As Long As I Have Music

I have heard it said that religion and politics are topics to stay away from when talking with others.  I am going out on a limb here, to share some of my thoughts. If you are offended I am sorry, that is not my intention.  I am writing about MY beliefs and am in no way suggesting others should believe the same if it doesn't work for them.

I am not a religious person in the traditional sense.  Like the song by Blood, Sweat and Tears, I swear there aint no heaven and I pray there aint no hell, that pretty much sums it up.  I attend the First Unitarian Church in Hamilton every Sunday.  This church is more humanist than deist.  Our mission statement is "To nurture each  other, serve the community and inspire action that heals the world".  I like that.  The responsibility is on us to change things in this world.  We cannot wait around for "God" to do something.   I don't intend to be blasphemous.  It's not that I don't believe in GOD
, but rather I don't believe in religion as dictated by the church.   I have no doubt that there is something out there that is greater than us.  To me it's an energy, rather than a person who sits in judgement and metes out punishment to the non believers or the sinners.   As a Unitarian I believe ALL people have worth and dignity and are deserving of salvation, in whatever form that may take.

 I also have no problem with people who believe what the Bible tells them.  I have a daughter who swears by it.  We have had many discussions about our differences and the one common ground we have is that the basis of most religions is love.  Love for one another, and love for the earth.  If you look up the golden rule, you will find various interpretations of it in all religions.

I do consider myself a spiritual person.  I feel connected to the earth and to the universe.  I am aware of the energies, and I feel the power in one way or another just about every day.  Through meditation I connect with the universe in a way that is hard to describe.  And there are various ways of meditating.   Whether it's mindfulness, being totally present in the moment,  or whether it is through a creative outlet, like painting...or singing.   I love hymns!   Unitarian hymns often have the same tune as traditional hymns but with slightly altered lyrics.

I belong to a feminist choir.  We meet once a week for rehearsals and we perform in the community at various social justice events.   Every week while I am there singing, I am transported in to another state of being.   The sounds of all of our voices blending together in harmony is magical.  And when we perform for an audience, the feeling is such a high it lasts for days afterwards.   It's spiritual for me.  It's like prayer to lift up my voice and sing.   And I sing almost all the time.  I hum. I make up silly songs with my granddaughter,  or with my friends.   No matter how tired, how sick, or how tough my day has been, I always find singing lifts me up.  Sometimes the songs start in tears, but they usually end in the sweet release of the negative energy and eventually some peace.

My wish for humanity is that we all learn to accept, not just tolerate, each person's differences, and have compassion for those who are struggling.   I can't imagine any religion that kills  people for not sharing the same beliefs, can be good for anyone.  Yeah, that seems like an obvious statement, but sadly there are those who disagree.

Open Minds, Loving Hearts, Helping Hands.   That works for me.