PHILOSOPHY

A calm walk in the woods was a welcome change from all the tension and excitement watching the hockey game.  Dad and I just wander through different paths and eventually end up where we started.  We did not even lose each other.

I am reading about the changes in religious thought and how at one point it was believed that there could be a philosophical religion that would be built on love and compassion.  Enlightenment meant moving away from superstition which was often based on fear.  What mattered was the truth.  To be really philosophical I find that the instant something seems plain it only seems to stir up different questions.

I have my opinion but I need to be open to debate, disagreement, controversy; which if done with respect for the beliefs of others can be a benefit and a learning experience.  I think what I am looking for is what is good and life-giving, a way of peace and fulfillment.  It is not about dogma that allows only one way to be right.

Mystification is deeper than any words.  No one sentence in scripture can capture all that is hidden within even one chapter. 

There is a new coffee house in London called "The Idler Academy" a place for the discussion of philosophy, husbandry and merriment.  Our we going back to the times of Enlightenment when Voltaire, Robespierre and Rousseau to name a few held court and stimulated deeper thinking into the meaning of life and religion.  The author of the article in the Sun Newspaper wonders if we are finally moving beyond superficiality that is in danger of becoming "soulless" to using our mind and reasoning powers to expand and to challenge us all.

"The conflation of caffeine and debate once launched a thousand wits - and gave birth to the Enlightenment."
Rowan Pelling in the Vancouver Sun.

What matters in real life is time spent with loved ones, the breathing of air, the newness of each day and the ability to listen and care.