TIME FOR ME TO DIE NOW. SHOULD I USE MY FAITH OR YOURS?

A few folks have recently mistaken my cautious and occasionally caustic skepticism for something else, and made comments about my “lack of faith.” Their opinions stemmed from things like my having doubts about the existence of a creator God, or priests being able to change the weather, or physically literal virgin births, or materially visible flying angels—as well as a few lesser complaints about my not knowing all the words to religious songs, protocol for rituals, and so on. But there are different kinds of faith, Amigas. Whether yours is based on fantasy or truth is none of my business. I assure you that mine is real enough for me. I am currently living nowhere, with liver cancer that will kill me in 5 minutes (or weeks, or months, or whatever), and clueless as to what will happen next--either before or after death. Nonetheless, I seem to be more comfortable in this tenuous position than most people are in their everyday lives—and I have faith that no matter what happens or when, Universal forces and my own Karma will account for everything working out just fine. Faith takes many shapes and forms, Amigos. When you can face homelessness and death with a smile, confidence, and a degree of joy, then you can start telling me about the importance of believing that penguins hitchhiked from the South Pole to join Noah on his boat in the Middle East, or that a Buddhist priest with none but benevolent intentions made a flood happen, or how Moses parted the Red Sea, or that Jesus/Buddha/ Mohammed/Zoroaster, L. Ron Hubbard or anyone else was the singular only person in touch with the truth, or whatever else you believe in. I don’t blindly “believe” anything. Instead I try to understand. I, likewise, don’t worship—but rather try to consistently practice what has been understood. That’s certainly faith, and even though it may not be someone else's particular variety of faith, it works well for many of us. “The truth is more important than the facts.” Frank Lloyd Wright p.s. As long as I have your attention, and considering the real possibility that I'll be gone before I make another post, here are a few more ideas that I have been trying to make clear to people for decades. One last try can't hurt. 1-We become what we put our attention on. Everyone knows that the answer is love, but all the attention goes to money, sex, worry,

drugs, fantasy life, other psychological painkillers, and material acquisition. Nothing wrong with these things. They are fun. But it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see just how badly our screwed up priorities have affected every living thing. If we would simply pay more attention to what is most important, as any sane person would in any circumstance, what a difference it would make! 2-No god, no government, and no amount of wealth is going to save you or the planet. The fabric of reality is made up only of the individual stitches that compose it. We are those stitches. Unless each stitch itself maintains a high quality, the fabric is going to suck--and disintegrate. 3-In accord with #2 above-Wars are not altogether the fault of the governments and corporations that promote them. A war cannot take place without the compliance of the soldiers who join in it--and there is always a higher-ground (if not easy) option for them. There are a lot more of these "one last try" ideas, but I'm tired now. Hopefully I will get to post some more. In case not, goodbye and I love you. Don't take any shit from yourself. Be well, Tenzin jahbegood@hotmail.com www.fearlesspuppy.info