Day 46d: The test of our Tributes … (05/30/2019)
And I came upon yet another Way-side cross, and even though I am but a mere follower of The Way of Christ (and as such most certainly NOT a Christian), I offered my homage anyway — not to the religion it flagged that came from mere men, but rather to the highest ethical standard at the core thereof; the pure version of LOVE that comes ever from within … 🙂
P.S. To know whether or not a given tribute is Right or not, all that is required is a brief-yet-conscious examination of one’s true intentions underlying the same. Are you sincerely paying homage out of a sense of humble gratitude, or are you actually “respecting” a particular person or place for the more selfish hopes of receiving a reciprocal reward (‘in heaven’ or otherwise)? Are you earnestly giving to benefit &/or inspire others, or are you actually “giving” out of a sense of duty or to avoid being judged as one who “behaves inappropriately”? Are you truly embodying the all-loving will of the Divine, or are you actually “worshiping” the demands of a far more man-made dogma? Answer yes to those latter and your deeds will bring only hardship. Answer YES to those former and your prayers will bring only Peace … 😉
“We have lived by the assumption that what was good for us would be good for the world, and this myth has been based on the even flimsier assumption that we could ever hope to know with any certainty what was good even for ourselves. We have fulfilled the danger of this delusion by making our personal pride and greed the standard of our behavior toward the world – and this, to the incalculable destruction of the world and every living thing in it. And now, perhaps very close to too late, our great error has become clear. Indeed, we have been so very wrong, and in truth must change our lives. And we must do so to such a drastic degree that we come to know a very different truth — indeed a fully opposing one. Namely, the truth that it is only possible to truly live via the contrary assumption that only what is good for the world can ever be truly good for us. And this new mindset requires that we make the effort to know the world and to learn what is good for it. We must learn to cooperate in its processes, and yield to its limits. But even more important than that, we must learn to acknowledge that the creation is full of mystery, and that we will never entirely understand it. We must abandon arrogance and stand in awe. We must recover the sense of the majesty of creation, and the ability to be worshipful in its presence. For I do not doubt that it is only on the condition of humility and respect before the world that our species will be able to remain in it at all.” ~ via Wendell Berry
;