Why are we here?
That is the question — not “to be or not to be” (apologies to Shakespeare). You and I . . . this site . . . we already are. But why? Regardless of how we got here, we really want to know our purpose — our raison d’etre.
Why are you here?
You are a seeker. You’re not satisfied with the superficial. Easy answers annoy you. You know that there’s meaning beyond the obvious and you’re curious about what it might be. You’re an explorer, tired of maps marked with “Terra Incognita” (‘Unknown Land’). You wonder what lies behind your perception of things, aware that there’s more there than meets the eye. You know that you have a spiritual hunger, even though you’re not really sure what that means or even if there’s Anything “out there.” You can’t describe the “Higher Power” that keeps nagging at you; you only know that you’re not it. You’re convinced that you’ll never really find “It” but that, somehow, “It” is in the seeking, not the finding. It is seeking you.
Why am I here?
I’ve been seeking meaning full-time, my whole life. I’m a philosopher and a theologian. I’m a priest and mystic wanna-be. My spirituality is decidedly Christian. I’ve been alcohol- and drug-free for many years. I’m a gay man trying to make sense of being a stranger in a strange land.
I’m old enough to have “been there; done that” yet young enough to challenge myself and you and our worldview and our understanding of life and of God. With Gertrude Stein, I rejoice that, “There ain’t no answer. There ain’t gonna be any answer. There never has been an answer. There’s your answer.” I’m not looking for answers, I’m seeking only understanding.
Diversity Chart
The graphic to the right says it all: I see my world through a multi-faceted lense; each segment adds something to the picture, while it filters something out — often many things. So, I know my vision is distorted. It’s particularly warped by the world’s attempts to describe the indescribable and to encapsulate that in timeless Truth.
I’m acutely aware that all truth is essentially contextual and, therefore, for all of humanity, temporal. Since truth is always a dialogue between me and Reality, truth will only be changeless when I cease to change. I deceive myself if I think I can assume an eternal, God’s-eye view of anything. My very humanity makes that impossible.
Once again, Gertrude Stein nailed it when she said, “What is the answer?… In that case … what is the question?” I seek the question, and from there meaning will evolve.
Why is this blog here?
I want to put out there for anyone who cares (for you?) the results of my life-long explorations beyond the thresholds of meaning. The subject of my musings is just everything: including life, experience, perception, relationship, physicality, spirituality, love, mysticism, and so much more. I have learned much about the world and the people in it; I have learned much more about what’s hiding in plain sight behind the world of perception and experience — the world of Faith. If you give me the chance, I’d love to take you on a journey of exploration beyond the common categories of reason to a dimension of understanding that is as wild and untameable as the God Who keeps calling out to be found.