Random Musings and Other Distractions - One

by David A. Cronin

One of my all-time favorite quotes is from one of my all-time favorite books: Illusions, The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah by Richard Bach. The quote is "Everything in this book may be wrong." To me, this speaks of great wisdom. To be willing to entertain the possibility that what one perceives, what one holds to be truth at any one moment, may actually be something worth discarding. It's kind of like throwing all your beliefs against the wall to see what sticks and what doesn't, what works and what falls away.

Several years ago I worked for a newspaper. For one series of articles I interviewed all the local clergy and asked them the same question, "Where do you, as one of the spiritual leaders of our community, go when you are in need of inspiration?" The answers were as varied as the faiths. One thing I noticed, however, is that all of the ministers, priests and rabbis spoke with awe when it came to the mysterious connection between humanity and the divine. How that connection played itself out depended on the tenets of the particular faith, but that childlike wonder and respect for that mystery were the same. I have often wondered if an alien species came to Earth who could only sense emotion, who knew nothing of intellect or dogma, would see us as having one faith.

One other experience that came from my interviews with all the clergy was a lesson on listening. I frequently had to leave messages explaining my intensions for the article before I actually spoke with the priest, rabbi, etc. One of the ministers returned my call and said, "So I hear you are looking for inspiration." I explained that I wasn't looking for inspiration for myself but rather where he found his.

We met at the pre-arranged time and after getting my recording equipment set up he says, "So, you have come seeking inspiration." Again I explain to him what I was looking for. For what seemed like a very long time he just sat there, looking into my eyes, as if measuring how far to push what he felt in his gut. He then smiled and proceeded to answer the question as I had presented it to him.

The funny thing is that he was absolutely correct and the only one of the group who picked up on it. I was looking for inspiration in my life. It was my wrestling with inspiration that gave me the idea for the series. This experience has made me aware of when people ask certain types of questions they may be actually grappling with that same question for themselves. I have found that, occasionally, asking a question back to someone has been far more helpful than any answer I could possibly give.

People sometimes say that if they could live their life over again they would change one thing or another. How do we know we aren't living our lives over again now? Perhaps we are and have many times; just continuing until we find the courage to do the things we know in our hearts we need to do.

David A. Cronin is the Content Manager for New Age Cities. David welcomes your Questions and Comments; he can be reached at "content@newagecities.com".

If you have enjoyed this article, may we suggest the following; also from David :

	Sacred Objects
	What would you have me know ?
	Embarrassing Moments and a Girl Named Summer
	Random Musings and Other Distractions - Part I
	Random Musings and Other Distractions - Part II
	Psychic Experience and Car Maintenance
	The Empty Frame Upon the Wall
	Things I would like to be, just for a moment.
	Echoes of the Past
	The Park

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