The older I get, the more I understand why we long to be in the company of those who share our beliefs. I choose certain friends. I watch certain TV shows. I visit certain websites. An illusion of consensus is generated, one that can be very comforting in this life fraught with uncertainty. I’m also coming to understand how differences in opinion and perspective can freak us out, make us extremely upset, and even drive us to aggressive and self-destructive actions. Threaten my core beliefs and you may as well be pointing a gun at my head. At least that’s how it can feel sometimes.
I am both fascinated and horrified by the lack of mutual understanding on display everywhere — between countries, religions, political parties, neighbors, spouses — and by the tenuousness of the ties that somehow hold the works together enough so that many of us can still live in relative peace and harmony.
The possibility of change through authentic relationship is what drives me to carry on, and it’s what inspires me to write, dialogue, and create. As I get settled in to my new life in North Carolina, I’m hoping to weave together the loose threads of my many interests and intentions, both here on this blog and in my daily life. There’s something connecting all this stuff about politics, religion, psychology, music, humor, etc., and it has something to do with the possibility of what my friend Julian Walker calls a “21st Century Spirituality.”
This is just a rambling way of clarifying my thoughts in the midst of a hectic couple of weeks. One of these days I will engage this blog thing with some focus and commitment.