He Has Left Us Alone
But Shafts of Light
Sometimes Grace the
Corners Of Our Rooms
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Morals
Morals
|ˈmôrəl; ˈmär-|
2 ( morals) a person's standards of behavior or beliefs concerning what is and is not acceptable for them to do : the corruption of public morals.
• standards of behavior that are considered good or acceptable : they believe addicts have no morals and cannot be trusted.
morality |məˈralətē; mô-|
noun ( pl. -ties)
principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behavior.
• behavior as it is affected by the observation of these principles : the past few years have seen a sharp decline in morality.
• a particular system of values and principles of conduct, esp. one held by a specified person or society : a bourgeois morality.
• the extent to which an action is right or wrong : behind all the arguments lies the issue of the morality of the possession of nuclear weapons.
• behavior or qualities judged to be good : they saw the morality of equal pay.
See note at goodness .
ORIGIN late Middle English : from Old French moralite or late Latin moralitas, from Latin moralis (see moral ).
I feel like so many people my age, older and younger as well, have no idea about their morals. They live empty, hollow lives doing whatever they want without a second thought. I know I get caught up in doing this as well. We don't understand the consequences of our actions.
Enter Process theology.
I am really buying into it now.
Our actions, and experiences, get rolled into God- and so God experiences what we do- our actions and or choices also provide what God has to work with. God can only provide us with all the options- Good bad and in the middle. It is our choice to respond to God's lure to good. The our choice decides the options for the next moment. In this sense, morals and moral actions are highly important.
Think about it for awhile.
Think about what you're doing to God and the whole world.
|ˈmôrəl; ˈmär-|
2 ( morals) a person's standards of behavior or beliefs concerning what is and is not acceptable for them to do : the corruption of public morals.
• standards of behavior that are considered good or acceptable : they believe addicts have no morals and cannot be trusted.
morality |məˈralətē; mô-|
noun ( pl. -ties)
principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behavior.
• behavior as it is affected by the observation of these principles : the past few years have seen a sharp decline in morality.
• a particular system of values and principles of conduct, esp. one held by a specified person or society : a bourgeois morality.
• the extent to which an action is right or wrong : behind all the arguments lies the issue of the morality of the possession of nuclear weapons.
• behavior or qualities judged to be good : they saw the morality of equal pay.
See note at goodness .
ORIGIN late Middle English : from Old French moralite or late Latin moralitas, from Latin moralis (see moral ).
I feel like so many people my age, older and younger as well, have no idea about their morals. They live empty, hollow lives doing whatever they want without a second thought. I know I get caught up in doing this as well. We don't understand the consequences of our actions.
Enter Process theology.
I am really buying into it now.
Our actions, and experiences, get rolled into God- and so God experiences what we do- our actions and or choices also provide what God has to work with. God can only provide us with all the options- Good bad and in the middle. It is our choice to respond to God's lure to good. The our choice decides the options for the next moment. In this sense, morals and moral actions are highly important.
Think about it for awhile.
Think about what you're doing to God and the whole world.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Community
I might have mentioned it before, but, something that I miss the most about going to church on a regular basis is the community aspect. Granted, it's been 7 years since I have had that in my life- and I have, to a certain extent, gotten used to it. With Scope, I have regained that somewhat, but Scope isn't necessarily a spiritual experience. We have good talks sometimes, and there are great people- but it isn't the same setting.
That being said, I have been looking for a religious community to get involved with for awhile. I am leaning towards Unitarian Universalism for many reasons. I at least want to check it out. I don't know that I could find anything close to what I am looking for elsewhere. Unless I continued on my own, which would defeat the purpose.
I guess a congregation meets at BW, in Kulas, on Sunday's... which I didn't know until I searched the interwebs for near-by UU churches. There is one in West Lake and one in Akron, so Berea is a better bet, especially if I move up there.
I also can't go to chapel with year, as I have to work on Thursdays now =( For the second time- if I move up there, I could go every other Thursday and then head to work around 1 after service. I really do enjoy John's sermons.
Searching is just as good as finding I think- all about the journey not the destination, right? I know I could use the support net, especially of people who are open, and believers. I am getting tired of the hatin' coming from my friends in the form of anti-religious sentiment and I need people who understand- and not just the people in my department either, but others. It's hard to explain.
That being said, I have been looking for a religious community to get involved with for awhile. I am leaning towards Unitarian Universalism for many reasons. I at least want to check it out. I don't know that I could find anything close to what I am looking for elsewhere. Unless I continued on my own, which would defeat the purpose.
I guess a congregation meets at BW, in Kulas, on Sunday's... which I didn't know until I searched the interwebs for near-by UU churches. There is one in West Lake and one in Akron, so Berea is a better bet, especially if I move up there.
I also can't go to chapel with year, as I have to work on Thursdays now =( For the second time- if I move up there, I could go every other Thursday and then head to work around 1 after service. I really do enjoy John's sermons.
Searching is just as good as finding I think- all about the journey not the destination, right? I know I could use the support net, especially of people who are open, and believers. I am getting tired of the hatin' coming from my friends in the form of anti-religious sentiment and I need people who understand- and not just the people in my department either, but others. It's hard to explain.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
More on Tikkun Olam
Tikkun Olam is a Hebrew phrase that means "Repair the World."
I first read about this concept, or commandment if you will, in a book called Speaking of Faith by Krista Tippett. The book changed my life. For many reasons but this was one of them...
This is the passage:
"One of the phrases that recurs most often in my interviews--in Jewish as well as non-Jewish voices-- is the moral longing to "repair the world," Tikkun Olam. There is a Jewish legend behind this notion. Sometime early in the life of the world, something happened to shatter the light of the universe into countless pieces. They lodged as sparks inside every part if creation. The highest human calling is to look for this original light from where we sit, to point to it and gather it up and in so doing to repair the world.....It insists that each one of us, flawed and inadequate as we may feel, has exactly what's needed to help repair the part of the world that we can see and touch."
It brings tears to my eyes. Reading that. Typing that. This passage showed me what I am to do with my life. Sometimes, we get brought down by the world, and it is hard to actually believe that one small person can do any good- but we can. We have to. I know that I have to. And everything I strive and dream and hope to do is for this one cause. And so I can never forget my mission to collect the sparks of Light, I got this commandment tattooed on my forearm- a reminder, for the rest of my life, of what I am here to do.
It it such a beautiful concept and legend.
If I believe in anything- it is this.
I first read about this concept, or commandment if you will, in a book called Speaking of Faith by Krista Tippett. The book changed my life. For many reasons but this was one of them...
This is the passage:
"One of the phrases that recurs most often in my interviews--in Jewish as well as non-Jewish voices-- is the moral longing to "repair the world," Tikkun Olam. There is a Jewish legend behind this notion. Sometime early in the life of the world, something happened to shatter the light of the universe into countless pieces. They lodged as sparks inside every part if creation. The highest human calling is to look for this original light from where we sit, to point to it and gather it up and in so doing to repair the world.....It insists that each one of us, flawed and inadequate as we may feel, has exactly what's needed to help repair the part of the world that we can see and touch."
It brings tears to my eyes. Reading that. Typing that. This passage showed me what I am to do with my life. Sometimes, we get brought down by the world, and it is hard to actually believe that one small person can do any good- but we can. We have to. I know that I have to. And everything I strive and dream and hope to do is for this one cause. And so I can never forget my mission to collect the sparks of Light, I got this commandment tattooed on my forearm- a reminder, for the rest of my life, of what I am here to do.
It it such a beautiful concept and legend.
If I believe in anything- it is this.
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