Spiritual, but not religious

Posted on August 3, 2010 by Chuck Clendenen

SBNR is a group I follow on Facebook, and it wil soon have a Website. An SBNR Facebook post recently pointed to a Washington Post article commenting on Anne Rice’s renunciation of Christianity. The author, Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite, asks the question, “Can you leave Christianity and keep Christ? Can you be spiritual without being religious?” The answer to both questions is a resounding “yes!”

A dear friend, John Lindell, got his bachelors degree in Religion from Baylor and entered seminary. He became the pastor of a Baptist church, but came to realize that he could no longer believe the things that his church taught. He gave up his ministry. He could not preach the things that the church taught. He later reconciled the teachings of the human Jesus with the natural religion of Deism. He is one of the most spiritual people I know.

In the WaPo article the author asserts that we need ritual and sacred texts, which she calls “strength of tradition.” She asserts. She does not explain. She does go on, however, to note that the blame for many leaving organized religion is organized religion. Organized religion has not adequately dealt with sexual abuse by priests. Nor can the modern mind relate to organized religion’s condemnation of those with anything other than a strictly heterosexual orientation.

In some simplistic and intuitive leap, the author links the “spiritual, but not religious” mindset to Zen Buddhism and the “I’m OK, You’re OK” psychology of the 1960s. Why she equates the SBNR mindset to Zen Buddhism is something the author does not explain very well. Indeed, a few people I know who can be labeled SBNR do practice Zen Buddhism, but the overwhelming majority do not.  The conclusion of the article is (and this is greatly understated) anticlimactic:

But until religious institutions begin to catch up and offer appealing and nutritious religious substance to these folks, this trend toward spiritual but not religious will continue. And I fear more people will go hungry.

What SBNR people will hunger for, I cannot say. The author hints at some “fiber” at the core of organized religion that is missing in people who are SBNR. Her writing, however, is so weak and her explanations so unclear, that it is difficult to understand just what her criticisms are of SBNR. All I can pick up is some sort of arrogant dismissal of SBNR for not being traditional, while at the same time, she dismisses organized religion for being too tradition-bound. I am amazed that she gets paid for this. I guess that comes along with being a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress. Coherence, consistency and logic become optional. Ultimately, I felt like an outsider listening to an inside joke. I never really “got” what the author was saying, although I guess I did feel vaguely insulted by her attitude that SBNR lacks “fiber” or substance. I guess that’s what she intended, but I don’t know why.

Posted in Freethought, Philosophy, Religion, Spirituality | Leave a comment

Welcome to the Church of Nature’s God

Posted on July 18, 2010 by Chuck Clendenen

Inspired by Nature, Based on Reason. The Journey, Not the Destination

I didn’t know how folks would respond to the notion of a Deist church or to this blog when I started it back in October of 2008. Ours is not a typical church, to be sure. Organized religion is anathema to Deists. Despite all these roadblocks, I began my blog telling people I was optimistic about the future of Nature’s God, because it is certainly not an organized form of religion, and I at the time I was more enthusiastic than ever about Deism. That is still true 65 blog posts later, halfway through 2010. Think of Nature’s God as a kind of guerrilla marketing. The concept of a Deist church seems contradictory, but it catches your attention, and when you examine closely, it all makes sense.

Nature’s God is a proud member of both the Deist Alliance (DA) and Unified Deism (UD), and we promote DA sites and discussion groups, especially Unified Deism and Positive Deism and its discussion group, the Deist Network, Panendeism, Deist Poet and others. I strongly recommend a visit to the DA site.

I found the space in between Agnosticism and Atheism to be cool and dry. For some, those choices are right, but not for everyone, not for me. The faith of my fathers clearly no longer worked for me. I had outgrown blind faith. My mind had expanded beyond those strictures. The words no longer rang true. In terms of religion, I knew what I wasn’t, but I didn’t know what I was. Walking away was important, but for a few decades I was just wandering, and I needed a spiritual goal. Then I discovered Deism and realized that was what I believed.

The Church of Nature’s God has undergone continuous revision since its inception. The Discussion Forum is not as active since I am concentrating on Unified Deism where we are trying to build a broad Deist Fellowship. The Nature’s Deist Guide program may start up again on UD, and the Nature’s God Deist Academy is becoming Deism University. Come join us at http://www.unifieddeism.com/community/.

Deist churches have not had much staying pow. We are trying to offer the fellowship that Deism is often lacking. The Tao Te Ching says, “Whatever is flexible and flowing will tend to grow; whatever is rigid and blocked will wither and die.”  The Church intends to survive. The Church is now a legal entity in the State of Texas, and so in the Unified Deism Foundation.

The true Church of Nature’s God is inside each and every one of us, and you can discover it everywhere in nature. It is as individual as you are. To become a member, you only must decide that you are one. Freethinkers do not need a church for the purpose of worshiping any Deity. Nature’s God does not need worship, although some find comfort in giving thanks to the Creator. Other religions claim that their sacred texts are the infallible and inerrant word of God. The Deist Bible makes no such claim.

We don’t need a church building. A building is restrictive and limiting and unnecessary. The Church has no physical presence, no roof, no walls. We do not need to be shielded from the elements in cyberspace. The Church has a virtual, but very real presence here where you have found it. People seeking spirituality don’t need an elaborate organization. For those who want to belong, to feel a sense of community, spend time, study the possibilities and expand their horizons, the Church of Nature’s God hopes to help you fulfill those wants and needs.

The core of the Church is our discussion forums where we explore ways of building a Deist fellowship. We hope you will join us in this exploration.

There is no one way all people must think. It is only necessary that they do think, that they use their most precious gift, the gift of reason, to find their own path. The Church of Nature’s God is the church that you don’t need. But if you want to share your discoveries while you are on your journey, drop in for a while.

“My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble minds. That deeply emotional conviction of the presence of a superior reasoning power, which is revealed in the incomprehensible universe, forms my idea of God.” — Albert Einstein

Oh, and if you wonder who this “Reflections” character is, that was my pseudonym when I my blog was hosted on WordPress. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.

Posted in Announcements | Tagged , | Leave a comment

A parable of forgiveness

Posted on June 27, 2010 by reflections

One member of the Nature’s God discussion board posted what I can only describe as a parable. I am sharing it with you with permission.

Forgiveness is inherent in the natural order. I had a 12-year old dogwood tree planted last summer. The tree guy told me to make sure I watered it daily till fall. Well, it was a rainy summer, so in my ignorance I thought rain was enough, when in fact the tree needed deep watering, where you dribble water in at the base for several hours at a time. Rain water in a summer shower barely gets through the grass. By late summer the tree looked like it was dying, the tree guy came by and lectured me on proper watering technique. This spring, when everything else was leafing out fully, my tree looked like the Charlie Brown Christmas tree, just a few skimpy leaves at the top and lots of dead branches. I thought I had killed it, and I felt really bad. Then one day I noticed a few tiny buds at the base of each of the dead branches. The tree was trying to regrow where it had “died”. I clipped off the dead branches, leaving not much to look at whatsoever, and over the next few weeks, the tree has gone crazy with new growth. I think there are several messages here: First, ignorance leads to bad behavior (mine) and destruction (tree). Second, knowledge of the way nature works (the tree guy’s lecture) leads to right action (watering correctly). Third, forgiveness is part of the natural order (new buds). Finally, removing the dead wood allows the rest of the organism to thrive. The dead wood robs the organism of energy that the good wood needs.

This story is a parable because it teaches us an important life lesson. Indeed, ignorance is error. The Stoics knew this a couple of millennia ago. But we can correct such errors. Remember that ignorance is not knowing, knowing that you don’t know and caring. Ignorance can be cured. Stupidity is not knowing, not knowing you don’t know and not caring. Normally, only death cures stupidity. I am ignorant about many things. I am constantly seeking a cure.

Theists turn to holy texts for truths and answers about life. Some very useful answers can be found in such texts, but you can also find many absurdities. It takes some work to sort them out. Deism looks to nature for answers. The answers are there, but the language is one that you have to learn on your own, and you have to find someone you trust to help you learn the language. It is not until you have gained some fluency that you can translate on your own.

Still, I believe that the language of nature is the only word of God that we can trust. If God exists, God is the source of nature’s lessons, and nature’s word is the only universal language.

Posted in Life, Nature, Philosophy, Spirituality, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Seeking

Posted on June 26, 2010 by reflections

Far away in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead.
–Louisa May Alcott

Deism is a maze of pathways, all heading in the same general direction. There are endless opportunities to explore. Belief in God is the difference that distinguishes Deists from other Freethinkers. Freethought is a philosophy that encourages critical reasoning, exploration and examination of the evidence and following where it leads. Freethinkers reject the absurd and the illogical. I would like to say that Freethinkers don’t let anyone do their thinking for them, but unfortunately that is not always true. Even Deists are guilty of mindlessly following some individual and repeating what the leader says. Fundamentalism and groupthink are hazards even in the Freethought community.

But belief in God does set Deists apart from other Freethinkers. If there is a God, then the universe may very well exist for a reason. If there is intent and purpose, there is always hope. Most Deists adopt the attitude that there seems to be some point to life, something beyond existing, procreating and dying. That does not mean that Deists are certain that there is some glorious afterlife that awaits us. I personally see no evidence of that, but there certainly seems to be some underlying reason, an undercurrent, a flow that draws us all in the same general direction.

Human beings are curious creatures. We are constantly looking for answers, reasons, causes. We are driven to learn and find out. Life is learning. Life is seeking. Seeking does not always mean finding, but that is no reason to stop seeking. Any time we fulfill our aspirations we need to establish new ones. There must always be something to strive for.

As a Deist, seeking is a constant in my life. I am never satisfied knowing only what I know right now. There are things to be learned each day. I seek the truth; I find information, indications and opinions. Truth is where I find it and what I find it to be. Others may find something else and somewhere else.

And so the search continues. Sometimes I search through the things that others have found. This is a very good use of time. So many of us seek the same things. It takes a lifetime to build even a moderate amount of knowledge. As a species we benefit from the accumulated knowledge of thousands or even millions of lifetimes. Of course, some of that knowledge is incorrect, so we must examine carefully before we make it our own. But there is much wisdom recorded in many places. I am always amazed by our modern technical achievements, but when I look at the lessons we have learned about peace and harmony, we still have learned comparatively little, and much of that was learned long ago.

The shards of the truth that we find and share as Deists contribute to making us stronger and wiser and better human beings. We must never stop seeking.

Posted in Deism, Freethought, Life, Nature, Philosophy, Religion, Spirituality | Leave a comment

Dance in the rain

Posted on May 29, 2010 by reflections

Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass. It’s about learning to dance in the rain.
–Author unknown.

Life does not stand still. Life comes at us at a speed of its own choosing. It seems to me that the speed increases with every year, so in the autumn of my years, life moves at a blistering pace. But no matter what the tempo, we need to deal with everything that gets thrown at us.

After all, what are the alternatives? We can refuse to deal with reality and retreat into a shell. Unfortunately, that is a choice that some people make. They deny the reality that everyone else recognizes. They cannot cope with life’s challenges, so they refuse to face their problems until they are overcome. This is sad and unnecessary.

Others try to just roll with the punches. They assume a defensive posture, absorb the blows submissively and rely on hope and faith to survive. Often, they endure and live to tell the tale, but these experiences take their toll. They make us old and tired before our time, wiser, but sadder. And the next time trouble comes calling, they again become life’s punching bag.

We should try to meet our troubles head-on. We should try always to be prepared, even if the best preparation possible is just to be as strong and knowledgeable and as flexible as we can be. So if life pushes us, we should push back, hard, grinning as we stand defiant. We should find joy in the tempest whenever and wherever we can. We should laugh often and raise the spirits of those who find it hard to withstand the buffeting. And if Death himself should be riding a particular storm, we should spit in his eye and shout, “Not this time!”

And if someday the storm should prevail, we shall go down smiling, knowing that we fought the good fight, confident that we squeezed every last ounce from our allotted portion of life. The final destination is the same for all of us, but a large measure of our destiny is within our control. We cannot ultimately control the quantity, but we have a lot of power over the quality of our lives. Our attitudes are critically important. We must play the hand we are dealt for everything it is worth in order to win, even if that means we have to bluff sometimes. If we fold, we lose.

Work hard, play hard, love much. And don’t forget to dance, even if it’s raining.

Posted in Life, Nature, Philosophy | Leave a comment

Storm from the west

Posted on May 17, 2010 by reflections

The wind rises; the air cools; the trees sway in anticipation. The front is moving in, storms passing north and south of us. Thunder rolls, rumbling first in the distance, then nearer.

But I watch the west. The darkness there promises and threatens. In these amazing times we can watch the storm’s approach with eyes that penetrate the gloom and stretch for miles and miles. I watch as the storm to the south moves up to greet his brother from the west.

I step outside again to watch the approach and feel nature’s power. My own eyes tell a different story than the maps and colored patterns on my computer screen. I face northwest and feel a brisk wind in my face. I do not believe the storm will come from the south. The mourning doves are disturbed by my presence. They were already settling down to ride the storm out, just as they have ridden out so many storms before. I beg their pardon for disturbing their preparations and go back inside.

I go out the back door on the north side of the house. Not so many birds roost here. I notice some plants needing attention before the storm. A tomato plant needs tying up. A heavy rain could cause its fragile branches to break. The yucca is starting to bloom. Its two spikes are taller than I am. They, too, need a little help. A third, smaller spike joins them this year. I think back to the plant’s history. I rescued it from a bulldozed area behind our house before they built houses or fences back there. It had somehow escaped the bulldozer’s blade, but it was clinging to a clump of dirt in an expanse of limestone that looked like a moonscape. I transplanted it into my backyard, which itself had almost no dirt. Almost 14 years later it blooms and grows, one of the many native plants that populate the homestead.

We remain on the storm’s edge. It remains dry, and the birds sing in celebration that they have been spared a soaking for now. We humans hold a different opinion. In this dry country we take all the rain we can get as often as it is offered. But the storm continues to play hard-to-get, and so we wait.

I check the local news and am glad that the storms passed to our south. We don’t really need the 65 mile an hour winds and quarter-sized hail they are carrying. The wind has died down. It is the calm before the storm.

The rain comes, gentle, docile, not a storm at all, at least not at first. Thunder in the near distance says, “I’m still here and worthy of fear,” but for the moment nature has decided to be gentle.

Posted in Life, Nature, Spirituality | Leave a comment

Addicted to reason

Posted on May 15, 2010 by reflections

I caught a bug many years ago, decades ago, actually. The affliction is called “reason.” It starts out as an itch, but it becomes very persistent. I have never managed to make it go away. I suspect you catch it by reading books. At least that’s where I am almost certain I caught it. You will find its symptoms familiar: wide opening of the eyes, rejection of absurdities, aversion to superstition, inclination towards common sense, a tendency to take a different direction than the herd and occasional bouts of loneliness. You should be aware of this affliction, its symptoms and eventual outcomes if left untreated.

This addiction is curable, but breaking these habits is known to have severe side effects such as extreme intolerance, memory loss, loss of individualism, atrophy of ability to think independently, decrease in new information intake, susceptibility to intellectual and emotional domination and dementia. Death is a rare, but not unknown, side effect of reason withdrawal.

Those affected by reason can be considered carriers. They are known to intentionally infect others and seem to show no regret for their actions. “Reasonists,” as they are known, often get others hooked through very public forums and outlets where they try to push their lifestyle onto the unsuspecting. Visiting these centers is highly discouraged by those who avoid reason infection at any cost.

Some seem to possess a natural immunity to reason. Whether this resistance is genetic or environmental is still being studied. Group identity seems to be an important factor in reason avoidance. Groups showing a high degree of resistance include: fundamentalists, evangelicals, racists, ideologues, extreme nationalists and egoists. Even members of these groups have been known to succumb to reason if they stray too far from the group, but instances are rare if people cling to their group identity.

And what if reason is left untreated? What is the likely outcome? While we don’t have all the answers, some things are known to occur quite commonly: an inability to swallow many ideas that are distasteful, a persistent disinclination to accept things without evidence, a rash of beliefs that are not universally adopted by the masses and a tendency towards smug satisfaction often accompanies by a feeling of superiority over those with immunity and those who have been successfully cured and who have become reason-proof.

Where am I in all this? Well, as they say, you can’t really cure an addiction until you first recognize that you have a problem, and I guess I haven’t reached that stage yet. Only time will tell. For now, I seem to be coping. In fact, I feel better than I ever have. One of the guilty pleasures of living with an addiction I suppose.

Posted in Freethought, Life, Philosophy | Leave a comment

The Case for Unified Deism

Posted on March 31, 2010 by reflections

The Case for Unified Deism

Credamus

 To traverse the turbulent sea of division, contradiction, and doubt that separates the human spirit from its aspirations, mankind seeks a new way to achieve the harmony and serenity we so long to embrace. The faiths of Abraham, which have long nurtured and served humankind, have begun to weaken and tarnish, victims of our partaking of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. These systems of belief appear to no longer be capable of bridging the gulf. They often serve as a barrier rather than a bridge to the spiritual knowledge we seek. Myth and fable no longer satisfy in this age of science. Faith cannot stand against fact. 

The free flow of knowledge and the progression of scientific discovery have uncovered a beacon of inclusion, agreement, and reasonable belief that shines for all. Unified Deism is a philosophy that recognizes the fact that the greater part of humanity believes in God and provides for those who believe a system that unites science and religion and gives us reasonable hope and optimism that something awaits beyond this life. 

For all of our accumulated knowledge, there is little in this life that we can know beyond a shadow of a doubt, and proving that God exists is a challenge that we mere humans struggle to meet. The Creator is more complex than anything we know, and no single argument is adequate for proving the existence of God. The mountain of evidence, however, that there is a greater power overwhelms us, especially if, like most people, we are inclined to believe. The enormous weight of the data compels us to conclude that God is and always has been. We cannot discount as mere coincidence the order and beauty revealed in the act of the creation, the precision of the cosmos, the undefiable laws of nature. We are filled with awe by the creation of life from lifelessness, the inexorable advancement of all species through the process of evolution, the complex and mysterious code of life and our very own consciousness. When we consider the volume of evidence, Deists simply cannot accept that all this is random chance. The notion that all this complexity and order “just happened” overwhelms our common sense and inspires us to seek the source of this wonder. 

Much as Lady Justice weighs the competing claims in her quest for the truth, we assess the facts as we know them and observe that the scales are tipping in the direction of reasoned belief. And though we know of no way to absolutely prove God’s existence, our efforts make it clear that belief is a reasonable and rational conclusion. 

We believe in freedom for all, so we present our case and let the world judge for itself. And so we ask, “does God matter?” And our collective mind answers, “Yes!” God has been a central figure throughout humanity’s history and philosophy. There is no reason to believe God will step down from that role anytime soon. It is becoming increasingly clear that mankind is predisposed to believe in God. Belief is a part of our human nature, but our concept of God is evolving just as our species has developed and advanced in other ways. For we have partaken of the fruit, and we see clearly that the old ways are fading. 

Belief is everywhere, and denying it requires a faith that is blind. Many are seeking the satisfaction of a reasoned faith that will satisfy their hunger for meaning. Unified Deism has its eyes and arms open wide to find and welcome those with doubts and uncertainty. Let the light of knowledge shine down upon our efforts and guide those who long to believe and be free. 

Unified Deism holds these principles to be supreme and self-evident: 

  • We believe that God exists based on reflective reason, personal experience, and observation of nature. 
  • We believe that fellowship, community, and mutual respect are essential components of life. 
  • We believe our principles should evolve with societal progress and our knowledge of the universe. 

Our unifying theme lends us great strength while freeing us from the wearying burden of dogma. We believe the universe has a Creator, but the nature of that Creator is something we must all discover for ourselves. While we may choose to rally around a central consensus, we expect all will continuously adapt their understanding of God as their knowledge of the universe grows. We stand united, armed with patience and perseverance, drawing upon all the wisdom we can muster. Unified Deism can help put humanity on an even keel and enable each of us to chart a steady course away from the rocky shores of dogma and the treacherous currents of fundamentalism. We hope that all people choose their own best path and find contentment and spirituality in their lives. We invite all who love freedom to join us as we set our course, seeking our purpose, greater understanding, and a better sense of inclusiveness.

Posted in Deism, Freethought, Life, Philosophy, Religion, Spirituality | 2 Comments

The hectic world of Deism

Posted on March 24, 2010 by reflections

My poor little blog. The life of a Deist activist (I guess that’s what I am) can be a bit frantic at times. It’s fun but frazzling. (Is that a word?) So what is going on in the wonderful world of Deism?

Our book, Deist, goes on sale at Book People here in Austin. Online sales are slow, but steady. A slight majority of people seems to prefer the .pdf version. I am starting a series of Deist Studies session through a video chat service called Stickam, and Deist will be the study subject for the first round of sessions. Email me at chuck@naturesgod.org if interested in joining. The first two sessions (same subject) will be on April 3 at 3:00 PM CDT and April 4 at 8:00 PM CDT. We’ll start on Chapter 1, and we’ll go from there. I will send all participants a .pdf of Chapter 1. Ultimately, if you join all sessions, I think you will end up with the whole book. If possible, I will invite the other contributing authors to participate as well.

A small core of us are working on a concept called Unified Deism. Our goal is to take over the world. Perhaps that’s a slight exaggeration. Our actual goal is to bring Deism into the mainstream so that everyone will get a chance to learn about this belief system. We don’t believe in pushy proselytization, but we do want to evangelize. We do want to spread the “good word” about Deism so everybody will at least know what Deism is. They can then make their own choices. A Deist wouldn’t want it any other way. Once we get further along with this concept, I am sure you will hear a lot more.

My discussion board, the Nature’s God Fellowship, is also suffering from a bit of neglect. I don’t feel that I have to keep discussions going, and I do participate all the time, but I do need to maintain more of a presence there. I actually spend more time on the Positive Deism board, because there is more activity there, but I am working on a better balance of time.

I am way behind in my reading, but I just keep buying book after book. I think all Deists have to keep growing and learning. We have adopted a term in Unified Deism called “reflective reasoning” to describe the process of continuously reevaluating our conclusions based on new personal experiences or observations of nature. Reflective reasoning seeks to balance logic, intuition, knowledge and inference. It calls upon us to evolve our beliefs as the creation unfolds, while denying assertions of absolutes.

And it is only fair that my family be allowed to compete for my time as well. It’s spring here, so cleaning and fixing and gardening and yard work consume my weekends. We’ll take some time out for a Renaissance Festival and Phantom of the Opera this coming weekend. Oh, and I am starting a new consulting business at the same time.

So, little blog, see what you have to compete with? But don’t worry. I still love you!

Posted in Deism, Life, Religion, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Toothaches

Posted on February 25, 2010 by reflections

Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh wrote that, “When we have a toothache, we know that not having a toothache is happiness. But later, when we don’t have a toothache, we don’t treasure our non-toothache.” When we are miserable, we believe we will be happy just not being miserable. Then, when we are no longer miserable, we are still not happy. Not being miserable is not enough. We believe we need something more to make us happy.

Perhaps some of us believe that having a companion will make us happy. Having a partner to bring us joy, to share with, to confide in. We are miserable until we find our true love. Then we find someone. We know that person is “the one”. We bond with them, and for a while, we do find happiness. But soon we realize that wanting and having are two different realities. Along with the happiness comes the real work of building a life together. Life is not perfect. We may not be miserable, but we are not really happy. Eventually, if we are unhappy long enough, our unhappiness becomes misery, and it looks like happiness is just not being miserable. So we get ourselves out of a miserable relationship. We are no longer miserable, but neither are we happy.

In my heavy-handed story it is very easy to see that happiness is where you find it. Happiness is relative. Happiness is when we decide to be happy, and happiness is what we make out of what life hands us. Happiness is like a butterfly that flits past us, looking beautiful. If we chase it, it eludes us. If we try to grasp it, we can destroy it. But if we are patient and still and let it come to us, it will draw near and remain in our presence, allowing us to study its beauty close up. It may even alight upon our outstretched had. But sooner or later it will depart, and we are left with a choice. We can tell the world how much we appreciated the beautiful experience we enjoyed during our butterfly encounter, or we can turn inward and mourn the fact that it has moved on. And if we do turn inward and become miserable, we may miss the fact that there are more butterflies hovering nearby, and some will probably fly in our direction sometime soon. We just need to study the nature of butterflies to improve our chances that one will draw near again.

Life will have its aches and disappointments. A little suffering is indeed good for the soul, because it helps us understand that happiness can be as simple as not aching, or it can be as complex as we choose to make it. Complex and difficult are often the same thing, so we should choose wisely. We should not grasp too tightly. And we need to remember that butterflies come and go. We need to enjoy their beauty during the brief time we have to enjoy their presence. And when we find “the one”, we need to keep life in perspective and allow ourselves to understand what happiness is over the long run.

This post was inspired by a tidbit from this month’s Science of Mind magazine in an article entitled, “Mindful Living, the Art of Remembering to Remember.”

Posted in Life, Nature, Philosophy, Spirituality | Leave a comment