Life is like a good black and white photograph, there’s black, there’s white, and lots of shades in between.
A little different today. None of my own photography in this entry. Black and White photography, like olives for many people is an acquired taste for some. Don’t mean any disrespect to ANY photographers that shoot exclusively in Black and White, but Black and White doesn’t appeal to me.
That doesn’t mean there aren’t photos taken in Black and White that I don’t like. There are shades of grey in everything, whether it be spirituality, religion, God whatever. Nothing is ALL Black or ALL White.
Let’s take each of these examples and see if we can shed some light on them.
Religion:
I’m guilty myself of seeing Religion in Black and White. I’ll be honest. I DO tend to put Catholicism into a box. I should take a lesson from a recent post I wrote called:
God in a Box. Religion whether it be Catholicism, Buddhism, whatever, they have things that are difficult for someone to understand. The original concept of Religion was to bring people together regardless of their differences and even if only for a short time to set aside those differences and embrace them instead. Pray to our common God. See the shades of grey in the Black and White.
NOTHING is ALL Black!
NOTHING is ALL White!
I think the sooner we all understand this the sooner we can move forward.
God:
God is NOT one thing to all people. There is the religious God. The God that should be feared as in a God Fearing community. I don’t believe that God exists anymore. In fact I have doubts THAT God EVER existed. He was made up by people who didn’t understand that God is all loving, always was and always will be. There is a distinct shade right there. Unfortunately, there is still a vast community that believes in a God that should be feared, a God who punishes.
I have news for you:
God does NOT punish!
God should NOT be feared!
God loves EVERYONE!
God IS love!
See the shades of grey in the Black and White.
NOTHING is ALL Black!
NOTHING is ALL White!
Spirituality:
I am far more spiritual then religious. See? I’m already painting Religion in Black and White. I can’t help it. I’ve been so programmed during my life to see Religion in those two colors. Spirituality is sometimes boxed in with the New Age Movement and that is sometimes seen in a negative light. Once again, those people who box things in are seeing things in Black and White.
The sooner we stop boxing life in, and start seeing the shades of grey, the sooner we can move forward, the sooner we can take the next evolutionary leap. What do I believe the next leap will be? It will include a spiritual as well as a physical movement. It won’t happen until we understand that Spirituality means more then simply believing there is a power greater than ourselves. We’re going to have to set aside all of our religious hatred, all of our discriminatory practices, all our our bias.
Are you willing to do that?
Are you ready to stop boxing life in?
Are you ready to stop boxing God in?
Are you ready to stop boxing Religion in?
See the shades of grey in the Black and White.
NOTHING is ALL Black!
NOTHING is ALL White!
Be happy! Be Well! Be Positive!
Blessings to you.
—
Chris
