How poignant.
How utterly does that sum up people's yearning for meaning and hope; redemption and communion?
When it's obvious that there is only this, it's obvious that there's no God - (some might say there is only God, but not I, I shan't say that) - then there's nothing to pray to. And if there's nothing to pray to, there's no point in praying, which means you have to face up to reality, this, just exactly as it is.
You can hope. You can. But there's no guarantee, no provable method. No fail-safe incantation.
Oh, and for the word 'God' insert any of the following: The Divine, The Universe, Love, Kharma, Spirit, Fate, Destiny, Consciousness, Being, The Secret, The Afterlife, Heaven, Hell, Gaia, Pan, Fairies, Angels, Zeuss, Thor, Satan, Santa Claus (or insert your own version out of an inexhaustible list).
You may be thinking - but I know there's kharma/god/fate/whatever, and you'll cite what appears to be proof. For example, "I asked the universe to show me what to do and to guide me on the best path and I was offered that dream job last year." Or you may even be able to put a positive spin on not getting the job you want, by saying "Well, I wanted the glamorous, high-paid job, but got offered the admin job for a charity, which really was God's way of showing me a much more meaningful way of earning my living." But just as you may come up with evidence for a 'dream-giver', however it may be justified after the fact, someone else can come up with evidence that the universe/god/fate doesn't deliver what they wanted. And I think that if you ask most people, you'll be given evidence that seems to indicate that they don't get what they want more often than not!
For every person who meets their dream partner, there'll be another who's just gone through a bitter and messy divorce, for every person who's just lost 4 stone, toned up and is the shining picture of health there's another who's been diagnosed with agonizing, untreatable cancer. I'm not saying that there's an exact balance of so-called good versus so-called bad, but yeah, you get the picture, I hope.
It's an interesting story isn't it?
In other words - there are no guarantees.
None. (oh, except death and taxes, and some people even argue against death... so that leaves taxes... damn.)
So, where does that leave us?
It leaves us with just this. With not even a guarantee about WHAT it is. Because just as someone will call something 'green', there will be someone else who swears blind that it's 'blue'. We don't even agree on the labels.
And of course, THIS, includes all the labels as well. It includes ALL the stories. About God, and heaven and hell, and fairies, and Santa Claus, and manifesting, and hoping for something other than this, and ignoring this, and believing in all the stories, and seeing that if something needs to be believed and can also be unbelieved, then it can't be true. And seeing that there's no such thing as truth. And seeing that this is a story too. That everything we say is a story. Including the story that everything is a story.
Which means (but don't take my word for it) that if it's all stories, then there's no failsafe method for making it anything other than what it is - whatever it is.
What and how do you feel about that? Is it a relief to be free of belief? If all the stories are seen AS stories, is it liberating to accept that this is all there is? Or do you sometimes miss being able to wish on a star with a hope that your dreams might come true?
I'd be interested to hear your thoughts, if you've the inclination to share them.
