GET YOUR HAPPY ON! - a meliorist worldview

Recently, I reached a convergence in my faith that bridges Buddhism and the Christian tradition (in which I was raised). Essentially, it is the convergence of my mind and my heart.

Oddly enough, it started with my renunciation of Christianity in 1994 and my exploration of other faith traditions. In 1998, I converted to Buddhism, which made more sense to me. Buddhism is a logic- and wisdom-based discipline, the goal of which is to bring peace and contentment to all living beings.

What I discovered in Buddhism is the concept of Dependent Origination, which explains how the separation between each of us is an illusion. There is no You. There is no Me. There is only the Oneness of all Things, the cyclical web of Cause and Effect that connects every action and object (organic or inorganic) to every other action and object in the Universe.

A few months ago, I saw how Dependent Origination could fit into a Christian belief system that would work for me.

Think of it like this:

God is everything. Everything is God.

The sun, the moon, the rock, the tree, the cat, the dog, and you and me.

Everything. Everything we can see, everything we can’t see. From stars and blackholes to quarks and bosons.

Every action is also a part of God. Every cause and every effect. Every time a ball bounces. Every time a word is written or read. Every time a prayer is spoken. Every time a thought occurs in one’s head, (regardless of how insignificant), that is the presence of God. God is present in every Nobel Prize for Chemistry and present in every child’s first stumbling attempts at addition and subtraction.

But God is also a part of all the ugly moments. The angry words, the acts of violence and stupidity. Every time a gun is shot in anger or a teenager smokes crack or meth, every time a baby cries because its mother hasn’t enough money to buy food, God is present in all of those moments too. It’s as though all the Evil in the world is a disease or a cancer that has infected the organism that joins all of us together.

Everything. Every thought, every word, every action, every object, every microscopic subatomic particle is a part of the hyper-conscious organism that is God.

So, if you are a part of God, and God is an organism, then that means we are all cells in the body of God. Then, and this is the glorious part, you/we have to decide for ourselves whether we are bad cells or good cells, cancers or cancer-fighting antibodies.

Here’s why: if you’re not actively fighting the cancer, then you’re already a part of it.

If you’re not a part of the solution, you’re a part of the problem.

What is the cancer? The cancer is easily understood, but broadly misinterpreted. War. Greed. Ignorance. Hatred. Abuse. Dishonesty.

A cancer cell divides into three new cancer cells, whereas a healthy organic cell divides into only two. They spread quickly as they infect and consume healthy cells — one of the reasons that cancers are so tough to fight.

The cancers of greed and ignorance are no different. They spread quickly because they are so infectiously tempting, and they consume the weaker, healthy cells that were just minding their own business.

It made me cry the first time I realized that God was infected with cancer and that God created me (and others like me) to help God fight the infernal cancer. All of what you are reading may sound ridiculous to you, but a few years ago, I was convinced that God didn’t exist.

Now, I not only know that God does exist, but I know how to best appreciate and worship God — community activism!

Praying, singing, dancing, chanting, meditating — they all have their place, but what good is serving your own soul if the world around you is decaying? God wants you to get out there and feed the homeless; to fight for the environment; to stop gun violence and domestic abuse. God doesn’t want you to turn a blind eye. God wants you to take a stand against every wrong.

You can’t sit idly by while greed and ignorance takes root in your community. You have to get involved, and you have to get involved right away. Now. Today. Don’t wait.

The cancers of greed and ignorance won’t wait, and neither should you. Volunteer at your church or synagogue or mosque or other place of worship or meditation. Get involved with a non-profit organization. Give of your time, and give of yourself.

I apologize for going off on a preachy rant, folks! I guess I do that often. Sorry. The Spirit moves me, you know?

Be kind to one another, my friends. And have a safe and fun weekend!

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