The Challenge of Being “All of the Above”
I’m just not willing to choose only one.
I have been a student of religion all my life, it seems. But I have lived in worlds that press me to choose. I attend a Christian seminary. I have been in a “goddess group” of Wiccans. I honor humanism. I have had the holy joy of worshiping with Muslims, with Pagans, with Protestants, with Catholics, with Jews, with Hare Krishnas.
Sometimes, kind practitioners of one particular religion or another will profess that they know what I truly am (and it is always what they are). I take these as compliments, for I know they are intended that way.
Others are not so complimentary. Mine is a deliberately syncretic faith. “Syncretism,” to many in exclusivist religions, is a heresy, an un-holy mess, something to be avoided at all costs.
Well-meaning people will explain that it doesn’t matter what I choose, but I must choose, and only one. Only then can I go truly deep into a religion.
How about if I go truly deep into a 2 or 3? And then only slightly deep in another 5 or 6 or … 10?
I do not, as some might say, think that all the religions are alike. That at their core, they all have the same message. They don’t. If they did, well, then, it would be easy to pick one, any one, wouldn’t it?
They are different. Each has something different that resonates with me, or challenges me, or fills in a gap left by another. Each one allows me another glimpse into the transcending mystery.
I just can’t choose.
Every Third Tuesday
Every third Tuesday, I am a Buddhist
I empty my mind and lighten my heart
And try to let go of attachments
Every other Friday, I am a Christian
I look for the least of these
And try to love God and my neighbor
The full moon of the month finds me Wiccan
I honor the dual nature of God
And find my rhythm as maiden, mother or crone
On the 15th of the month, I am humanist
I respect science, integrity of fellow humans
And all that we have learned and have made
Every fourth Wednesday, I am Hindu
I take a breath, and understand that what is unfinished now
Will remain for me to continue … next life
On alternate Fridays, I am Jewish
‘Y’varekh’kha ADONAI v’yishmerekha,
I tell my children, softly touching each head
And the Thursdays and the Mondays, and the Saturdays and Sundays,
And all the other days in between
Find me reading, or listening, or watching
Philosophers, Muslims, Mormons, Baha’i and more
Fill my heart, touch my soul
And yet …
The one thing that none of these provide
To me
Is the certitude that they are The One
They lend me wisdom, sing to my heart
Cause me to question, help me find answers
Make me more me
And at the end of the day, every day,
I am Unitarian Universalist.
In parcel and in pledge
And with all my heart, all my soul,
All my mind and all my strength
I honor this faith
I hold it close
As it lets me run free.
- The Exquisite Joy of Being Miserable - May 21, 2012
- Realities of a New Baby - November 11, 2011
- Accepting Help - November 11, 2011
