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Friday, January 19, 2018

Deeper Spiritual Meanings

When I was in the second grade, I looked up at the clear blue sky one day and wondered how far was it that I was seeing. I asked my dad how far did it go. He responded, “If you found the end, what would be after that?” I took this and mulled it over and over for a long time and realized that the sky would necessarily go on forever and ever. Indeed, this contemplation of infinity became a favorite thing to contemplate.

I, also, believed in Santa Claus. Indeed, I was one of the last in my age group to realize that he wasn’t real. I had just learned to read the clock in school and was gaining an appreciation of time. Then, on Christmas Eve, the local newsman showed a caricature of Santa making steady progress around the world from east to west. Suddenly, I realized how fast he’d have to be making deliveries in order to achieve these magical results. After much consideration, I finally asked my dad if Santa was real. He wisely told me that Santa represented the Spirit of Giving. This gave me a valuable insight.

Later on, while in a Baptist summer bible camp, I became familiar with stories of the Holy Bible. The spirituality of the New Testament rang true; but, the genocide and mayhem of a vengeful God in the Old Testament made me decide that I didn’t believe in that kind of Supreme Being. My love of Jesus carried me on through life until I realized that the Old Testament was not to be taken literally. It reflected the highest level of humanity’s group consciousness at that time. The New Testament gave us the “Final Commandment” of Thou Shalt Love Thy Neighbor As Thyself.

God’s Love is Infinite. The only limiting factor is us. Loving Thyself is very difficult, because we are not talking about the self-love of a narcissist. We are talking about the ‘genuine’ forgiveness and compassion of a truly self-actualizing and loving person.