Random Thoughts

We all have our take on organized religion.  Much of our perspective is probably shaped by our religious experiences growing up.  I don’t normally talk about religion because it is such a hot button issue.   And, in my experience, if you tell someone you are not religious, a cloud falls over the conversation.   It is as if suddenly their view of you changes, you are judged not for what you are, but for what you are NOT. But in doing some spring cleaning recently I got to thinking about it all.   You see, we have a PEW on our porch.   A real, live, honest to goodness CHURCH PEW.   We got it for free when a neighborhood church decided to close and let itself be replaced by affordable housing (which is something in short supply around us).   I saw a posting saying that they had pews to give away, and for some reason I felt like I really needed one… Our pew It was an odd addition to our house, really.  I don’t “do” Pinteres...

I am not a religious person.   I don’t talk about that much, but when I do, I realize it surprises people.   I haven’t had a “place of worship” to call my own since I was a teenager really, and that has suited me just fine (though I must say, there is a certain church near me full of very like- minded people that always leaves me feeling peaceful and full of joy when I go, and I went to a Bat mitzvah in Chicago years ago that left me thinking I should have been born Jewish because I fit right in and liked the genuineness of it all…) Anyway, I don’t find my “center”, my gratitude, or my “place” in a church, mosque, or synagogue.   I am a spiritual person.   I feel grounded.   I feel thankful (and take time each day to reflect on that which I am thankful for).   But I don’t feel the desire or need to follow an organized religion. But oh – once a year – once a year the National Cathedral in Washington DC moves away all of the chairs.   They cle...

RELIGION was something I hadn’t expected in India.  I mean, I know every country has religion, but I wasn’t prepared for the PERVASIVENESS of it in India.  Religion is EVERYWHERE there – it is in the way people dress, the way they eat, the way they relate to one another, the way they worship, the way they celebrate, it is even in their politics.  Religion is an integral part of life there in a much more “real” sense than I see in America. And religion in India is SO DIVERSE.  There are many, many different faiths represented throughout the country – Hindu (the majority religion of the country), Muslim, Buddhist, Jain, Sikh, Bahai, Christian, Catholic, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Parsi…  And it seems, at least to this outside observer, that the different religions coexist in harmony.  There do not appear to be overt attempts at convincing others that one religion is “right” and therefore “better” and others should convert to it.  It seems to be acce...

Dear Ed, I have been thinking about you lately.  Maybe it is because of the death of another classmate – the first that I knew about in our cohort.  His death has sparked many new Facebook friend requests from people I grew up with some 40 years ago.  And social media has allowed me to see what is happening in their lives, which I like. And it made me wonder what is happening in YOUR LIFE.  I have searched online for you and can’t find anything. But you know what?  I really think I started pondering your fate last year when I bought a new winter coat.  It’s a Land’s End coat (bought at Sears, how old fashioned of me).  They had a few colors but I was really drawn to the Kelly green one.   When I put it on and pulled up the hood, I looked in the mirror and thought to myself, “I look like Ed!  Just like him waiting for the bus in 9 th grade!”.   My green coat   I am not sure you knew it then, but with you ...