiritual communities where people intentionally seek the Presence of God. 

I experienced silent solitude in the natural mystery of Ghost Ranch, New Mexico, where I also encountered a regional gathering of Quaker Friends who introduced me to the wonder of communal silence. A week with Zen Buddhist monks at Tasajara in the mountain wilderness of California, showed me how intention, ritual, and contemplation, both individual and communal, transcend time and space to reveal an eternal now. The isle of Iona in Scotland offered the experience of "thin places" where heaven and earth, divine and human, touch one another. Time with my family on the ocean cliffs and deep forests of Costa Rica provided exposure to exotic plants, animals, and tropical rains revealing the breathless diversity of creation. 

These experiences led me to re-examine other experiences in my life, opening my mind and heart to truly know that IT is all connected and interconnected as One Eternal Presence in which we live. On a weekly basis I've tried to share some inspiration, imagination, and insight with you.

Seven years later, I continue the journey. Sometimes, especially the fractured times, I struggle to see and know the Presence that holds us all together. It's not easy to seek and see the Presence in greed, anger, deceit, hatred, violence, and suffering. There are times when only a past Presence offers comfort in a present Presence, and hope of a future Presence. In one word, Eternal.

Thank you to the faithful few who continue on this blogging journey with me. As we begin another year may you continue to seek, find and rest in the One Eternal Presence in our lives.

"You just can't make up this stuff!"

Following the course of current events these days is more and more like watching, and therefore participating, in a bizarre scripted production spread across various media. People and events, for the sake  of swift sensation, are too often presented and portrayed as one dimensional caricatures of a poorly written morality play.

More and more I say and hear the phrase, "You just can't make up this stuff!" when in actuality this is exactly what is happening. The players, our so called public servants and leaders, are assigned roles by various casting entities and producers using the power of access and money to cajole them into "playing their parts." As soon as a new person appears in the story they are assigned roles as well - the victim, the accuser, the cad, the villain, the wily attorney, the scrupulous judge, and so forth and so on. The masses are told who the characters are in  "playbill bios" on front pages and screens disguised as "news."

In so many ways the spectacle we see unfolding around us is but a projection of inner turmoil within countless individuals struggling with eternal human questions of identity and purpose: Who am I? Why am I here? Our challenge as individuals and responsibility to the human community, is to not defer these questions to the script writers, but rather grapple with them by living into them.

In reality the spectacle around us will continue. The "show must go on" - this is life. Some challenges, opportunities, and questions for each of us when we step on to the stage or into the screen each morning are: Will I take time to contemplate and discern my true self? Will I embrace my true self or accept false selves assigned to me? How will I participate, as spectator or actor? Will I allow others the same freedom that I seek? And above all, is it true, honorable, just, pure, pleasing, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise - think about these things.  (Philippians 4:8)     


 

Lose the "lose!"

Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.  ~ Jesus

Sometimes I get the words "lose" and "loose" confused, not their meaning so much as their spelling. I'm forever wanting to ad or omit that extra "o" which of course changes the meaning of what I'm writing.  For example I may want to say "my dog is loose in the yard" but leaving out that "o" has him losing in some kind of competition. There are times when accidentally adding the "o" may even spark an imaginative twist as in "losing one's mind" or "loosing one's mind." Instead of going crazy you are freeing your mind.

Such is the case with the saying above by Jesus. What if losing our life is not so much dying as it is letting go of, i.e. loosing, our life? By loosening and letting go of our perceptions, prejudices, pride, and fear we discover new ways of experiencing life and old ways are lost. Seen this way, Jesus' teaching is not as foreboding as it is inviting.

Maybe Jesus is simply telling us to loosen up, relax, let go and open ourselves to the full possibilities and potentials of the wonderful thing we call life.  In other words, lose the "lose!"

Life Is Fra-gee-lay!

Dad: “Fra-gee-lay” …it must be Italian!
Mom: I think that says “fragile”, honey.
Dad: Oh, yeah.
~ A Christmas Story

Patient: "Am I going to die?"
Doc Martin: "Yes. But not today."
~ Doc Martin

There's always an Arquillian Battle Cruiser, or a Corillian Death Ray, or an intergalactic plague that is about to wipe out all life on this miserable little planet, and the only way these people can get on with their happy lives is that they do not know about it!
~ Kay, Men In Black

So teach us to count our days that we may gain a wise heart. 
~ Psalm 90

Life is fragile. This week many recall the shattering horror of a tragic Tuesday seventeen years ago, remember losing love ones in fiery crashes, and recount the the lost lives and years of senseless retaliation. Thousands of people in various places flee war torn communities seeking refuge. Many look at miles of scorched earth, smoldering homes, and lives gone in smoke.  Millions prepare and evacuate the oncoming devastation of wind and water wondering who and what will survive when the surges subside.

Life is fragile. We never know what a day, a week, or even a moment will bring. We never know if a "goodbye" really is goodbye or if a meal with someone is the "last supper." We never know, but sometimes we have warnings. Sometimes we get evacuation orders, or wake up calls. Sometimes we pay attention and avoid catastrophe.

Life is fragile. However, if we live on the edge of death all the time we never experience the wonder and fullness of life. One of my favorite Psalms is Psalm 90 because it captures for me the tension of life's fragility, while offering the comfort and wonder of life itself. The Psalmist calls this comfort God's grace and steadfast love. For me it is the One Eternal Presence, Breath of Life, sheer amazement of being here at all. 

Yes, life is fragile, but the fear of breaking can keep us from living fully. So why not embrace life today with a little Italian flair - "Fra-gee-lay!"

On The Go

What we call the beginning is often the end
And to make an end is to make a beginning.

The end is where we start from...
We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
~ T.S. Eliot, Four Quartets, Little Gidding, v.5

In the last six weeks I have traveled over 15,500 miles to and from destinations for family vacation and personal continuing education- time with family, friends, professional colleagues, and fellow faith pilgrims in places both familiar and new; via cars, trains, buses, boats, trains, and my own two feet, from sea level to 12,000 ft. above while on the ground, and 40,000 while sailing the clouds. I've gone, seen, and done more beyond my immediate home in six weeks than most people on earth do in a lifetime. All of this is even insignificant to thousands of travelers who do so regularly for business and pleasure.

Back in the place I now call home, sitting on a sofa reflecting, it all seems like and dream filled with other times, places, and people, yet people, places, and times that are now part of who I am - somehow different from and the same as who I was before the journeys began.

We human beings are a curious and seeking sort, always wondering what's over the ridge, or across the water, and even beyond life itself. We have always been and are still on the move, whether hunting and gathering food, exploring new lands, or traveling to distant planets and beyond. Our travels and explorations usually begin in the time and spaces of imagination, often leading to the tangible journeys and destinations of life.

But wherever we go, we are always home, because home is not only the place beneath our feet, at the ends of our fingers, and before our eyes, but that place deep inside each and every one of us. This place is always the same yet ever changing, a place that is ours alone, that we also share with all humanity, the One Eternal Presence.

We rest in this place even as we begin the next imagination, the next journey, the next pilgrimage, the next adventure in the time and space we call Life.

Worship Attendance? (encore)

originally posted on August 27, 2014

For four out of the last five Sundays I haven't been in church.  And, with one more week of vacation in process, I don't plan to be there this Sunday either. Strangly enough my absence from church services has me thinking a lot about the difference between "worship" and "church."

The four Sundays I've been away from church were spent in order: hiking with pastor colleagues in the Rocky Mountains, sitting with my wife on a seashore beach, hiking with long-time friends in the Blue Ridge Mountains, and driving alone along the highway listening to favorite music.  On each of these days I experienced extended moments recognizing and experiencing God's Eternal Presence in awe of nature and in gratitude and thanks for colleagues, friends, and family.  I spent time in informal prayer through thoughts, music and conversation with others and with myself.  I saw sunrises, sunsets, mountains, oceans, and night skies that drew me into the sheer wonder of life and death.   I shared ideas, laughter and tears with people for whom I care and love.   Even though I wasn't "in church" I worshipped.

I must also admit that on each of these Sunday mornings I thought about not only the little congregation at Capitol Hill Presbyterian (now Trinity Clearwater Presbyterian) where I'm pastor but also the thousands upon thousands of places where people were gathered "in church." They came together with not only like minded people for whom they care and love but also with people with whom they disagree and who sometimes irritate and frustrate them.  They came together to intentionally worship through closely held and long standing traditions of liturgy and symbol.  They came to church to worship.

Please don't take any of this as encouragement for abandoning participation and attendance in a community of faith.  Quite the contrary.  Regularly gathering together, even with those whom we disagree, in culturally comfortable yet challenging communities of faith to honor and practice time tested traditions of worship has been and continues to be a staple of human existence.  To paraphrase Jesus, when two or more are gathered and God gets mentioned, they are "in church."    

However, worship can occur wherever we are, alone or together.  But even when we are alone, our worship immediately draws us into the interdependence and interconnectedness of Creation.  Learning to recognize and appreciate this opens our spirits to the One Eternal Presence that permeates and binds all of Creation, anywhere and everywhere - even in church.

Worship attends us. It happens.

We attend church. It's intentional.

We need both!

Life! - and death (encore)

originally posted on August 28, 2013

"Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life." 
~ John 12:24-25

I recently hiked with friends through an old mountain forest located just off the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina.  My friends had lived, and one had farmed, in that part of the world some years ago.  They all commented on how lush the forest was for late summer.  The foliage was deep green, the soil moist, the undergrowth thick, and various fungi plentiful.

Yet, upon closer observation I noticed the dead or dying trees.  And the more I looked and smelled, the more obvious it became that hidden within the lushness of the forest was an abundance of decay that ranged from newly fallen limbs and trees, to hollow trunks, to mulch, to rich dark earth.

Then from the earth there was new growth.

The creation in which we live is a continuous process of new growth and old growth, of lushness and decay.   Unfortunately we humans have decided that some of the process is bad, unwilling to accept the wholeness and fullness of life as good.  Even that which we have named "death" is actually part of the larger process of "life."

Just as the old tree eventually provides rich soil from which other trees and plants grow, the people who have come before us, even those for whom their loss is unbearably painful, provide rich and fertile soil in which our own lives grow.  And as sure as the sun rises and sets, we will someday be the soil for others.

Death is not the opposite of life, but rather an essential and vital part of it. How would your life change if you were to make this one simple shift in perspective?

Practice (encore)

originally posted on October 23, 2013

"…be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Paul's Letter to the Romans, 12:2

"…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness…" 

Paul's Letter to the Galatians, 5:2

Surely just about everyone has heard the old joke attributed by many to Jack Benny:  The hurried visitor to New York City asks a person on the street:  "How do you get to Carnegie Hall?" To which the person replies, "Practice, practice, practice."

We become who we are through practice and who we are right now is the outcome of previous practice. Take for example two common things among most humans, speaking and walking.  Both actions are developed through repetition, trial, and error over course of time in the first years of our lives.  Both then become part of who we are to the point of being perceived as natural.  There are so many other things we have practiced as well such as attitudes, emotions, intellect, and myriad skills and talents.

Much of my personal experience and understanding of "practice" comes from participation in athletics and theater.  In both cases practice and rehearsal are the precursor to performance.   Can we imagine a basketball player playing a game without repetitive drills, shooting, and running; or a baseball player hitting a 95 mile and hour fastball without hours in a batting cage? Or how about actors just spontaneously creating a fully polished play or musical.  Even improvisation requires practicing the art of improvising.  All great performing artists and athletes spend countless hours practicing and rehearsing.

The same is true in our emotional, social, and spiritual lives.  We can be just as intentional in developing what our religions and faith traditions call "spiritual practices" as athletes and artists are in developing skills and talents.   Gifts, or fruit, of the Spirit such as love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control do not come to us fully developed, or ripe. Just as delicious fruit needs water, sun, nutrients from soil, and time to ripen on a tree, our lives need nurturing and developing through practice.  

The Good News is that wherever we are, whoever we are, or whatever our circumstances we can literally transform our minds and our lives through practice.   Of course the first step is to take intentional, regular time off stage and away from the arena to read, listen, look, meditate, and contemplate who we want to be. 

The alternative is to constantly remain on autopilot and haphazardly make our way like an actor without rehearsal or an athlete without practice and training.

So, when do rehearsals begin?

All The Difference (encore)

Originally posted on July 10, 2013

When you come to the fork in the road, take it.

-Yogi Berra

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both         

And be one traveler…                              

…Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—             

I took the one less traveled by,            

And that has made all the difference.

- Robert Frost, "The Road Not Taken"

Even though the directions from Yogi Berra make you scratch your head and "say wha'?" there is a context in which they make perfect sense.  I've been told (without verification) that Yogi himself was giving directions to a house with a long driveway that became circular before reaching the house.  In which case, taking either prong of the fork led to the same place.

Perhaps there is a meta-metaphor for life here - regardless of the choices we make in life we all end up at the same threshold. What lies beyond this threshold we call "death" is and always has been a mystery.  Every human being has this destination in common.  However the vast variety of paths along this journey offers as many "forks" to take as there are individuals on the pilgrimage we called "life."

It seems to me if we're all going to end up in the same place, then "all the difference" of which Robert Frost writes is the stuff of our lives created by the choices we make and the roads we take.  Another way to look at it is that wherever we are today is the results of yesterday's choices, while tomorrow will grow out of today's decisions.  The decisions and choices we make really do make all the difference.

Theodicy (encore)

originally posted on July 23, 2014

Sometimes I am asked if I really do believe in One Eternal Presence of God that encompasses all of Creation, then how do I understand and experience the fear, hatred, and violence in our world?  I must confess that in recent days I've asked myself the same question.

Very little seems to make sense when innocent people are shot out of the sky, communities and families bombarded and destroyed, children seek safety only to be met by  military troops, and a man is murdered on a city sidewalk by those who are supposed to protect.

The truth is there are no logical, reasonable answers to the age old questions of theodicy, or the problem of why a good God would allow evil.  Every religious tradition seems to have its particular perspective and teachings some of which include elaborate mythologies of cosmic, spiritual battles between good and evil forces, with the good always winning out in the end. But these mythologies and theologies seem to always fall just short of a truly satisfying resolution.

Another truth is that regardless of our ideological or theological explanations of evil; fearful, hateful, and violent acts still persist, and as a result we experience suffering.  Humanity has a knack for causing ourselves and the natural world pain.  It is true that when we harm another we equally, if not more so, harm ourselves.

When I get caught in this paradox of good and evil I am reminded of how the teachings of the world's religions continually call us back to a simplicity of living in love that Jesus says is "Loving God with our whole lives, and loving each other as we love ourselves."  To me this means recognizing that God "Is" eternally present throughout all of Creation, in every person I meet, every flower I see, every molecule of water I drink, and every breath of air I take.

Does this make pain and suffering go away?  Of course not, but it does allow an ember of hope to glow within the most seemly hopeless situations.  It reminds me that the worst things in life often contain the seed of the next good thing.  It also reminds me that when we fail to recognize the God in each and every fellow human being and the entire created order we open the door to fear, hate and violence.

So, perhaps in the end the ultimate question of theodicy is not really a God problem but a people problem.  And the answers lie within our own actions. 
Love God (God is everywhere).
Love neighbor (Everyone is our neighbor).
Do unto others as I would have them do unto me (We are all in this together).

Summer Reruns

I’m taking a summer break today and the month of August. While away I’m sharing some Summer Reruns of past blogs. I hope you’re having a great summer! Here’s one from Summer 2013.   Enjoy!

http://oneeternalpresence.blogspot.com/2013/07/slip.html?m=0

Credo Novum

Today's offering is a reimagining of the ancient Christian creed known as the Apostle's Creed that I wrote several years ago but had forgotten until a couple of months ago. It was hiding in plain sight on the One Eternal Presence home page. 

Credo Novum (New Creed)

I trust
One Eternal Presence,
God of Scripture,
the I am and I will be,
Creative force of the universe, the Source of life.

I trust
Jesus Christ,
As a complete human expression of
One Eternal Presence

I trust
the life of Jesus
begun in sacred mystery;
born of common, innocent, human origin,
lived in open yet humble exhibition
of companionship of empowerment
in the One Eternal Presence
among us, around us, and within us.

I trust
the death of Jesus
persecuted by imperial powers;
publicly executed and buried,
experiencing ultimate despair and hopelessness;
yet exposing the false power of death.

I trust
the resurrection of Christ,
revealing life and death as one in the same,
transcending time and space
with the One Eternal Presence.

I trust
the Living Spirit
of One Eternal Presence
revealed in
the unity of the universe;
the sacred connection of humanity;
the reconciliation of falseness;
the regenerative energy of creation;
and life unending.

I received an email yesterday notifying me that Credo Novum has been accepted as a resource by
ProgressiveChristianity.org  Check it out - they added a beautiful graphic.

Fear and Wonder

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. ~Psalm 139~

The biblical psalmist says that humans are "fearfully and wonderfully made." It's a phrase that seems to adequately capture the paradoxes of humanity we see in the world today, as well as human history.

• We live in a world of wealth and plenty while poverty and scarcity abound. 
• We see imagination, skill, tenacity, and bravery rescue a soccer team and their coach from a flooded cave, while lack of imagination, cruelty, prejudice, greed, and cowardice keep hundreds of children imprisoned because they and their parents seek freedom. 
• No telling how much money and resources went into fireworks displays around our country last week while much of Peurto Rico remains without power from a storm nearly a year ago. 
• We buy meals at drive through windows, some of which equal an hour's wage of the person serving the food. 
• We can send rovers to Mars, but can't seem to figure out adequate housing and health care for all people. 

The list goes on.

We have the capacity to marvel and terrify, create and destroy, love and hate. Most importantly we have the capacity to choose between fear and wonder.

Celebration and Lamentation

...From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded.  ~Jesus~

I have started and discarded several drafts of today's blog because I find myself conflicted and perplexed on the mother of all national holidays.

On the one hand I celebrate the freedom we enjoy as citizens of the United States of America and offer to others in the world. And, on the other hand, I lament the increasing escalation of the loss of freedom in our country, and our isolation from others in the world.

I find myself less proud, and more privileged to be an American. Pride is easy and carries very little responsibility while privilege is difficult and heavy ladened with responsibility. 

Have a happy and grateful Independence Day. 

A Parable For Our Time

Two days ago while on my early morning walk I came upon an amazing event. As I approached a street intersection I saw and heard on the perpendicular street ahead a group of small birds flying in a straight path as if on a mission. Right behind them were two large crows. At first I thought the crows were chasing the birds, but then realized the smaller birds appeared to be leading them somewhere.

When I turned the corner, I heard what sounded like hundreds of birds chirping frantically, some were perched on utility lines, most were unseen in the trees. The crows then led my eyes to the source of all of this commotion. They were diving at an enormous hawk that was sitting stoically atop a utility pole. A predator was in the neighborhood.

At least four crows that took turns, two at a time, diving down at the hawk. Occasionally one flew away as another took its place. The chorus of alarm from the other birds continued. Some even joined in the diving process. The hawk appeared annoyed but not threatened.

After watching for a few minutes, I walked on, but about fifty yards down the sidewalk I turned back to watch again. The hawk was gone and nowhere to be seen. One crow circled the area. The cacophony of fear subsided into the beauty of normal morning birdsong. 

Pause

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life... can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? ...do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today. ~Jesus~

I don't know about you, but I'm feeling kind of trapped in a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" Catch 22 of wanting to be informed and relevant, but also needing to disconnect from the day to day information frenzy that is consuming us. To turn away from the worries of the world seems irresponsible, but staying engaged is exhausting.

So right now I'm going to step away from this keyboard and screen and take a walk. I suggest you do the the same. Whenever and wherever you are reading this, in whatever manner you can, pause for a few minutes. Step away from the screen. Go outside if you can. Look up at the sky. Take a deep breath. Tend to your soul.

Do it now!

It will all be here when you get back.

Newsworthy?

"Unless you see signs and wonders, you will not believe." ~ Jesus

In order to be "newsworthy" in today's world something or somebody has to be spectacular or outrageous. Then as soon as the lights fade and glitter settles we anxiously await the next spectacle or outrage. As we become more and more accustomed to this vicious cycle the outrageous becomes common and the common becomes boring. All the while, things that really matter, go unnoticed and unattended.

The same can be said about much of religion. Many people approach religion and spirituality seeking the supernatural or un-worldly. We go to churches, temples and mosques wanting miracles.  And why not? Our scriptures are filled with such stories. Unfortunately, these stories often times leave us feeling lacking and unfulfilled because we are not seeing burning bushes, walking through parting seas, and jumping up from deathbeds.

Jesus experiences this as the crowds that come to him are there mostly because of his "signs and wonders."  At one point he even says in exasperation "Unless you see signs and wonders, you will not believe." All the while, he is teaching and caring for people in need, loving others as he is loved, and teaching people to know the Presence of God.

The Good News, the Gospel, of Jesus is at it's core a way of life that knows the Presence of God in everybody and everything, and especially the unnoticed and unattended people around us - the non-newsworthy.



 

Push? or Pull?

Last week we took a few days of rest and recreation in Key West, FL the classically funky town where one motto is "Key West - where weird goes pro," and every other car or bike displays a sticker proclaiming "One Human Family." It is truly a unique place in various ways.

The inn where we stayed was typical Key West - an arrangement of two story frame structures that were probably all single homes once, but were now sub-divided into rooms and connected by decks, walkways, and common lounging areas. It was located on a short, narrow cross-street in the old town area with a European village feel. Upon arrival we pulled on the street entrance gate to no avail. It had an electronic lock that our room key would eventually open "after 10 pm" - the sign said. But it was mid-day so we called the number on the sign.

While waiting on the phone (and pulling on the gate a few more times) a woman's voice shouted out from behind us, "It's open!" On the other side of the street was an open second story window with two arms on the sill and no face visible. "It's open. Push it open! Push hard!" Then the two arms closed the window. 

How many times in our lives do we pull when we need to be pushing, or push when we should be pulling? How many times do we assume a door of opportunity is locked when in fact it simply needs to be opened in a specific way?  Maybe the key is a kind word or a smile, or encouragement instead of reprimand. Perhaps anger, expressed healthily, is the ticket. Sometimes we do hear a voice of a friend, or our own inner voice. But do we listen?  Or we can keep pushing or pulling to no avail except to increase our frustration.   

Sure enough, we pushed the gate. It opened. We looked at each other, laughed and said, "We must be in Key West."

Weird? You bet! One member of the human family helping out others? Absolutely!

Lies,Truth, and Facts

"The story I tell may not be factual, but it is True."  ~ indigenous wisdom

Lies have become the norm in today's world. To many people, especially those in power, facts are inconvenient obstacles that get in the way of vested interests and personal gain. When they do get in the way, facts are either manipulated or ignored. Sometimes new "facts" are created to replace what is real in hopes of creating a alternate, reality.  In this way lies become facts, facts become lies, and illusion becomes reality. Lies are temporal illusions.

Truth, on the other hand, is an outlier in today's world. Truth also threatens the powerful because it cannot be manipulated or ignored. Truth also relates to facts, but rather embraces them with curiosity and imagination to express what is actual and eternal. Truth accepts facts yet explores, often times in non-factual ways, what lies within them.  Truth is eternal reality.

Facts are just facts. One either picks up a stone or doesn't. The "why, what, where, when, and how" of picking up the stone determines the Truth or Lie of the action. The stone, once in hand, can be thrown at another person, admired for its beauty, used to build a barrier or made into a shelter. Regardless of how the stone is used, the fact is - it's still a stone in hand.

So, what is the difference between Lies and Truth? Put simply - Fear and vested interests are at the core of Lies.  Love and common interests are at the core of Truth.

And, I ain't lyin'!

From Pentecost to Trinity and Back

In the Christian tradition it is midweek between Pentecost and Trinity Sundays, which to many people is either hocus-pocus of magical thinking or ho hum of religion as usual. Perhaps it is both, a movement from one to the other.

In the liturgical calendar it takes only a week to move from freedom and possibility to confinement and certitude, from spiritual potential to doctrinal dogma, from Holy Spirit to Holy Trinity, from who we can be to what we should believe. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - nailed down once and for all.

The actual journey from Spirit to Trinity, took about three hundred years. The Empire first feared and persecuted, then tolerated and tamed, and finally domesticated, dominated and captured the Wind, Fire, and Tongues in cages of imperial religion.

But the Spirit won't give up. It finds the loop holes in doctrine, dogma, and institution. The Spirit seeks out places of possibility and potential to create and re-create in our time, our place, our imagination.

Some say the Wind of Freedom is blowing again. The Fire of Freedom is burning once more. Tongues of Truth are again shouting in streets.

Perhaps what was once nailed down is being resurrected.



   

A Night At The Opera?

It is time for us all

To decide who we are

Do we fight for the right

To a night at the opera now?

Have you asked of yourselves

What's the price you might pay?

Is this simply a game

For a rich young boy to play?

The colours of the world

Are changing day by day

~ Les Miserables, (the musical), Claude-Michael Schonberg   

We are living in times when long held social norms, religious beliefs, political ideology, and spiritual values are being challenged, tested, ignored, and negotiated.  Human history show us that every few hundred years established cultures must adapt to the very advances in knowledge, technology, and institutions that they themselves bring about. In short, our strengths become our weaknesses, and we become our own worst enemies. 

Such times have always inspired people of vision and imagination to ask the questions, "Who are we? And, how do we be human in our time and place?" Of course these questions lead to other questions. The responses become the foundation for a period of adaptation that leads to new knowledge, technology, and institutions.

Such times are also usually filled with tension, fear, and violence as many people fight against any kind of change and desperately hold on to the familiar, not realizing that this dynamic is inevitable and adaptation leads to survival.  As Jesus once said, "New wine does not fit into old wineskins." 

Another thing history shows us is that how we respond to the questions of transformative times (Who are we? How do we want to live?) determines who we become. 

    

Coming Apart At The Seams

Sometimes, like right now, I feel like a scratched record or a defective replay key that keeps playing the same tune over and over. Maybe it's because I am stuck right now. Maybe it's because everyday another stitch pops in a seam of my perceived reality. The world as I, and perhaps you, know it seems to be coming apart at its seams. 

So today, my inner record needle hits a scratch and jumps back. My replay key is shorted out, prompting me to search my own thoughts and words to rekindle some hope. 

What I find are, not one, but two previous blogs titled "Going to Seed." (links below) So you see, it's not the first, or last, time this old song gets repeated. I have a tendency to do that - repeat myself. 

To use another metaphor for the same dynamic, remnants from torn or burst seams can become beautiful, functional quilts and imaginative fabric mosaics.


Going To Seed #1

Going To Seed #2

Skin In The Game

"... the human body is the preeminent arena for God’s revelation in the world, the medium through which God’s Holy Spirit is most clearly expressed." ~ Luke Timothy Johnson, "The Revelatory Body: Theology as Inductive Art" 

"I believe there is no path to God. A path to God implies that God resides somewhere and that getting there takes time as you move from where you are to where God is...For me, the key isn’t to walk a path toward God but to 'be still and know' that God is already here: in you, with you, and as you." ~ Rabbi Rami Shapiro

"Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it." ~ Apostle Paul, 1 Corinthians 12:27

There is an old chestnut of a prayer that goes like this:

Prayer - "God, why don't I ever win the lottery?"

God - "Help me out a little and buy a ticket!"

The Christian doctrine of Incarnation has been traditionally confined to Jesus as The Christ (Messiah). However a close (and sometimes obvious) reading of the wider biblical text presents a much more universal understanding of Divine Presence throughout all of creation and especially in humanity. The God of the Bible continuously described by a string of prepositions indicating incarnation - with, in, around, above, below, through, beside..." In short - everywhere!

The great challenge of current religious endeavors is not to believe in disembodied doctrine, but rather to live embodied values that recognize and respect true Incarnation.

One way the community of faith where I serve is being incarnate is through something we call "Sermons of Service."  When a month has five Sundays (four times a year) we forgo our regular Sunday morning worship, have a brief worship of 10-15 minutes, then engage in prearranged service projects like assembling hygiene kits for homeless ministries, picking up trash in neighborhoods, cleaning apartments for transitional housing organizations, and providing meals for shelters.

The unofficial motto of our "Sermons of Service" is the quote often attributed to St. Francis, "Proclaim the Gospel, and if necessary use words."

This is not bad advice, considering we actually are the embodied Gospel! 

A Whole Lot of Nothing?

Anything is possible.

anything is everything,

everything is nothing,

nothing is something,

something is anything,

anything is nothing.

Is everything nothing or

nothing everything?

Where you are matters.

my here is your there,

both are somewhere,

somewhere is anywhere,

anywhere is everywhere,

everywhere is nowhere,

nowhere is somewhere,

here, there, everywhere, nowhere.

When?

Now or then?

then is now,

now is when,

when is then,

now,

not yet,

already.

Anything is possible.

nothing becomes something,

anywhere or everywhere anytime,

depending on who you are,

you are me,

I am you,

you and me are we,

We are possible!

Attention

People mostly did not know enough when they were living life that they were living it. ~ Olive Ketteridge

It's life's illusions I recall. I really don't know life at all.  ~Joni Mitchell

Wonder what I missed yesterday,
or last year, or way back when,
or even five minutes ago.
Were birds singing and I didn't hear them?
Did you say something?
Sorry, I wasn't listening.
Wish I had paid more attention.
It was right in front of me.
Never saw it coming.
If it had been a snake...
Wish I had that to do over again.
If I had only known.
Lost sunrises and sunsets.
Missed moments.
A smile changed my life.
"Please"
"Thank you."
"I love you."
A touch.
A smell.
It's always happening
-Life -
gone before we know it.
Better pay more attention.
"What was that again?"

A Made-up Day

This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it!  ~Psalm 118:24

Yesterday, as numerous Facebook posts would have me believe, was Siblings Day. Many of those well wishes to and memories of siblings described the day as a "made up day." This made me think, aren't they all - "made up?" Mother's and Father's days were created by greeting card companies. Even the big ones like Christmas and Easter co-opted existing "days" and evolved through cultural and religious influences. 

Perhaps the most "made-up" day of our time was created by a television show. Does anybody remember (or celebrate) "Festivus for the rest of us!?"    

There are anniversaries, including birthdays,  that celebrate dates of actual events, but even these have a sense of made-up-ness because we as individuals and communities decide which days are to be remembered and which are not.

The truth is a day is just a day until we give it meaning through the attention we give it or the memory we have of it. Each day is (to use a few cliches) a blank canvas, an empty page, a path yet made. As the psalmist above says, each day is a gift to become what we give it, what we put into it, how we react to its events. 

"The sun comes up and the sun goes down." Whether a day is fully lived, remembered, commemorated, or celebrated is up to us.

So, go out and make up a day! 

Dreams and Fears

...your old men shall dream dreams,  and your young men shall see visions... ~ Joel 2:28

...Do not be afraid... ~Luke 2:10

Fifty years ago today a black man with a dream of human equality and dignity was murdered by an angry white man who feared human equality and dignity as a threat to the prevalent lie of white supremacy. The black man's dream as well as the white man's fear continue to comfort and haunt the  American psyche.

Somewhere in this struggle is the ultimate hope that the dream is our true destiny and the fear a distorted illusion.


 

The Right To...

The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.  ~9th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

There are also many other things that Jesus did; if every one of them were written down, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. ~ John 20:25

A man hears what he want to hear and disregards the rest. ~ Paul Simon

Amidst the cacophony surrounding certain "rights" given in our constitution's Bill of Rights, I decided to pick up my pocket copy of the constitution and actually read it. My first reminder was that we tend to "cherry pick" those parts that serve our vested interests and emphasize those over others. Our selectivity even goes so far as to focus on short phrases without keeping them in the complete sentences and thoughts of which they a part.

Our selectivity is nothing new or unique. We approach our holy texts in the same way. We also choose literature, music, art, recreation, religion, and so many other things in our lives according to our needs and desires, often reframing them as "rights" or "truth."

The 9th amendment in the Bill of Rights comes at the end to remind, or warn, us that the previously stated rights are not exhaustive.  The final verse in the Gospel of John does the same. What we know from scripture about Jesus, his life, and teachings is not exhaustive.

The beauty and truth of much law, art, and religion is that within their particular perspectives and prescriptions lies an expansiveness that extends beyond individual needs and desires. They reveal rights, beliefs, and values held by all people that embrace the fullness of human dignity. In order to know this we must be open to this expansiveness and not "hear what we want to hear and disregard the rest."

Perhaps a simple way to say all of this is that even though individuals have needs and desires, true "rights" extend to all people.

I may need or desire to say something harmful, own an assault weapon, and make exclusive religious claims, while disregarding others' needs and desires, but is it really my right to do so?

Maybe the only true "God given right" we have is the last breath we took in. 

A Wrinkle In (Our) Time

We shall not cease from exploration, 
and the end of all our exploring 
will be to arrive where we started 
and know the place for the first time.  ~ T. S. Eliot

Oz never did give nothing to the Tin Man, That he didn't, didn't already have... ~ Dewey Bunnell (America)

All time travel whether real or imagined is about discovering where you already are.  Our church book group just finished reading and discussing the classic tale of time travel, A Wrinkle In Time.
Even though the book was written more for adolescent readers its themes are universal:  overcoming fear and darkness with love and light, succumbing to and resisting the temptation of comfortable conformity, and discovering one's true identity and self-worth.

Because the story is universal, it is also relevant today as individuals, nations, and humanity struggle with who we are and how we are to live. Dark forces have come into prominence through "populist" movements obsessed with security and conformity. Leaders motivated by greed for wealth and power and led by amoral values exploit the insecurity and fear of the masses through propagandized media that also amass wealth and power.

Predictably enough, just as the resistance of Meg in A Wrinkle in Time overcomes the darkness (IT),  the youth of our country and the world are taking to the streets against the darkness of our day! Unfortunately, many of my generation have forgotten the passion, hope, truth, justice, and love that took us into the streets of our youth. Too many, like Charles Wallace, have been hypnotized by the IT of our time.

Perhaps the call of today's youth to the "adults" of the world is again a "wrinkle in time" to what really matters in this life - love!

The wolf shall live with the lamb,
   the leopard shall lie down with the kid,
the calf and the lion and the fatling together,
   and a little child shall lead them.      ~ Isaiah 11:6

Integrity

" Let your word be ‘Yes, Yes’ or ‘No, No’; anything more than this comes from the evil one"
~ Jesus

"Be impeccable with your word. Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean." ~ Don Miguel Ruiz


The word and concept of "integrity" comes from the latin word "integer" which means "intact." Integrity is the same regardless of perspective. Without placing any moral or ethical value on integrity it simply means "what you see is what you get."

Common understandings of integrity include moral and ethical values like honesty, dependability, trustworthiness, etc. However, someone could theoretically have integrity in dishonesty and shiftlessness as well. If a scoundrel is truly a scoundrel, they have integrity.

The problem with labeling someone else's integrity is that we never know another person's inner life and intent. However, one way to assume intent is by consistency. If a person is consistent in their words and actions this gives us a glimpse at their integrity.  As Jesus said, we will know them "by their fruit."

The only integrity we can ever truly know and affect is our own. Are my words and actions true to who I really am? Do I act from my true identity and core values?  What is the fruit of my life?

Do I have integrity?

The Slippery Slope

There really is a slippery slope. It's not just something our parents, teachers, coaches, and other made up to keep us from doing stupid things.

You can't undo the past or return to it. Once a decision is made and action taken on that decision the consequences create new reality that leads to more decisions that are usually based on previous ones and the next thing you know you're sliding along wondering, "How did I get here?"

Notice in the previous paragraph there is no value on the decision made, even though my guess is that most of us automatically associate the slippery slope with bad decisions.  What if you make "good" decisions grounded in positive values? If so, the "here" of "How did I get here?" is a much more rewarding slide.

Maybe life itself is the slippery slope. Where we land ultimately depends on the choices we make.