Sidewalk Bends

A mind without the heart is like an ego unfettered. A soul without the heart is like a memory without a reference point. A spirit without a heart is like a plane without a pilot. A body without the heart is like a conscience without direction.

When the faculties of the mind try to define, it can only do so with the tools given to it by the heart and soul. By itself it is a like a child who has realized his own existence for the first time. It seeks to be seen, and to define all that it experiences. The concept of evil cannot not enter the heart without judgment from the mind.

The heart accepts, while the mind distinguishes. All differences are perceived, the difference between truths, between light and dark, and all that is good and all that is bad. The heart’s embrace heals all differences. No definition by man, whether entered through the heart, spirit, soul, or mind can change that which is all, and that which cannot be defined.

No matter how much we try to confine the heart, the conscious mind, will of the spirit, or emotional body, it’s connection to the essence that is life, is all encompassing.

Man would call himself complicated, and made of many parts. By himself he is nothing, but when broken down to his essence he is like a tiny version of the universe. Like a walking contradiction we seek to define ourselves. And when we can release those definitions and see past the confines of the words and models by which we try to wrap our minds around life and existence itself, we can then see the heart working in unison with the mind, spirit, soul and body. We can then see our true selves.

Bound leather.
Parchment paper.
Saints of men.

Stains of time.
Words warped.
Intentions lost.

Guidance sought.
Warped minds.
Confused soul.

Stay true to your heart. Stay true to yourself. In the face of pressure, in the house of another, do not judge. Accept as you wish to be accepted. Love as you wish to be loved. Compromise not the essence of your soul, but allow another to be.

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I am a Sufi.
I am a Jew.
I am a Christian.
I am a Buddhist.
I am Hindi.
I am you.

I am a man.
I am a woman.
I am you.

I am a teacher.
I am a preacher.
I am a lawyer.
I am a servant.
I am a slave.
I am you.

I am creation.
I am destruction.
I am you.

I am you, becoming me.

If Jesus were alive today in some place on Earth, would you be ready to hear his message? Would you run in fear for the life you currently lead, or would you stand up and say “This is who I am.” Would you be ready to hear his message, even if it didn’t sound quite like yours? Would you lose respect for him if he was not quite who you thought him to be? What if he were less than perfect and made the same mistakes in this life we all too often are guilty of making? What if in his youth, he was an unruly child who stole and made life for his parents’ difficult? What if during part of his life he was addicted to drugs or alcohol? What if he was an un-kept man, who live behind a building? What if the company he kept included murders and rapists? What if he stole for an occasional meal? Would you still love Jesus? Would you give him the time of day? Would you offer him a place to stay or a place to lie? Would you know him if you saw him? What if a part of Jesus walked in every man and woman? Would you extend your hand to all who came to you and even to those who walked away? What would you do?

Is praying five times a day more important or is our relationship with God more important? Is fasting and abstaining from certain foods and activities more important, or is our relationship with God more important? Is making a pilgrimage to a holy site more important, or is our relationship with God more important? Is tithing and giving a certain percentage of our income more important, or is it the intent that drives the giving more important? In many religions there are rituals that we follow. Some are done because they are deemed as laws handed down by God. Some are done because it has been done for centuries. And still some are done because religious leaders say they should be done. How do we know who is right? Everyone has been following the same way for as long as anyone can remember, so how can it be any different? Could it be that the actions themselves are not so important, but instead it is the intent that drives them?

When we pray or meditate is the reason to ask for something for ourselves or for someone else, or is it to give ourselves to God? In prayer do we not bear ourselves to God? Do we not unload our worries and give our thanks for the life we live and the things that are given to us? Do we not ask for guidance and perhaps assistance in our daily lives? In doing these things, are we not building a relationship with God?

When fasting or abstaining from sex, do we do these things because it is said we should? What is the purpose? Is it not to remind us of the many blessings that God has given us and also of the many distractions that divert us from Him? Is it not to show us that if we build a proper relationship with God that nothing can distract us, neither the temptation of physical gratification, or the hunger pangs that our body might feel?

When giving to the poor, does one do it because they are made to do it? Is it done out of obligation or out of the kindness and generosity of one’s heart? If a person gives and then counts their losses, are they giving freely for lack of want, or out of the expectation of a divine reward? In giving freely, are we not reminded of our own blessings? In giving freely, are we not reminded that the shoe could be on the other foot?

Instead of blindly following rituals and laws written by men long before we can ever remember, perhaps it’s time to ask why we do the things we do? Perhaps it’s time to build our own relationship with God. Instead of chastising others for how they choose to worship God, perhaps it’s time to start looking at ourselves.

Minarets are no more a symbol of extremist Islam, than church bells are a symbol of extremist Christianity. We see what we choose to see. Our fears drive us to seclusion. You cannot call yourself a Christian and then hide in church. You cannot call yourself a Muslim and then hide inside a mosque. You cannot call yourself a Jew and then hide in a synagogue. We cannot be close to God/Allah and then build walls that separate us from all others. We cannot be close to God/Allah and then call ourselves the chosen. God is at your doorstep, would you turn him away?

I cannot stop writing and I do not know why. A friend asked me to write and all that was said to me were three words. I thought about these words and all that I could think of is, we do it to ourselves. We do it to ourselves. Today the world seems chaotic. Some say it always has been, but we are just more aware of it because we are bombarded by the media. We all see ourselves spiraling towards some future we do not know. Some of us can see the poor decisions our nation’s leaders may make. We see the infighting and we ask ourselves why they can’t behave better. They are like children. We see the wars and the hate between Muslims and Jews, between Muslims and Christians, and between Christians and Jews, and we ask ourselves why they can’t behave better. They are like children. We are quick to spot the errors in other people’s ways, and yet we fail to look at our own short comings.

We are in this together, you and I. We share this world. We may never meet. You may never even know my name, and yet we still share this world. You might think my words ramble or that I am a foolish person who has gone out of his mind. That may be so, but we still share more than most will ever realize. This life is much more than our actions. It is our thoughts. It is our feelings. It is our past and it is our future. Others may destroy this world, but they alone will not answer for their actions. We all will answer. We all will answer because we are in this together. Whether by choice or by fate, we are in this together.

Divide and Conquer.

The world is divided. We are divided based on the country we choose to pay homage. We are divided based on our language and our culture. We are divided based on our religion. We are divided by what we choose to call God/Allah. We are divided by the wants of our mind and our heart. We are divided and yet we have no one else to blame but ourselves.

We choose sides and yet we have no idea what side it is that we really play on. We say we follow God’s laws, and yet we would honor our country before we would honor God. We say we are good Christians, Muslims, or Jews, and yet we would hold our prophets above God Himself. We say we are obedient children and yet we squabble over the scraps of a world full of illusions. We claim that we are without want except for God’s love, and yet we pray to the mighty dollar. We say in God we trust, but only when times get rough. We are divided and yet we have no one else to blame but ourselves.

It has become fashionable as of late to wear t-shirts or to display stickers on one’s car that say “What Would Jesus Do?” Maybe we should worry less about what Jesus would do in a given situation, or how much one can quote scripture, and instead listen more to what our own hearts have to tell us? People are so concerned with appearing to be good and pious, that they would sell their own souls in the process. They wear smiles on their faces and scripture on their t-shirts, but their hearts are closed to those who would ask for help. Their hearts are closed to those who would question their sincerity and to those who would dare walk a different path.

So what would Jesus do? I don’t know what Jesus would do. I would hope he would love and accept all, even those who did not believe in him, nor his ways. All I know is what I feel from my heart and what my mind tells me. And though it is hard enough to follow the compass of my own heart, it will not betray me. It will not peal off like a sticker, or fade away like some fad. It simply will be, without judgment. So rather than ask, “What Would Jesus Do,” maybe we should ask, “What does my heart tell me is right?, or “What would God have of me?”