Running and Religion
I have been thinking a lot about faith and spirituality lately. I don’t remember exactly what brought it on, but I’ve been reading about many different non-Christian religions, mainly to see what they’re all about. I’ve read about Buddhism a bit, and read about Unitarian Universalists. I really admire Abe and his faith. I admire his ability to look at Catholicism with a critical eye, and acknowledge the fact that he believes in the main tenets, but not necessarily in the hierarchy that dictates where it has gone in the recent past. (Abe, if I’m incorrect with that summation, let me know.)
I’ve been reading BeliefNet.com, and thinking about various religions, trying to find one that fits. In essence, I am trying on religions like clothes, at least theoretically. But I’ve realized two very important things recently. First, I’ve realized that I do believe in some kind of higher power. I don’t know what he or she or it looks like, sounds like, does all day, but I believe there is something up there/out there/in there that is watching out for us. The events of this past weekend confirmed that for me. For maybe the second time in the last ten years, I really prayed and I prayed hard. And I guess, in essence, my prayers were answered. It’s not making me into a “Crazy Christian” (thank you Aaron Sorkin, now learn how to be funny), but it made me realize that I do believe in someone or something that is watching over us and can help us out.
The other thing I realized was that I have a mish-mash of beliefs that may not fit neatly into any one organized religion, and that’s ok. I was reading about Hinduism, thinking, “well, I do yoga pretty regularly and really benefit from it, is Hinduism for me?” and that’s when I realized that trying to conform myself to one particular religion is not only beside the point, it’s against the point. The whole point of this is to really examine what I believe and what I practice, not to adopt a set of beliefs because it sounds ‘about right.’ I mean, that’s the whole reason I walked out of confirmation at 16. I knew that those particular beliefs were not mine, and never would be. I was a progressive little stinker. Anyway, I digress. I realized today that what I truly want is not necessarily to find a common narrative to my beliefs and to find others with that narrative, but to really explore my thoughts and beliefs. I know that I believe in some kind of higher power. I know that doing yoga makes me feel really good. I know that I enjoy mindful meditation when I can do it. I know that I don’t believe that we were all born with Original Sin, that Jesus died for our Sins, that the Bible is the Word of God, that using contraceptive is evil or that Communion really is the body and blood of Christ. But I do believe that Jesus was a good guy who did some cool things and the Bible is a good set of stories. I believe that by following the Golden Rule we can get pretty far in this world. I believe that people are essentially good and lovable and that whatever higher power is out there loves us all. I believe that taking time to think about all of things is important, whether it be in a church, outdoors, on a yoga mat, running, whatever. It seems easiest to me to do it in a church.
So, basically, I guess that I would like to go to church more. I would like to go to church with Abe more. Unfortunately, it usually interferes with running. : ) My new quest will be finding a Saturday evening service.
posted by Lola @ 11:24 AM
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