1.
Going West — a poem by Kristin Lueke
From the Community
going west
it's easier than
it looks. we drove
into the sun
three days
before heaven.
if there isn't a god
you couldn't tell.
I would highly recommend enjoying this short poem in the context of
’s original post (👇🏽) where she generously shares her experience of uprooting a life to move across the continent to a new home.Since reading her piece, I've been reflecting on the final stanza of her poem: "if there isn't a god, you couldn't tell."
It's easy, to take a good look around at modern life and be compelled by Stephen Fry's argument about the kind of god that would be presiding over the universe if there were one. In an interview in which Gay Byrne asks him what he would say if he were to encounter god in the after the life, he said:
Bone cancer in children? What's that about? How dare you? How dare you create a world to which there is such misery that is not our fault. It's not right, it's utterly, utterly evil. Why should I respect a capricious, mean-minded, stupid god who creates a world that is so full of injustice and pain. That's what I would say.
Now, if I died and it was Pluto, Hades, and if it was the 12 Greek gods then I would have more truck with it, because the Greeks didn't pretend to not be human in their appetites, in their capriciousness, and in their unreasonableness … they didn't present themselves as being all-seeing, all-wise, all-kind, all-beneficent, because the god that created this universe, if it was created by god, is quite clearly a maniac … utter maniac, totally selfish.
We have to spend our life on our knees thanking him? What kind of god would do that?
But it's also easy, to take a look around and notice the golden cast on the city, as the sun sets on a late summer hour. It's easy, to be delighted by the newest shoot on your Pothos plant, adding another link to the chain trailing across the floor. It's easy, to look at old photo albums and remember that you are the child of the children, of children, of children of many millennia.
It's easy, to see how your entire life has been preparing you for the challenge you now face.
It's easy, to see that we are part of something bigger than ourselves.
And if there were not a god... you couldn't tell.
I know some of you may be itching to go for me (or for Stephen Fry) in the comments. I don't think Stephen Fry is wrong. If there were a god in the pearly gates of heaven, I probably would be asking him the same things too.
But I don't think God is a character with a magic wand who lives in a gated heaven.
This had me sit in the question of... well, 'where does god live'? (and please for his/her love, do not ask The Internet.)
Maybe he/she lives in the moments when your friends help you move homes, in exchange for a measly slice of pizza. Or in the spaces between your thoughts when you're one with the blue sky. Or when you're recording bird songs (as you do) and just like that - you feel the presence of a loved one who died, in every note, every leaf rustling in the wind, every stone on the floor, and your grieving is complete.
Maybe god lives in the sadness that will never go away, in the joy that consumes you every so often, and in the mundaneness of pasta for dinner again.
2.
Dancer — a series of photographs by Raphy Mendoza
From us at Co-Create
Or maybe, god lives in dancing.
Reflecting on 'Where does god live?' reminded me of this series of photographs I took of a friend for a school project when I was about 16 or 17 years old. It was taken on a very old FUJIFILM FinePix Z10fd that has a fraction of the pixel count as today's iPhone.
I remember thinking how beautiful dancing was, and whose idea was it to create the human anatomy as it is that so allows us to express our being, our spirit, through movement.
Maybe god had something to do with it too. Maybe it's just evolution.
After all this contemplation, I'm not sure I really care. But I see there is a force greater than you or me, and there is beauty on this earth that no human can account for.
3.
On life, love and god — a quote from Bert Hellinger
From the The Library
"Life disappoints you so you stop living with illusions and see reality. Life destroys everything superfluous until only the important remains. Life doesn't leave you in peace, so you stop blaming yourself and accept everything as "is". Life will take what you have, until you stop complaining and start being thankful. Life sends conflicting people to heal you, so that you stop looking outside and start reflecting who you are inside. Life allows you to fall again and again, until you decide to learn the lesson. Life takes you off the path and presents you with crossroads, until you stop wanting to control everything and flow like a river. Life puts your enemies on the road, until you stop “reacting”. Life scares you and will scare you as many times as necessary, until you lose your fear and regain your faith. Life distances you from the people you love, until you understand that we are not that body, but the soul that contains. Life laughs at you many, many times, until you stop taking everything so seriously and you can laugh at yourself. Life breaks you into as many parts as necessary, for light to penetrate you. Life faces you rebels, until you stop trying to control. Life repeats the same message, if necessary with shouting and taps, until you finally hear it. Life sends lightning and storms, to awaken. Life humbles you and sometimes defeats you again and again until you decide to let your ego die. Life denies you goods and greatness until you stop wanting goods and greatness and begin serving. Life cuts your wings and prunes your roots, until you need no wings or roots, just disappear into the forms and your being flies. Life denies you miracles, until you understand that everything is a miracle. Life shortens your time, so you hurry to learn to live. Life ridicules you until you become nothing, nobody, so that then it becomes everything. Life doesn't give you what you want, but what you need to evolve. Life hurts and torments you until you let go of your whims and tantrums and appreciate breathing. Life hides treasures from you until you learn to go out and look for them. Life denies you God, until you see Him in everyone and everything. Life wakes you up, prunes you, breaks you, lets you down.. but trust me, that's for your best self to manifest.. until only love abides in you.”
— Bert Hellinger
This quote from Bert Hellinger strikes me as a rather nice response to Stephen Fry. And you know what else? You don’t have to believe any of it 😉.
🦋 BIG BUTTERFLY COUNT 🦋
Maybe god lives with the butterflies…
If you are in the UK, you can take part in the 'Big Butterfly Count' between the 14th July - 6th August for free 🦋
It involves finding somewhere sunny (British sunny, that is) for 15 minutes each day and counting the butterflies you see, and recording it in the app. It’s an effort to do a national survey of the status of the butterfly population, which gives early signals on challenges faced by the wildlife ecosystem as a whole.
It's a great excuse to sit outside and actually be outside. You'll have the comfort of your phone in your hand (I get you) and something to focus on mindfully.
This post showed up in my inbox immediately after another article from a different writer about doubt in faith, which felt ordained https://open.substack.com/pub/sereid/p/when-doubt-meets-love
My goodness, what an expansive and gracious and moving post...I feel bigger than before. That Hellinger quote! That beautiful question! "Where does god live?"
Thank you for giving my little poem such a warm home here, among dancing and butterflies and life. ♥️