This I Believe

At church this month (First Unitarian, Rochester) we are being asked by our ministers to clearly define our beliefs. So, here goes for my second or third try:

I believe that there is no destination in life. Any arrivals on the journey are stop-overs. The important thing on the journey is not how much you carry with you, or what your stop-overs look like, but your companions as you travel. Obviously, the human companions are very important--who they are, what they are like, how they treat you and one-another. Their importance in the living of a good life is why it is crucial to pay attention to them and actively appreciate each companion's unique beauty and intrinsic human value.

It is tempting to overlook the importance of my human companions when considering my non-human companions, but both deserve careful consideration and attention. By non-human companions, I don't mean pets or plants--I guess I include them in the human (or nearly so) category. No, I'm thinking of companions like Joy, Happiness, Fear, Greed, Pain, and Sorrow.

I am convinced that pain is unavoidable in life, but I can choose to pretend that it does not travel with me as I go. I believe shying away from pain is what makes me choose fear, greed, hatred or addiction as life companions: they are willing allies in keeping the pain at bay. All of these, in turn, separate people from the joy and happiness they hope to have accompany them on the journey. If I make peace with pain and sorrow, accepting them as reliable companions on the way, I have little need to fall back on the self-destruction implicit in the other four and their ilk. I also open the door of my heart to receive the joy and happiness I might run across amidst the pain that life does hold.

When I can leave behind fear, greed and hatred, then I have the energy and willingness to be generous with people--to be able to help others without concern over what their return to me might be. When I am caught up in denying the pain that lurks in my past, it takes all my energy just to keep that out of my heart and mind.