Baby talk

I believe in a power too ineffable to begin to describe. It is almost easier to say what it is not than what it is.

I believe it is the essence of the universe and everything that is.

I do not believe that it is a man, or father, or mother. All the faces of god are just baby talk for this ineffable power that I do not believe has a personal interest in each and every one of us. I do not believe that it is jealous, or needs to be worshipped, or begged, or any of those human characteristics that egos have attributed to it for thousands of years.

I do believe that somehow, in ways I will never understand, it set in motion what I know today as the universe, the earth, and what inhabits them.

I do believe I am part of this power, as much or maybe more than my son is a part of me.

It is awe inspiring, really incomprehensible to believe anything so extraordinary exists and even defining exists is iffy here. We are because it is.

I believe that people are as important as ants and trees and dolphins and maybe even stones and wind and rain. I also believe we have been separating ourselves from this power and the wondrous things that evolved through it since we began thinking and trying to control things. We are small and imagining something this large is difficult.

I believe prayer works, but not because some distant being decides to raise his hand like an ancient lord in a castle and say, "So be it." It works because we are made with energy and when we inadvertently use that energy as a group, or even as just one, it can make a difference. It is not hubris to believe this any more than it is hubris to believe I can breathe, think, reproduce, create . . .

I find this ineffable power miraculous.

I do good because it is the right thing to do. I try to do as little harm to every single thing on this planet as I am capable of, which is often pitifully little. Partly because it is also the right thing to do, but also because I am connected to everything else and hurting it will hurt me and those I love in the long run.

Matter is neither created nor destroyed. It is constantly transforming. I am one pebble on the beach and some day I will be a million grains of sand in the ocean. I find both comfort and glory in that. I do not have to pray that I am one with the universe, because I am. We all are. Like it or not.