This was such a beautifully written and thoughtfully meandering piece that really touched my heart. You so beautifully captured how complex humans are, how we are capable of such horrors and such transcendent selflessness too and the enigma of it all. I have thought before that maybe I believe in God because of what divinity shows us about humanity. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and writing!
As someone who says my faith is in humanity, which means I get my heart broken regularly, I appreciate how you talk about God. Even if I don’t use that language, your grappling resonates.
We hold so much duality, as a collective and individually. The spectrum of how we treat each other feels vast; the mystery behind our relational experiences feels unknowable and unnameable. Thank you for reflecting openly and publicly, I'm feeling particularly affirmed and validated and less alone in my thoughts! Loved this part especially: "I find it useful to believe in something celestial, because there’s nothing I love more in this world than other human beings. I am so in love with all that we can be— tender huggers, elicitors of laughter, creators of art in all its forms, designers of skyscrapers and layer cakes and arpeggios— that I find it helpful to imagine that there is something shared and divine in all of us."
Love this piece too, Garrett. Nothing like being a parent to see how our own predilections for good or evil can manifest in a matter of seconds, and to recall how we felt at the same ages as our kids are. Constant personal growth, as God / evolution did indeed give our brains free will to choose in every moment.
Beautiful piece. Sometimes we long for that God that Job knew and yelled at. At moments of pain and struggling, we feel like grabbing for that personal Jesus who'll listen or the Devi who will act on our behalf to bring justice. We continue to debate details, even as we recognise our own feeble unknowing and also know that, in the end, we have to learn to rest in mystery and ambivalence. Thanks for this - and the song!!!
I love that the Job story is meaningful in all three Abrahamic religions. I think about it a lot-- less the climax where things turn out ok, but more the middle section where there's no hope of resolution. When I think about Job, my mind often pairs it with the story of the flood-- it feels like a dialogue, humans being like "God, I don't know what to do with you" and God being like "I don't know what to do with y'all."
This was such a beautifully written and thoughtfully meandering piece that really touched my heart. You so beautifully captured how complex humans are, how we are capable of such horrors and such transcendent selflessness too and the enigma of it all. I have thought before that maybe I believe in God because of what divinity shows us about humanity. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and writing!
Thanks so my, Katy. I'm so glad that it resonated so tenderly with you.
As someone who says my faith is in humanity, which means I get my heart broken regularly, I appreciate how you talk about God. Even if I don’t use that language, your grappling resonates.
I also understood the New York joke this time. 👊
So glad that grappling resonates and that the language wasn't a barrier.
We hold so much duality, as a collective and individually. The spectrum of how we treat each other feels vast; the mystery behind our relational experiences feels unknowable and unnameable. Thank you for reflecting openly and publicly, I'm feeling particularly affirmed and validated and less alone in my thoughts! Loved this part especially: "I find it useful to believe in something celestial, because there’s nothing I love more in this world than other human beings. I am so in love with all that we can be— tender huggers, elicitors of laughter, creators of art in all its forms, designers of skyscrapers and layer cakes and arpeggios— that I find it helpful to imagine that there is something shared and divine in all of us."
"the mystery behind our relational experiences feels unknowable and unnameable" YES!
Also! I just noticed you're coming to Oakland soon, I'll try to make it to one of your Bay Area events!!
It would be great to see you!
Love this piece too, Garrett. Nothing like being a parent to see how our own predilections for good or evil can manifest in a matter of seconds, and to recall how we felt at the same ages as our kids are. Constant personal growth, as God / evolution did indeed give our brains free will to choose in every moment.
Thank you Nancy. It was so great talking last week.
Yes, it was great talking to you. And I've been reading your book all weekend. Digging it and relating to it a lot.
Great essay. Thank you
Thank you Kate!
Beautiful piece. Sometimes we long for that God that Job knew and yelled at. At moments of pain and struggling, we feel like grabbing for that personal Jesus who'll listen or the Devi who will act on our behalf to bring justice. We continue to debate details, even as we recognise our own feeble unknowing and also know that, in the end, we have to learn to rest in mystery and ambivalence. Thanks for this - and the song!!!
I love that the Job story is meaningful in all three Abrahamic religions. I think about it a lot-- less the climax where things turn out ok, but more the middle section where there's no hope of resolution. When I think about Job, my mind often pairs it with the story of the flood-- it feels like a dialogue, humans being like "God, I don't know what to do with you" and God being like "I don't know what to do with y'all."
That's Devi, Hindu great (and often punitive) goddess btw, deffo not Devil. Just realised possibilities for mis-reading!