Advent(ure) #1 "as if"
A few years ago, I had lunch with a friend who was grieving the loss of her mother. I had been away from all things religious for many years and had recently been dealing with a lot of what I call "grown up" issues. I have always considered myself spiritual, mostly feeling connected when roaming around in the woods where I grew up. I lost my desire to connect with organized religion because I sensed subtle and sometimes blatant inconsistencies with Jesus' teachings on forgiveness and inclusiveness. I considered myself spiritual but not religious. My dear friend, who shared many of my passions for social justice and reforming systems that cause suffering, and I found ourselves debating the potential for anything larger than us existing. It came down to something very simple. Why don't we just act "as if" there is something greater than us, surrounding us, within us, that wants us all to be connected, to bring our best selves to this shared oneness. What would life be like if we acted "as if?"