Geeky Talks
Faith My Eyes
We’re not just sex and farts here on Mrs. Flinger. We’re also about depth, and faith, and trying to get The Big Picture while cleaning cheerios off the kitchen floor spilt seconds before having to run to work. We have it all. So excuse the drastic topic change, but we’ve been talking about a few things…
Mr. Flinger and I have been contemplating harmony. It seems a topic we landed on a few days back and can’t seem to put our finger on exactly what we want to say to each other. We both understand one another without having to speak actual words, but being the verbal person I am, I struggle without the vocabulary to express my feelings. So I turn to my blog to hash it out in public among friends, new and old, IRL and IBL (in bloglnad) to see if y’all have The Big Answers. You know, if you have harmony.
Some time back I used to be, I don’t want to say “Religious” because that sounds pios. I don’t want to say “Spiritual” because that sounds too new age. I don’t want to say “Brainwashed” because that’s too condescending. So I used to be… someone who sat at coffee shops, read her bible, wrote in her journal and thought long and hard about the Big Topics and Self Proclamation and Fulfillment. As I grew older, I found Henry David Thoreau’s “Walden Pond” to be more of an inspiration than my bible. I found myself relating to quotes such as, “I carry less religion to the table, ask no blessing; not because I am wiser than I was, but, I am obliged to confess, because, however much it is to be regretted, with years I have grown more coarse and indifferent.” I marked passage after passage about living simply and finding joy in the small things keeping “my affairs to a minimum”.
Years later, I find myself a mom, a wife of five years, a teacher of the virtual kind. There are very few tangents in my life. I have love, I have happiness, I have joy, a job, an outlet. I no longer write on paper, my work is online, my friends are online. I think about my visions as a young 22 year old graduating with her bachelors and the goals and dreams I had are far from where I am today. I’m ok with that, mostly. The one piece I’m sad to have let go so far is my contemplating of The Big Picture. I’ve let go of a hope in Something Bigger than myself and I’ve struggled to regain control in a world I can not control.
Mr. Flinger comes from a drastically different, and very scientific, background. This is what I love about him. Logic rules our house. I am a logically person, really. Aside from the “I’m pregnant” once a month regardless of the fact that we did NOTHING to produce said child that month. Pretty much at that point, I’d be the virgin marry. Sordda. But I’m back to sex and I told you this wasn’t about sex for once. So, back to logic, I’ve always had a math brain and Mr Flinger, being a civil engineer, pretty much let’s his brain rule all. Poor LB is destined for major nerdome. But we’re happy to pass along this gene hoping to inspire some major wise girl who can help us in our old age when our retirement piddles away at 60.
Logic and fath are not always synonymous, however. Faith in something or Someone bigger than yourself defies logic. It isn’t logic to have fath in something you don’t see. Logic says we don’t fall off the planet because some old guy called it gravity. Does it take faith to believe in gravity? Or do you see the effects of gravity and call it logic?
We were discussing this very thing and decided we believe in Harmony. How New Age does that sound? See, this is why it’s difficult to grasp this concept without the right words. People have a flow, or a harmony about them. Some people have flow, and others just.. don’t. How do you put your finger on this? What is it? I don’t think it’s isolated to only a specific religion of people with Flow. I have a Buddhist friend with Flow. I know some Christians with flow and some without it. There are non-religious types with flow and some super-religious onse that spew disharmony all over the place. So where is it? What’s the missing piece? Observation? Understanding? Empathy? Wisdom?
Regardless, after we had this discussion, I opened an email from someone I’d like to work for and found at the bottom of his email he signed it, “In Harmony.” I don’t know if you believe in signs or not, and to be honest I’m not sure if I do or not myself, but if I did, I’d be willing to bet it’s something. It just takes faith to know what.
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Emails that end with “in harmony” have a 99% chance of coming from Kurt. Do I win?
lol… one of the tragedies of the 20th century is that Christianity as a whole abandoned apologetics, which is the simple idea that if the Bible is true, then it is also logical and defendable as a philosophy, even to “the happy non-believer.” In other words, faith and reason are not opposed forces contrary to what the pop-culture of the western world would have us believe. Jesus does not require a “blind leap of faith.”
I don’t bring this up as any sort of criticism to what you wrote. I just find amongst my friends an idea that basically goes “I have this faith that isn’t very intellectually sound” and that is an isolated stance promoted in the 20th century western thought. The history of Christian thought is rich with logical, philosophy, theology, and level-headed discussion with non-believers that don’t end in “you just have to have faith.”
Fortunately, there is an underground resurgence in the intellectual side of Christianity known as apologetics. I’d be happy to send a book or two if you’re interested.
As to harmony itself, here is my simple thought. Harmony can be simply defined as “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, body, and soul and love your neighbor as yourself.”
This is not confined to Christianity. This is a universal truth. If man is the measure of all things then the verse would read “love yourself first and then your neighbor.” I hope the emptiness of the 20th century has made it obvious what a terrible answer loving oneself over a high authority and before caring for others really is.
If you try loving others first and then yourself, you’ll find yourself running on constant empty because even selfless service does not fill what only God can fill. In order to give you also need to receive.
When you Love God first you realize your place in life, your importance, and your inherit value as a child of God. When you realize this, loving your neighbor (ie, anybody who is not you) comes naturally and creates a “harmony” that I would not trade for anything else in the world.
wow, okay, sorry for the preaching. Back to the sex and farts.
Thanks, Leslie. I do agree with much of what you say. I have, however, not so much stayed in touch with that part of my life. I do enjoy a rich discussion, however, and find that Mr. Flinger is great for that as well. I’m sure logic and faith are not mutally exclusive. However, I’ve had previous experience that tarnishes that somewhat.
I guess in the end I’m just hashing out “the big picture” here. And as always, I love the input.
And yea. You win. Kurt it is!
“hashing out the big picture” I think is all that we can really expect of each other and a very worthwhile endeavor regardless of beliefs
It always amazes me how hard it is now to talk about God and Spirituality and life in a more “big picture” way with out someone looking at you like you’re crazy. In Utah it might not be as odd I guess, but I know how weirded some friends of mine would get when I would talk about how a part of me felt empty or incomplete. Sometimes it’s hard to put your finger on what gives you harmony, honestly, I think that it can vary a little person by person.
And my husband is very logical and scientific, but in terms of spirituality, he says that you sometimes have to go more on what you feel and let go of your logic and go on faith.
You should try our household. Me…always looking into the creative natural signs of life and my Hubby…the engineer (also Civil) who lets the analytical side try to work it out. So while I’m in awe of the random patterns in life, Hubby is trying to apply some “rational method” and figure out that pattern and prove how unrandom they really are. (Which just sucks the life out of the fun!)
Personally, I think perhaps you are being a tad bit impatient. Those “a-HA!” moments of life just haven’t hit ya yet. And when they do, you will sit back and realize the “big picture” is just a bit less fuzzy and you understand just a bit more.
I like the idea of harmony. I’m also a big fan of karma. My husband is the logical sort and doesn’t believe in karma until he says mean things to me and then immediately stubs his toe on the kitchen table. AGAIN.
I actually have a set of cards that lists “The Golden Rule” from the perspective of several faith systems. It reminds me that although Christianity doesn’t have the corner on morality, despite what the evangelicals would have us believe.
Oh, dear! Now I’ve covered religion and politics in the same comment. I should stop.
After all, I believe in karma.
I believe in the force, the flo, the chi, whatever you want to call it.
The absolute best feeling that I have though is standing in a church (especially during hymns) and feeling that coming from everyone. I have a feeling for that
moment, that hour, that things are ok.
And then I start thinking about sex and then I ask for forgiveness for thinking about SEX in the church. So, then I think about sex again. Its really a sad cycle.
ROFL R*bellle. Ahh, good times good times.
I believe in karma, chi, flow (but not Aunt Flo so much), harmony, etc. The older I get I’m not so much hung up on organized religion, though. Sometimes it’s hard to not get cynical when you start analyzing all the Bible lessons you learned when you were 3 ft. tall, you know? I think if you find your harmony in God, Buddha (my older brother is very into studying Buddhism right now), whoever…the important thing is to find that harmony, love your fellow man, have faith and be the best you can be. SNIFFFFFFF
holy shit, I love what Leslie wrote. I totally agree with logic/reason not having to exist in diametric opposition to faith. Sometimes, religious debates just fall into the us vs. them category when it really exists between all of us, together. good topic flinger, you still rule my bloggy universe.
I’m not as religious as I used to be, but I feel like it kind of ebbs and flows, you know? I am not a logical person, I’m very right-brained, so I don’t have a lot of trouble “feeling” things like that there is something larger than ourselves that we can’t see or comprehend.