Open Your Mind

I was driving this weekend and passed by a church with a sign that said the following: "Do not open your mind too much, or you might lose it." I didn't have my camera on me or I would've whipped the car around to take a picture of something I believed was an awful message to tell your congregation or the public. While maybe not in such an extreme way, I have found that many religious people express similar sentiments, as they've listened to my belief system or journey through finding one in my life. My grandmother comes to mind. But, I was born with an open mind. I believe we all are. And, I also believe that while children may need guidance through their life to protect them, they also have innate gifts of knowing that we all can learn from. I was saddened to think about the children in that church and the messages of fearing free thought that they might be receiving.

As someone going through many changes in my life, I have to admit that at times I take in more information, from more sources, than maybe I should. At times, I'm in a frantic attempt to find answers that simply may not be meant for me to find yet. Patience, listening, waiting are all necessary but incredibly difficult when we're in turmoil. I'd like to remind you that while we may all have different ways of finding our truth, our voice, our spirit, please be kind when other's use different methods of seeking than you do. Meditate. Pray. Write. Sing. Dance. Paint. Cry. Do whatever you feel called and moved to do through your life in order to discover your deep connection to humanity and creation. Remember to have compassion on those who try to steer you in the direction that worked for them, and know that they mean well...usually.

If you find that you, too, are seeking answers...may this message provide you some peace: "I beg you to have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Don't search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer..." -Rainer Maria Rilke