Last week we shared a delightful brunch in a bustling café overlooking the Pacific Ocean with two beloved friends.
One, researching for a book, eagerly asked me “what is your philosophy of life?’
My answer was that I don’t have one.
My friend, who knows me well, seemed flummoxed.
“Of course you do! You must have a philosophy! Everyone has one!”
I assured her I didn’t. Philosophies are things people have. I long ago discarded them as ineffectual and unnecessary.
She seemed baffled by my answer. “But that’s what you do! It’s your job, so to speak……” she replied.
I told her that what I do is simply try to be me, the real ‘inner’ me.
And that my job, or work, is simply to express that ‘being-ness I find within’ in all I do.
“But what about Heartland retreat?” she asked.
“The retreat, I hope, encourages others to do likewise. To find and then live the person they find they already are and have always been, deep within. Nothing more, nothing less. That’s all any of us need to do – or are humanly capable of doing”.
“Well, what’s your core religious belief, then?” she asked, doggedly.
My answer was that I don’t have any particular religious belief. I don’t believe in any dogma promoted or espoused by any religious group.
“So you don’t believe in God?”
I laughed aloud: “Of course I believe in the Divine Presence! But that’s got little to do with organised religion! My core religious belief is that every religion, at its core (and freed of its misunderstood dogmas and borrowed myths) encourages everyone to be their Real Self, the Self Within, too”.
That Real Self, that Inner Self, doesn’t have anything at all: instead it is everything.
Naturally that includes love, peace, joy, bliss, gratitude, patience, tolerance, humour, gentleness, co-operation, compassion, empathy and the boundless power and livingness of Infinite Spirit.
It’s the simple answer to all the madness.
It’s reality.
It was a glorious morning by the beach. The warmth of the sun, the roar of the waves, the freshness of the breeze and the sweetness of friendship…..what more could one want?
What more would you want?
More in a week!
Love and Blessings,
Les