Several Things I Might Have Gotten Wrong
Fate landed me in front of a TED Talk video of Mike Rowe this morning. At first, I thought we were going to celebrate those who had broken free of the 9-5 (or around here 8-5) “prison” that seems to suck life right out of its hostages.
Boy was I wrong.
And apparently that was the point of this 20-minute video shared by Danielle LaPorte of White Hot Truth.
After watching the full 20 minute presentation, which is odd since my attention span rarely tolerates 20 minutes of anything, I asked myself:
How many times have I gotten it wrong?
Ouch. This could be a real ego-buster. I mean, MOI???? WRONG????? Say it ain’t so, Joe.
But alas, it is true. There is a slight possibility I might have been wrong about a few things in my life. I’m thinking a top ten list might be in order, so here goes:
Top 10…I mean…Several Things I Might Have Gotten Wrong (Darn list keeps growing.)
1. Farm life is for the birds. I wanted to be a city girl. (Age 17-22ish) Today, I’d love to be out where the only people who would think of cutting across my yard to get from Point A to Point B were likely birthed of my loins.
2. Picking the right church and following the right rules are necessary prerequisites to getting into heaven. (Birth through about age 37.) I now wonder if we are looking for heaven in the wrong place. Didn’t Jesus say the kingdom of God is within us?
3. The Bible was written by God (er…uh….men “divinely inspired” by God?). That one survived to about age 41. The more I study, the more this notion dissolves and I feel like a victim of terrorism and manipulation compliments of Constantine and his goons. That’s not to say there isn’t good stuff contained therein. Just a note to self regarding origin and authority.
4. A college education is a necessity. Okay, advanced training is a good thing, but I’m no longer convinced it has to come in the form of a 4-6 year degree and $40K in debt.
5. A big house is a blessing. The older I get the more I long for simple and cheap. Big = Expensive + Liability
6. Energy healers and new age crystal-loving types are quacks. It’s amazing what personal experience does to shift one’s perspective. Don’t knock it if you’ve never given it a decent chance.
7. Seeing is believing. What’s that phrase they holler out when everyone’s dancing to The Cotton-Eye’d Joe? Yeah. That one. The one I can’t use on my blog because my mom reads it. Anyways, there are now lots of things that I accept as possible, yet cannot “see”. Sometimes that which we think we can “see” and prove is merely an illusion.
8. God only speaks to us through his written word. All other forms of direct communication with a divine source are probably the devil or some level of psychosis requiring hospitalization and pharmaceutical drugs. Wherever shall I start hammering on this one? If you wish to continue believing this, that is your choice, but don’t put ME in the straight jacket for seeing things differently.
9. There is an evil spirit entity called Satan that loves to slyly entice us into doing evil things like suggest there is no Satan or that the Bible was not actually written by God…er…uh…God-inspired men. Yeah. Right. And Zeus impregnated how many women to bear his half-god, half-human offspring? You believe that, too, don’t you?
10. Christianity is about following Jesus Christ. I wish. Most Christianity is about following Paul…..and Peter….and the guy on TV….and the guy at the front of the auditorium/sanctuary on Sunday morning. If it were about following Jesus, things would look a whole lot different. Actually, it would probably look like this and this and this every day. It certainly wouldn’t look like this.
And a bonus (or two)……
11. Scientific research has proven………. (see my response to #7 above). If there is anything I have learned it’s that the only correct response is “…based on the knowledge we currently possess, we now think this is how it is.” Ain’t no such critter as “proof”. Just ask Christopher Columbus, Galileo, Pythagoras, Socrates, and a few other guys that dared question the prevailing “proofs” of their time. Oh, and while you are at it, Stephen Hawking might appreciate some acknowledgement, too. Possibilities, Baby. Possibilities.
12. Humans are inherently evil and need to be saved. Yeah. Not so sure about that one. We aren’t born evil or sinful or bad. Kids learn bad or good from their environment. Some seem to actually posses an incredible and almost super-human level of compassion.
13. You simply must go to church every time the doors are open, or you aren’t a good Christian. Uhm…..no. I’ve got nothing against a get together, but that whole guilt and terrorism thing is just dumb….and very un-Jesus.
14. Children need church to become good people. Children need parents or at least some type of decent role models who are good people. Church does not make good people.
15. Check back. I’m sure I’ll think of more.
Yes, there was a time when my life pretty much existed as black or white. I almost miss those days, yet I really do like the freedom that evolved once I began to realize that I just might be wrong about a lot of things.
For that matter, maybe I am right. Hmmm……now there’s a twist.
PS: While I welcome your thoughts, comments, observations, etc., please know that I’m not interested in being preached at or proven wrong….mostly because your proof is no more solid than mine (see #11 above) and quite frankly I get downright cranky when someone tries to suggest I am wrong. My husband and children would greatly appreciate if you wouldn’t contribute to that mood swing. Besides, if your education has never seen the outside of a religious library, you probably don’t have anything to offer that I haven’t already heard in the way of “proof”.
If you find that your chest tightens and your face turns red when you read this, or you feel an urge to grab a Bible and pound your fist on a piece of wood, you may be defending something that you can’t prove or something that you choose to believe because someone in authority taught you to believe it without question, and…well…doing otherwise would simply be an ….ahem…..abomination.
Preach it…..er….uh….speak your truth. Your truth is truth.
Karl, you know how some people never know the impact they’ve had on others? You, friend, are one of those people. We may never know the many ways you have helped change me for the better. I am so glad you have re-crossed my life’s path, even if it is only virtually.
Very nice Angie! A few comments: took me over 50 years to get
to the country….I love it.
I was 59 when I started this NEW journey. Be thankful you got a
head start on me. I envy you. I feel like an infant taking this
trip. I feel so ignorant, even with my graduate degree in history.
What good is that “college education” in an intensely spiritual
realm. I took a dip into the “energy” field. “The Intention Ex-
periment”, Dr. David Hawkins work. I found myself closing my mind.
That was the worst thing I could do. I am working my way back to
an open mind position. But, I can’t ignore what’s going on in
Christianity today. I was there too long. I’m having a hard time
with good/bad, yin/yang, God/Satan. It is almost too deep for me
to conceive. Got to work on that one. Like you, there are others
to dwell on. Hopefully, I have some time!
It’s interesting that you envy me. I say the same thing to my 20 year old daughter who seems to already be seeing things differently than I could for many years. I think the danger with pursuing any field lies in the possibility of being sucked into “discipleship” and total commitment instead of being an observer and occasional participant in the phenomenon. How many times over the years have I decided I was right about something and anyone who disagreed was obviously just plain ignorant and pathetic. It’s embarrassing to admit, but that has been me.
I am curious about your comment re: good/bad, yin/yang, God/Satan. You say you are having a hard time with those. I’d love to hear more about your thoughts in those areas. I’m not entirely sure about them either. All I know is that there are some religious people around here that freak out insanely upon seeing or hearing any reference to yin/yang, but seem to have no problems with the other two.
I wish there was a thumbs up button on the keyboard….but there not…so in liew of that…two…er i mean several thumbs up!! I hope that last comment about people preaching to you wasn’t about my comment on your last blog…LMAO
Nope. You aren’t the preachy type. You are just making observations of your own experiences and desires. You aren’t even close to being the preachy type I was referencing. I imagine most of them abandoned this ship a long time ago.
Angie- In reference to your question about my comment. I guess 59 years of Southern Baptist theology has got me tied in a knot. It will take more than a few years (5-6 years) to change this.
The extremes, the opposites, that’s what gives me trouble. Ernie, over at LRC Houston helps, but there’s so much to learn and unlearn.
I have a feeling you are/will be exactly where you need to be when you need to be there with all of this. Taking it slow is a good thing. Diving in without asking questions is what gets way too many of us immersed into something without knowing all the details.