Well, I drove up the driveway after a long day at work. Lo and behold... My house had grass. I left this morning and had trees, shrubs, and curbing, but lots of empty dirt. I damn near teared up. Instead I jumped out of my car and approached my landscaper with a non-chalantness that would give GW (king of stupid swagger) a woody.
I told him it looked great and was pleased with his work. He was doing a few final things with the sprinkling systems and hung around for about 15 more minutes. As he drove away I rushed out the back door and danced a silly jig on my newly sodded backyard. The new house is done. I will post some pix later (must share joy).
Now, why should I bother you with this little personal disclosure of simple pleasure? Here is why... I love nature. I did not have this love and curiosity as a religious person. It seemed that, for me at least, religion dulled my senses and stole my joi de vivre. AS my moniker suggests, I am very much a heretic. I have no respect for authority of any kind. My motto is put up or shut up. If your point of view has merit, it will support itself with reason.
I grew up on the LDS faith. I was taught, from birth, that once the bishop, stake president, seventy, general authority, or Prophet spoke the thinking was done. For the damage that this one insidious and disease-ridden idea has wrought, I will, forever, detest that ridiculous cult. IT is a virus that poisons the mind and saps the soul of the joy of existence and curiosity. Repugnant.
Now, don't let it be said that I discriminate against only the LDS faith. All religions are just poorly articulated pyramid schemes. All faiths sell you the invisible/non-existent fear of judgment, hell and damnation. Then, they sell you the cure for the disease which they heaped upon you, faith in god. Both are anathema to humanity and truth.
So, how does one reconcile that family and others close adhere to this system of destruction? Simple, life allows us choices. One can courageously ask the questions, or fearfully accept the bullshit shoveled into our empty heads by others. I don't have to like the BS itself to respect one's right to choose that path. It is only the children who are victims. A child's tabula rasa (blank mind) has not developed the tools required to reason, think, and doubt. Therefore everything religious poured into their minds is disgusting to me. I will challenge the brainwashing of a child at every opportunity. It is understood, in the end, that all the efforts on my part may have no lasting effect, but it is the right thing to do. Something of a Sisyphean task I am finding out.
In the meantime I will sit amid the wondrous smells, sights, sounds, and textures of nature around me and thank those who took time to give me the gift of doubt, question, and reason.
HH
4 comments:
Congrats on the new yard. Mom says it looks great. I'd challenge your "love of nature" as being manifest through a love of grass and landscaping--i.e. domesticated nature, but I definately can relate to your "joi de vivre" being at odds with religion. And cheers to your Sisyphean efforts to ensure that children aren't deprived of an appreciation of nature via anti-nature religous propoganda.
Can't wait 'till Thanksgiving to see the new place.
:0) In answer to your question, my friend, Crudo is basically Italian sashimi. It's raw fish, served Italian-style, encumbered with very little of anything except the simplest seasonings, such as sea salt, olive oil, fresh pepper, or a light mustard sauce...
There's this restaurant in Manhattan that's owned by famed chef Mario Battali where they specialize in Italian seafood, and particularly in crudo. I've been there once before and it was incredible... the crudo was just so fresh and delicious. So were all of the cooked dishes we ate! Incredible. We're going back for my birthday. It's somewhat expensive, but everything in New York is, plus it's a good birthday treat. The restaurant is called Esca. This is from their web site:
"At Esca you can eat the most sought after Pacific Ocean delicacies along side Fluke that Dave caught on his day off. The menu changes daily and is driven by the fish markets of the world and the farms of Dave's friends. Esca is the place where you can have stunning raw fish, called crudo in Italian, an incredible bowl of pasta and then a Mediterranean Branzino cooked in sea salt. Esca is the best of Italian coastal cooking with access to the world's greatest fish."
While I can't quite generate the same kind of contempt you have for religion as the whole enterprise seems more ambiguous and more difficult to predict its impact than you portray, I do understand your concerns and share many of them. Earlier this month I finished Doubt: A History by Jennifer Michael Hecht, a book you might check out, which helped confirm my identity as a doubter. I wrote a short post on it here: http://counterintuitiverundonotwalk.blogspot.com/2006/11/red-streaked-doubting-angel.html
In Doubt we trust,
Ron
Ron,
Nice to hear from you. Just give it time... the contempt takes a while. *wink*.
I appreciate the reading reccomendation. I have it now reserved at the Library. You may enjoy "The end of faith" by Sam Harris. His "Letter to a Christian Nation" is currently on the best-seller list.
I am slowly coming to the conclusion that I was a born doubter. I never really bought in to it all, even with significant coercien from my birth. Perhaps there is a "belief" gene and I simply don't have it? I have learned that it is easy to stop doubting when tangible incentives are high enough.
I just can't wrap my head around the possiblity that something could be comforting and beneficial, and yet be untrue. I think that gaining wisom is not just discovering what is true, but also eliminating those ideas that I hold that are false as well.
I see your wonderful mother many days. She is great at her work! I am often amazed at her patience and enthusiasm for the students in her care. You see, it is examples like she, that make me wish to believe. However, I don't want to believe... I want to know (which is the exact opposite).
Best Wishes,
HH
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