our measure of goodness

from a sweet, quietly inspiring movie entitled Chocolat:

"Listen, here's what I think. I think we can't go around measuring our goodness by what we don't do, what we deny ourselves, what we resist, and who we exclude. I think we've got to measure our goodness by what we embrace, what we create, and who we include." Pere Henri

no dictation please

A conversation with a friend {you know who you are ;-)} this week got me thinking again ... about how much many of us are concerned with what others think about us. I've given a lot of that up, but are we ever able to overcome those concerns fully? I certainly hope so.

Here's some food for thought:

"I wouldn't worry about what people thought about me so much if I realize how seldom they did." anonymous

"What people think about you is none of your business." anonymous

"You only have one life to live, and it will most certainly pass quicker than anticipated. Your life need not be dictated by others' expectations of you ... influenced by others, affected by others, inspired by others, yes ... but not dictated by others." Shelley

answers

before you read this, you need to know that i have a bad attitude this week:



so i was looking online for a specific church that states its focus is on faith and justice issues.

while i'm hopeful that this is a wonderful church, with wonderful people ... i have to wonder about a statement on the website.



"If you are searching for God or just need a safe place to get your questions answered - we welcome you here".



wow. a place to get my questions answered. the problem is that one could visit a number of other churches, groups, denominations, etc. that would give completely different answers to my same questions. what if i'm not even looking to get my questions answered ... am i still welcome there? what if i think i know (some of) the answers and want to share with them, am i welcome to give my opinion there?


seems to me that if someone/some church/some denomination/some religion, etc. has the answers (at least if they claim to have them ALL) i would want to steer clear, especially if they are not willing to dialogue.


my experience has been that the more we seek the answers, the more questions we have. and the more we ask, the less the answers "fit" the questions we are actually asking.

not sure if this makes sense ... not sure if it needs to.