BigFella, I know about the power that surges within us, but I do think that some of our environment has a lot to do with how we identify that power within us. Even environment is questionable because children brought up in the same household can all be different in how they look at the world, and how they react to the world. I don’t have to go any further than my own upbringing to realize this. There was just my brother and I. He was three years older than me. There was no religion taught to us by our parents. My dad was baptized Roman Catholic and I don’t know if my mother was even baptized. Anyway, the religion I received was at a Baptist Sunday School and Vacation Bible School that neighbors took me to. My dad wasn’t on the scene much as he served in the military during World War II and then after he was discharged my mother divorced him. So from ages 5-8 he wasn’t around and after that I rarely saw him. When I did, he was usually drunk. My brother turned out to be a drunk and I didn’t. Go figure. My dad was like Jekyll and Hyde when he drank, but my brother acted mellow. My husband was the biggest influence on me as far as religion. We were high school sweethearts and so I attended his church. We married young. He became a minister. So much of what I learned about my faith life was influenced by him until I came onto my own. I’m so glad that we both changed our thinking before his death. Bishop Spong had a lot to do with that. In fact, we changed so much our children thought we’d gone off the "deep end." I don’t know if we will ever know how we would be without an outside influence. (The book by Rudyard Kipling, “Mobley of the Jungle” comes to mind). Even self-awareness or self-consciousness doesn’t always bring about love. Animals are pretty protective of their offspring, but when the time comes the offspring are left on their own. We, as humans, do have a streak in us that might be violent if we were threatened, and yet do we learn love? I think it is within us, but we just have to learn how to tap into it.
Whomever, or whatever created how we are will never be answered. We do speculate don’t we? I like to think that the creator is within me and he gave me everything I need to be a good, loving person. Judith |
