Everything Belongs

I finally finished Richard Rohr's book, Everything Belongs.
It is a book on contemplative prayer and an outlook on life that brings more focus on our spiritual being than on the physical being and physical world in which we live.

I've become somewhat contemplative as I've aged, and perhaps have always been more contemplative than most. I enjoyed the book but did get bogged down a couple of times and had to kind of push through some parts. Although I found Fr. Rohr's wisdom and insights interesting, perhaps it was just writing style or voice (yes, book have a voice) that seemed uncomfortable. I don't think that it was the challenge to self-examine or be contemplative since I'm pretty open to those ideas. In the end I think that his wisdom is worthy of reading another of his books so I'll be looking into that.

I big part of my own spiritual evolution has been in examining what I truly believe and exactly what or whom I worship. In the end, I think that modern day, evangelical Christians tend to worship their religion as much or more than they worship the God of their religion. As I began to move more towards relationships with others because of the love of God, I began to get a lot of resistance and cautionary warnings from well meaning but misguided Christian friends. Their religion was more important than my connecting with certain people to share God's love. The rules of religion tend to separate us from others rather than helping us to build loving relationships with others.

Many years ago, a fellow NATCA (National Air Traffic Controller's Association) committee member and atheist started to ask me a question with this qualifier -- "Hey, you're a religious guy..."
I interrupted him and said, "I am not!"
He looked at me for a moment and said, "You're right. You are not, but I'm not sure how else to describe you."
Even my evangelical pastor friends have had difficulty understanding me. One expressed that I am quite the conundrum, other calling me an enigma.
I don't think I'm that difficult to understand. I'm just a free spirit that is trying to figure out my place in life and working on following Jesus without the man-made rules of religion.

I get that letting go of a lifetime of religion can be difficult. It could be that I never really had that tight of a grip on it to begin with. I don't expect that I'm ever going to let go of God and I have every confidence that God isn't letting go of me. But I do think that we all need to examine what we have been taught and what we believe to be true.
Mark Twain said, "It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so."

It is said that foolish and closed-minded people will believe what they believe and dismiss any evidence contrary to their beliefs. People that desire to learn will critically examine their beliefs and be willing to change their mind should evidence dictate that a change is necessary. I would hope that I am able to learn more about God than what I learned as a child and young adult. I would hope that my understanding of God and my relationship with God is dynamic and evolving. If what you believe about God hasn't grown or changed as you have grown and changed, then you have a mighty small god.

As I have become more contemplative about life, death, God, and my place in all of this, I think that perhaps life itself is a type of koan. It isn't a problem to be solved nor a game to be won. It is simply a life to be experienced and shared with those that experience it with us. We learn from the suffering. We grow stronger from the pain. We love through the grief. And we remember all of the lessons along the way.

It's been a few years since I read Don Miller's Blue Like Jazz. I'm thinking I might reread it. Or maybe Searching for God Knows What.
Maybe I'll give my brain a break and read a novel. I've got several on my Kindle app.

What are you reading?
Any recommendations for my next Rohr book?

John <><