LAUGHTER

Sunshine and laughter are good for the soul.

"Hey Joe,"  the police man in charge of serious crime says to his partner: "Do you think I should believe this guy?  He does nor know his own phone number and had to go check to find out the address he is living at.  Says he is looking after some wild big dogs while the owners are away.  Pretty suspicious I'd say.  Too bad we are so busy we won't have time to check him out.  But he says there are an old odd couple that can confirm his story, but they forget names and are not that reliable.  Oh well."

Yes, one cannot believe everything that one hears or reads about.  I can accept that many of the stories in the Bible are myths with a message but I cannot believe this about Jesus.  Some of the stories about him are pretty unbelieveable; like his strange birth, the miracles he did, the lives that he changed (and still changes today) and his viloent death and coming back to life. 

Again we come back to the search for the truth.  Some are even writing and calling the Bible a bizarre old book claiming to be the word of God and yet it contains inspired acts of violence that are suppose to be the will of God.  I think some common sense and a sense of humor are necessary as we do not trust in blind faith but look for what is good and noble and pure. 

I believe that the words and life of Jesus call to us to think for ourselves and the purpose and meaning of life is to love one another and to seek for unity within ourselves and with others.  False beliefs do cause suffering and mistrust if my truth becomes the only truth worth believing.

I woke up this morning after dreaming I missed the Cannucks Hockey Game because I could not get my computer to work.  In fact it ended up in pieces and I said to dad now look what you have done.  Thankfullu I could wake up and laugh about it.  I can look at other religions and see their own terrible history of religious intolerance but I also have to look at Christianity with the same critical lens.

The modern scholars are now looking into our past history and the dogma upon which the foundations of our faith has been built.  Personal transformation requires honesty and humility.  Asking oneself how can I use my weaknesses to become my strength.  Personality traits like assertiveness, confidence, bravery, aggressive and arrogant have to become more gentle and understanding if they are to bring out the best in us and in others. 

It is important to enjoy life and not expect to clean up all the mess we find.  Yes, life is messy and unfair but I need to appreciate and improve what I can trying to keep a sense of humor.  When we laugh together we communicate and I believe that the spirit of Jesus laughs with us!

We see a reflection of reality and learning to laugh together keeps us loving.  I am not pulling out any weeds until I know which they are so will wait for some helpful advice.