Is the god of our understanding on vacation?
There are those who believe that the god of their understanding never gives one more than one can handle. That belief seems to imply that a god is in charge of all that happens. Others seem to believe that one can chat up the god of their understanding to convince him, her or it to intervene to bring about an outcome desired by said human. Still others believe that events just happen sometimes as a result of the “natural” events of mother nature or because of some action of we humans. It is true, for example, we have been poor stewards of the environment.
There are still others who believe that we have both the opportunity and the responsibility to learn from every situation which life presents to us; that life is a continuous opportunity to bring us humans closer to doing our small part to create or to return the earth to a balance; a balance in which all the parts interact in harmony with each other.
No matter what one believes about the power and actions of the god of one’s understanding, any of us whose brain is able to approximate a shared reality is well aware that “the best laid schemes o’mice an’ men Gang aft agley.” or “the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. (Robert Burns – “To a Mouse”). Any illusion or delusion of control will be frequently shattered. No matter what we plan we do not have control over all potential events or conditions which might destroy those plans. Today, for example, the actions of mother nature have created power outages in many places including many places in Texas and Oklahoma. Any plans which required power delivered by utility companies have to be changed. To be sure, some have generators which may or may not work or, if they work, may or may not support the equipment required for the task one had planned. In many neighborhoods and cities people today gather to share resources. In most cases, the differences which many might normally use as an excuse to distance themselves from each other seem not to matter. I do not believe that the artic weather is caused by the god of my understanding to remind us to put aside our judgments and contrived differences, but I do believe that the artic conditions provide an opportunity for us to remember we are intended to take care of each other.
I also do not think that the god of our understanding goes on vacation. I do think we forget or choose to ignore that we are always part of a larger whole and what we do or do not do affects the whole. The whole or the god of our understanding does not go on vacation, but when we act as if we are independent of each other we are, in effect, sending the god of our understanding on vacation. Taking care of ourselves, each other and the environment/mother nature is a way of honoring the whole which some choose to call the god of their understanding. I was reminded again this morning that every religion and philosophy includes some version of the golden rule – treat others as you would have them treat you. When we fail to follow that rule we are discounting the reality of the whole. We are, in effect, sending the god of our understanding on vacation.
Written February 17, 2021
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org
There are those who believe that the god of their understanding never gives one more than one can handle. That belief seems to imply that a god is in charge of all that happens. Others seem to believe that one can chat up the god of their understanding to convince him, her or it to intervene to bring about an outcome desired by said human. Still others believe that events just happen sometimes as a result of the “natural” events of mother nature or because of some action of we humans. It is true, for example, we have been poor stewards of the environment.
There are still others who believe that we have both the opportunity and the responsibility to learn from every situation which life presents to us; that life is a continuous opportunity to bring us humans closer to doing our small part to create or to return the earth to a balance; a balance in which all the parts interact in harmony with each other.
No matter what one believes about the power and actions of the god of one’s understanding, any of us whose brain is able to approximate a shared reality is well aware that “the best laid schemes o’mice an’ men Gang aft agley.” or “the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. (Robert Burns – “To a Mouse”). Any illusion or delusion of control will be frequently shattered. No matter what we plan we do not have control over all potential events or conditions which might destroy those plans. Today, for example, the actions of mother nature have created power outages in many places including many places in Texas and Oklahoma. Any plans which required power delivered by utility companies have to be changed. To be sure, some have generators which may or may not work or, if they work, may or may not support the equipment required for the task one had planned. In many neighborhoods and cities people today gather to share resources. In most cases, the differences which many might normally use as an excuse to distance themselves from each other seem not to matter. I do not believe that the artic weather is caused by the god of my understanding to remind us to put aside our judgments and contrived differences, but I do believe that the artic conditions provide an opportunity for us to remember we are intended to take care of each other.
I also do not think that the god of our understanding goes on vacation. I do think we forget or choose to ignore that we are always part of a larger whole and what we do or do not do affects the whole. The whole or the god of our understanding does not go on vacation, but when we act as if we are independent of each other we are, in effect, sending the god of our understanding on vacation. Taking care of ourselves, each other and the environment/mother nature is a way of honoring the whole which some choose to call the god of their understanding. I was reminded again this morning that every religion and philosophy includes some version of the golden rule – treat others as you would have them treat you. When we fail to follow that rule we are discounting the reality of the whole. We are, in effect, sending the god of our understanding on vacation.
Written February 17, 2021
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org
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