This is my confession of faith:
That which is real is wholly real
and fills even the gaps between
what I think seems to be real
and what I am incapable of
imagining it might be.
To divide one thing from the next
based on my limited viewpoint
denies that there is something else
capable of containing both.
What I think is the possible
limits what I can understand.
Energy does not fade away;
It changes form, perhaps, and fills
some things now, and others later.
The filling up is called living.
The emptying for another
purpose is called dying.
When I am thirsty for the truth,
a mirage does not satisfy;
but truth’s lake has different sides,
and the water from one shoreline
(though called by a different name)
is the same as from another.
It is one lake, although I can
only see the spot where I now stand.
Awareness of ability
comes with responsibility.
If I can understand this fact
but refuse to heed its lesson
I have no advantage over
those more ignorant and unable.
Without direct experience,
it is not possible to know
whether the things I have been taught
are useful or are even true.
Real meaningful experience
is rare, and always personal.
Hypocrisy means living life
as if what I believe does not
apply to me – by my actions
proving that it is not the truth.
The only sin is thinking that
I see the truth of everything.
My eyes are not that wide.
My mind is not that wise.
My heart is not that big.
I am smaller than I think.
I am less important than I would like to appear to be.
I am not in charge of everything.
I am not placed above anything.
I am exactly where I am supposed to be.
I am only made of fuel.
Something else will need that fuel when I am finished with it,
and I will give it away gladly,
having no further use for it.
This world is not a proving ground for somewhere else.
This world is not a possession to be dominated or stewarded.
This world is part of the sacred whole.
So am I. So are you.
There is no Other.
25 AUG 2003
