Hopeful Thinking - Saturday, August 19, 2017 - On love and light

    I believe we are made of two things: love and light. Perhaps that sounds like wispy new-age speak, but my personal sense of faith tells me that love is the directive force in the universe. Love is what informs the crafting of all that is. In this thinking, the atoms themselves have assembled according to the greater intent of something larger than they.

    And of light—science concludes that we are but light conforming into the appearance of matter. Everything we see is literally made of light. In fact, it’s light reflecting off of light that we actually perceive with our eyes. Which are, of course, made themselves of light.

    To the second ingredient, love. Perhaps love is actually a thing with substance. What’s interesting to me is that people can’t define God any better than they can define love. Ask someone what love is and you’ll get an answer that is clear only for someone who also knows what love is and can read between the lines of words that do no justice. The same is true for God. The words feel like they come close, but describe more of the soft edges of truth than truth itself. What if the reason we have such a hard time describing them is because they are actually the same thing? Does God have substance?

    We try to concretize God in the same way we like to make rules about love. But that is the true meaning of idolatry. That’s why it’s on the list of ‘commandments.’ These things cannot—should not—be fixed in stone. The more we try to do it, the more frustrated we become. The more we cling to our islands of contrived reality, the fewer people are welcome upon them. Stop trying so hard to make sense of the world. That’s not the point of why we are here.

    Again, I believe we are made of two things: love and light. We are the literal intersection of science and spirit, but we pit these two ideas against one another when they actually support the other’s existence entirely. And now that old way of thinking feels like it is tearing us apart. Because we know better and are rebelling against old rules being forced upon a new age.

    It’s why we see what we see in the world today. We have matured enough as a society to recognize the error of concretizing creation. It cannot be fixed in stone any more than light or love or God. We are much freer than we are comfortable admitting. It’s terrifying to think because it feels untethered. But freedom still coexists with belonging. Individuality still lives within the framework of unity. We are many, but we are one. We are free as a photon, but choose to restrain and refine our light for a greater purpose. Much like a laser.

    When looking at the world and all its apparent turmoil, remember one thing: you are connected to it. You have an invisible influence over how things work out. Reach inside that awareness. It will make you feel better. It will influence the attitude of those around you. It will show in the way you choose your words. It will have a ripple effect that will vibrate throughout the universe.