Liberty, God, and the Zoo

Ah, back home. Divina and I spent the weekend at my mom's house and had a lovely time. I didn't really get a chance to try out my non-opinion conversing because there were so many people at the wedding the deepest conversation I got into was "she's 16 months old" and "yes, she's a very good girl." However, I did keep right speech at the fore front of my mind the whole weekend (right speech is a buddhist principle.) On three occasions specifically, I refrained from repeating something someone else did or said because I thought first about wether or not the information would actually benefit the person I'm telling or if it would cause more suffering. I'm happy with my ability to keep my trap shut. I vow to continue this.

Today, Divina and I went to the zoo. She really enjoyed the Gibbons with their "woooo wo wo wo" song and swinging around. She also enjoyed the little kids play area where water shoots out of holes in the ground getting everyone all wet. We saw the new dolphin underwater dome; it was nice. She kept pointing at them saying "fish." She is now asleep...sigh.

Twice in the past week I let it slip that I am a non-christian and an athiest to boot. Why do I share this information with people? It only causes discomfort for both parties. However, it has got me thinking about my philosophy. Recently I took at class offered by my church (Unitarian Universalist) called Building Your Own Theology or BYOT. In it we answered five questions which would help us write a statement describing our "theology." Sometime I'll share mine with you, but for now let me tell you this: in theology I am an atheist, in philosophy I am a Taoist, in practice I am a Buddhist, and in principle I am a Unitarian Universalist. People say to me "Athiest? Surely you mean agnostic. You must believe in something." To this my answer is "Actually, I am very aware of the vocabulary. I am an athiest because I know, with every fiber of my being, that there is no god. By this I mean a creator or an external force which drives the events in the universe. Here is my logic: Everying is One. If there was a creator of the One, it would have existed before the One, which would make it separate from the One. Therefore, there can be no creator, there can only be the One." A friend asked me "How do you feel when people talk about god?" To this I said "Talk of god, to me, is poetic. Does beauty exist? It exists in our perception. When a person says a thing is beautiful it a says a lot about the status the person gives the thing. Just as atributing god to a thing says a lot about how a person views the thing. God, like beauty, exists in the heart of the beholder."

Today is our contry's Independence Day. America was founded on the belief that people should have freedom of religion, philosophy, speech...basic liberties of lifestyle and choice, so long as those things don't harm others. We are currently in danger of loosing those liberties with the rise of conservative, right wing people in power. It saddens me that people can't marry who they want to marry or build their familes in the way they want. All people are created equal, even homosexuals. Recall that not too long ago people did not have the freedom to marry a person of another race. Such an idea seems ridiculous today. I suppose I should add "liberal in politics" to my "I am" list above, but I just might alienate the remaining few. (I say this with a giggle.) On this day, count your liberties and hope your neighbor has as many or more.