A minister knocked on my door the other day and we had an interesting discussion including God not making a perfect world. I said if everything were perfect we would all be going nuts after two weeks because of the lack of variety and opportunity and he answered in a way no one else ever has. He said the problem is people can’t appreciate perfection. Wow, I think he is right. If we had a perfect world we could all just stop and enjoy the love we are sharing and experiencing instead of being annoyed by it.
I also had to test his intelligence further so I said I want to see if you are as smart as a fifth grader. He is a black man and several people were with him so I asked them if I showed them a photograph and they couldn’t tell if it were of me or the minister what was it a photograph of. They all looked confused, except for the minister, who said, “Our insides.” I told him he was as smart as a fifth grader. We discussed several other things too which I will save for future columns but it is a pleasure to meet a caring and enlightened soul now and then. But talking about a minister makes me think about what the term being born again means to me. I recently spoke at a high school graduation and asked the students why a graduation, which represents the end of their high school experience, is called a commencement and not a termination. And why does the Bible end in a Revelation and not a conclusion? I think life is about beginnings and when things happen to us we have to begin a new life.
I see this new life and the effect it has on the health of people and even so called incurable people becoming well when they change their lives and live their time left from their hearts and not their heads. So for me being born again is something we all need to do and to live and not see it as any exclusive or religious message. We need to save our lives by being authentic and not losing our lives to the desires of others. Kids would realize that you don’t eliminate yourself and commit suicide as the way out but that eliminating what is killing you is the way to a happy and productive life.
Let me sum it up, by saying: Be what you is and not what you ain’t ‘cause if you is what you ain’t, you ain’t what you is. Remember that and post it on the fridge.
Here is another piece of wisdom from Woody Allen. I hope this clarifies some important points about life for you. To love is to suffer, not to love is to suffer and to suffer is to suffer. To be happy is to love. To be happy then is to suffer but suffering makes one unhappy. Therefore, to be unhappy one must love, or love to suffer, or suffer from too much happiness. If you understand that then I suggest you see a therapist as soon as possible.