Okay, first of all- no, this post is not about my moral dilemma over puberty. And, no, I am not suffering from my first period. It was just eye-catching and fit the theme of the discussion.
There’s a great line said by Linus Van Pelt in It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown where he states, “There are three things I have learned never to discuss with people: religions, politics, and the Great Pumpkin”. Sound words to live by; and I try most of the time to adhere to the advice but every now and then something happens that pushes that opinionated side of me to say something. I’m all for an intelligent and honest discussion on just about anything. I revel in the dialogue and the mix of views and information.
I had to work during the Memorial Day weekend and was already dreading the twisted route I would have to take to get to there due to SMART running such a limited schedule on Sunday and Monday. I got dropped off at 10 Mile and Van Dyke at the ripe time of 7:30 am for the next leg of my journey. It was sunny enough out and I figured I’d have a nice quiet seat while I wait for the 510 to roll on by. Yeah, I was wrong again…
They must have been circling the area like a pair of buzzards looking for the next carcass to pick at. No sooner do I sit down, this car comes screeching up and I see a well-dressed man get out and walk over to the covered bus stop. My first thought was “okay he’s catching it to”- maybe heading to work or even church as it was Sunday morning. Then I see the Bible and pamphlets in his hand. That’s when the realization hit me of what was about to go down. I cringed inside and thought to myself, “Please, God, save me from your followers”.
I could have put a sock in his mouth from the start but I was like, “What the Hell, I’m game”. He approached and he was smart enough to pick up on my divided attention and acknowledged that he would be brief as he could see I was waiting on the bus. The irony is I knew inside the Goddess was smiling- she kinda likes when people share knowledge but has a wicked sense of humor about her- but I found myself praying to HIS god and thinking repeatedly “PLEASE don’t let the bus be late”. Often this is the case with SMART being at least 10 minutes behind.
He was polite enough and very well-spoken and he started talking about how with it being Memorial Day weekend and with all the wars going on that some people have begun questioning where God is. I could agree with that- to a degree. In all honesty it was a very courteous conversation from both sides. I explained that I was pagan. He was educated enough to ask me exactly what I meant by that. I explained that I practice a shamanic form of Wicca. I was very pleased with his understanding as he simply smiled and said, “Oh, okay, like Elementals?” Hmm, this guy’s done his homework so I was pleased to continue.
We had a brief conversation about how it’s easy for people to blame God, or someone else for all the troubles of the world. It’s not that God isn’t listening or has disappeared- sometimes the best things come in the form of unanswered prayers. After all isn’t it a saying that God helps those who help themselves? I said, “Look it’s like this, people say and do what they want for many different reasons- personal gain, wealth, fame, selflessness, and charity. When things go wrong and their plans fall apart the egotistical nature of humanity comes out and they need someone to blame- after all it can’t be THEIR fault. They’re perfect. Their cause is just. So we have people all over the world blaming everyone else for things going wrong. This group of men over here doesn’t like this group of men over here because they have a different god, or they have a fancier car, or more food to eat, or a bigger house.”
I looked again to the distance and could see the 510 slowly making its way up the road. ”Ah, thank you God for making it on time!” We shook hands and I hopped aboard. I had to laugh when I sat down and thought the timing of everything was just too funny and sent a status to Facebook wondering who among my friends told them where I’d be and what time I’d be there. My friends do stuff like that.
Later when I had time to mull things over I was still pondering some of the questions the conversation raised. So the plans fall apart and they can?t find a suitable person to blame and someone says, “Well, then it must mean God has left us.” This is complete bullshit. And it doesn’t matter which god or gods we?re talking about. They haven’t gone anywhere, or taken any action. Things didn’t work for a variety of reasons. Maybe it wasn’t a good plan; maybe there were conflicting x-factors on both sides of the equation; and maybe it’s just that sometimes shit just happens. Things we can’t predict or control.
The only person who had direct control over when the bus got there was the driver. God didn’t make it show up on time just to answer my prayers. The Goddess didn’t either. If it’s running behind it could be due to people getting on or off at the various checkpoints along the route thus slowing it down. Wheelchair-bound passengers take considerable time away from driving so as to get them locked in. Heavy traffic is another reason. Honestly that latter was the most plausible answer- it was early Sunday morning on a holiday weekend- therefore not as many passengers. God had nothing to do with it.
But still, therein I found the answer to our conversation. When wars happen, when soldiers die, when natural disasters occur- it’s not that God has gone anywhere. We’re each in the driver’s seat of our own life. The situations that occur in our lives do not make us who we are or shape what follows them. How we react to those situations does. No one is to blame and it certainly doesn’t mean whatever god you believe in has stopped listening.
If you’re driving to the store and you make a wrong turn getting there do you just keep going down the wrong road or do you turn around and try again. Of course, this raises some philosophical questions as well. What if you were meant to make that wrong turn? Maybe the store you wanted to go to was out of the item you wanted and it was in stock at another store down the road you ended up on. Perhaps a terrible accident was about to or did happen near your original destination.
As I write this I’m reminded of a bumper sticker that’s been around for ages: God is my co-pilot. Exactly- CO pilot. YOU are the pilot. It’s like driving somewhere using a GPS. Sometimes we follow the route and sometimes we say, “What the fuck, this thing is stupid- there’s a shorter/faster way through this section. Why’s it taking me this way?” So we grab the wheel and head down our alternate path with the GPS bitching the whole time “Off route. Recalculating Route.” So you’re happily traveling your “better” alternate route and while you sit for the next 20 minutes slowly creeping through a construction zone you’ll have time to realize that God didn’t go anywhere and none of the other drivers that you’re currently beeping at are at fault. You took the wheel and made your own choice. Good or bad it is what it is.
So the next time something doesn’t go as planned- if you want to question where God went, or who’s to blame, add your own actions into the equation. The more questions you ask the better the answer will be.
© 2010 Deep Forest Productions
