Salvation...

[002 Cents]

I have fumbled my way through faith. As a child I challenged what was spoon fed to me as it seemed to disregard the principals at the very core of my being. In doing so I asked the hard questions, I learned more of the people and practices I was taught to hate and I branched out my understanding discovering new found respect for those I knew essentially nothing about, aside from what biased sources had deceptively regarded as truths in my childhood.

I was taught of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. That the faith of Christianity was the purest representation of all that is righteous and good in the world. This is what, the faith I was born into, told me; what my family strove to beat into my head from my very beginning... and yet, truth as it would be told by books and the mouths man seemed infinitesimal to the truths that lie in simple observation of the world around.

Faiths of the world over have repetitive messages of Brotherhood, Equality, Goodness, Compassion and Love. These are the messages that resonated the strongest within me. Possibly these are the messages that resonate within the majority of humanity. Keeping them loyal to their faith, their practices and their worship.

Perhaps even still, salvation was never intended for one or another but all of humanity. If we as a species could figure out how to adapt these principals and practically incorporate them into our cultures would it not yield a way of existing, more harmonious within the world? Amongst one another, amongst other species with whom we share the planet? Would it not eliminate the poisons that contaminate the hearts and minds of man as such are listed in this quote by Thich Nhat Hanh "I believe with all my heart that … [our] enemies are not man. They are intolerance, fanaticism, dictatorship, cupidity, hatred and discrimination that lie within the heart of man."

As a species we have a capacity for greatness in both directions.

When our actions are dictated by, "intolerance, fanaticism, dictatorship, cupidity, hatred and discrimination" great evil.

When dictated by brotherhood, equality, goodness, compassion and love great virtue.

Humanity in its great diversity of cultures, faiths and peoples, will only ever be one. The future of our world will be determined by the lessons we leave our children. For generations we have learned ways of war, destruction, indulgence, self importance and greed. For which I am sad to say I have no choice but to be one amidst the many. But I believe wholeheartedly we can change. We can be better. People like Mother Teresa, Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela don't have to be in the Minority. We may not be able to change the world but if each of us took ownership and accountability for the actions of just ourselves it would be enough.

[Silver]

But I believe wholeheartedly we can change. We can be better. People like Mother Teresa, Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela don't have to be in the Minority.

Seems to me, just by believing this way, you've transformed not only yourself but a measurable part of the world around you. Your light, our light shines for those who can see it.