We're pointing somewhere
I really enjoy conversations with my nieces and nephews. I like hearing about their lives and their thinking, and I like sharing stories of my experiences with them. Their creativity, thoughtfulness, passion, and care for others inspires me. I nearly always find that I could've listened more and talked less.
One of my nephews is studying to be a Catholic priest. He's clearly going to be a phenomenal priest, and I appreciate our friendship and our conversations. Though we share a similar language due to our Catholic/christian upbringing, we have different beliefs when it comes to religion, spirituality, and the meaning of it all. Regardless, our conversations seem to be stimulating to both of us on an intellectual and spiritual level.
Today we had a conversation about a human experience of God, and the conversation curved towards what effect a belief in God may have on one's moral actions. While I still don't think that a belief in God necessarily provides much support to one's quest to make the world a better place, I left the conversation clear about my nephew's commitment to others' well-being.
My nephew and I are both pointing forward to a better future for life, an improvement in well-being and fulfillment. Our conversation, however, was mostly about the hand that's pointing there.
Our hands are pointing there
His hand is the hand of a Catholic, one studying to be a Catholic authority on fulfilling on that future. Though we didn't get to the means in our conversation today, I suspect that his means of arriving at that future are different from mine, including an after-life.
My hand is the hand of an athiest, one studying to be ethically effective at fulfilling on that future in this lifetime. I think that the path to get there includes minimizing our negative impacts and maximizing our positive ones, supporting other life in getting its necessities, but also challenging myself and others to find greater depths of satisfaction, fulfillment, and enjoyment in the fundamental experiences of being alive.
It's enjoyable and stimulating to talk about the nature of our pointing hands, and I look forward to seeing more about his and mine as we move along.
What we're pointing towards
What's more important right now to me than the nature of our hands, though, is the future our hands are pointing towards. A future where life is healthy and fulfilled at all levels of its being.
I wonder how many of us share such a vision, despite what our hands look like. (Probably many, many, many more of us than we think.)
Gratitude
I'm grateful to be surrounded by people in my life who care for others and their well-being. For the pointing hand insight, I'm grateful to Michael Neill, author and teacher (I highly recommend his Inside-Out Revolution book). And I'm grateful for your taking the time and energy to read this - thank you!
You might be interested to read a previous post of mine, Pointing forward, that expresses my breaking through resignation at my political dissatisfaction last year - pointing my finger forward instead of pointing it at others.
I really enjoy conversations with my nieces and nephews. I like hearing about their lives and their thinking, and I like sharing stories of my experiences with them. Their creativity, thoughtfulness, passion, and care for others inspires me. I nearly always find that I could've listened more and talked less.
One of my nephews is studying to be a Catholic priest. He's clearly going to be a phenomenal priest, and I appreciate our friendship and our conversations. Though we share a similar language due to our Catholic/christian upbringing, we have different beliefs when it comes to religion, spirituality, and the meaning of it all. Regardless, our conversations seem to be stimulating to both of us on an intellectual and spiritual level.
Today we had a conversation about a human experience of God, and the conversation curved towards what effect a belief in God may have on one's moral actions. While I still don't think that a belief in God necessarily provides much support to one's quest to make the world a better place, I left the conversation clear about my nephew's commitment to others' well-being.
My nephew and I are both pointing forward to a better future for life, an improvement in well-being and fulfillment. Our conversation, however, was mostly about the hand that's pointing there.
Our hands are pointing there
His hand is the hand of a Catholic, one studying to be a Catholic authority on fulfilling on that future. Though we didn't get to the means in our conversation today, I suspect that his means of arriving at that future are different from mine, including an after-life.
My hand is the hand of an athiest, one studying to be ethically effective at fulfilling on that future in this lifetime. I think that the path to get there includes minimizing our negative impacts and maximizing our positive ones, supporting other life in getting its necessities, but also challenging myself and others to find greater depths of satisfaction, fulfillment, and enjoyment in the fundamental experiences of being alive.
It's enjoyable and stimulating to talk about the nature of our pointing hands, and I look forward to seeing more about his and mine as we move along.
What we're pointing towards
What's more important right now to me than the nature of our hands, though, is the future our hands are pointing towards. A future where life is healthy and fulfilled at all levels of its being.
I wonder how many of us share such a vision, despite what our hands look like. (Probably many, many, many more of us than we think.)
Gratitude
I'm grateful to be surrounded by people in my life who care for others and their well-being. For the pointing hand insight, I'm grateful to Michael Neill, author and teacher (I highly recommend his Inside-Out Revolution book). And I'm grateful for your taking the time and energy to read this - thank you!
You might be interested to read a previous post of mine, Pointing forward, that expresses my breaking through resignation at my political dissatisfaction last year - pointing my finger forward instead of pointing it at others.
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