I remember a time when my beliefs about climate change were jarred by learning something new. I was at a conference on climate at the university in Orono. The head of the climate center there, a well-respected climate scientist, presented information on the history of climate over the last several hundred thousand years. He showed a graph, indicating that the climate fluctuated over long periods, which led to the various ice ages and warming periods. The shocker was that he showed where we were on the graph and pointed out that we were at a point where we were overdue for another ice age. Thinking about what this could mean for the current climate debate made me wonder about my previous strong assertions re': the impact of climate change.
I am becoming to believe that one of the keys to leading with love is always being willing to question your beliefs, even your deepest held ones. Beliefs are important, but it’s almost like we need to renew our vows with them every once in a while.
I am glad you have started conversation. Your reflections and awareness encourage me to be more curious; and more importantly, I am reconsidering assumptions and opinions with which I had become too complacent. i.e. I drove by the VFW Post in Wiscasset on my way back from Ames hardware and felt a curiosity in my body about what their meetings were like, could I join them, aren’t I too a veteran of our nation’s foreign wars though I chose to be a conscientious objector, what are their stories, could I talk about mine.
Thanks for wrestling with pain, hope, anger, power, love, gender, science, and stories. Ah, stories. The ones we tell ourselves, the ones that challenges us, the surprising turns an old story can take, the shock of realizing that in some of our best stories, we made up events, people, and atmosphere to suit hidden needs. Thank goodness for friends who disabuse us of our grasp of truth and detail. And for those that enjoy the stories that we create even if they aren’t true to what happened then and there.
I hope we can look at faith too, not as dogma, answer, or institution. I don’t have words yet. I think that faith is a part of the ecology of our exploring. Though the word ‘G_D’ has been sufficiently defiled to make conversation extremely difficult, as in debating if there is or is not a Supreme Being or a Higher Power, I wrestle with an other who does not fit into my world. I am steadied by an unchanging, unhasting who is silent as light. I experience being held by love, a comfort and an insistent challenge to more.
Thank you so much Jon! I am starting to think a lot about faith, spirituality, and religion in the context of love and fear. One question I am holding, is there an area more love and fear present itself more vividly than faith, spirituality, and religion?
I’m wary of attributing too much focus on f, s & r, or setting them apart from other dimensions of human awareness. I think that’s often confused discourse. Comparisons, as you have written, start us down a well worn and limiting path.
Theology was once known as the queen of the sciences. I like to think of it as one window through which humans have looked and by which they sought meaning.
I like all the windows we have. I like that we get together to eat, sing, cry and laugh. I am missing dancing like I used and excited for a few new moves. I find God alongside us all whether we see or not.
I’m 100% certain that I’m guilty of finding evidence to back something but not searching TOO hard to find countervailing evidence (especially with strong science credentials). Anyone can run an experiment. Not all methodologies or analyses are sound.
Compounding this: our human brains are naturally lazy (aka energy conserving). Once we land on a belief, it’s hard to shift ourselves. We can ignore what’s in front of us . . . like a frog in warm H2O slowly being boiled alive.
A plug for smart use of AI: prompted well, it can help us parse credible vs. junk science AND the associated unknowns.
It is really hard to hold two seemingly opposing facts as both true. And at the same time, it might be one of the most important things for us to do as humans.
I remember a time when my beliefs about climate change were jarred by learning something new. I was at a conference on climate at the university in Orono. The head of the climate center there, a well-respected climate scientist, presented information on the history of climate over the last several hundred thousand years. He showed a graph, indicating that the climate fluctuated over long periods, which led to the various ice ages and warming periods. The shocker was that he showed where we were on the graph and pointed out that we were at a point where we were overdue for another ice age. Thinking about what this could mean for the current climate debate made me wonder about my previous strong assertions re': the impact of climate change.
I am becoming to believe that one of the keys to leading with love is always being willing to question your beliefs, even your deepest held ones. Beliefs are important, but it’s almost like we need to renew our vows with them every once in a while.
Jeremy,
I am glad you have started conversation. Your reflections and awareness encourage me to be more curious; and more importantly, I am reconsidering assumptions and opinions with which I had become too complacent. i.e. I drove by the VFW Post in Wiscasset on my way back from Ames hardware and felt a curiosity in my body about what their meetings were like, could I join them, aren’t I too a veteran of our nation’s foreign wars though I chose to be a conscientious objector, what are their stories, could I talk about mine.
Thanks for wrestling with pain, hope, anger, power, love, gender, science, and stories. Ah, stories. The ones we tell ourselves, the ones that challenges us, the surprising turns an old story can take, the shock of realizing that in some of our best stories, we made up events, people, and atmosphere to suit hidden needs. Thank goodness for friends who disabuse us of our grasp of truth and detail. And for those that enjoy the stories that we create even if they aren’t true to what happened then and there.
I hope we can look at faith too, not as dogma, answer, or institution. I don’t have words yet. I think that faith is a part of the ecology of our exploring. Though the word ‘G_D’ has been sufficiently defiled to make conversation extremely difficult, as in debating if there is or is not a Supreme Being or a Higher Power, I wrestle with an other who does not fit into my world. I am steadied by an unchanging, unhasting who is silent as light. I experience being held by love, a comfort and an insistent challenge to more.
Foreward,
Jon
Thank you so much Jon! I am starting to think a lot about faith, spirituality, and religion in the context of love and fear. One question I am holding, is there an area more love and fear present itself more vividly than faith, spirituality, and religion?
I’m wary of attributing too much focus on f, s & r, or setting them apart from other dimensions of human awareness. I think that’s often confused discourse. Comparisons, as you have written, start us down a well worn and limiting path.
Theology was once known as the queen of the sciences. I like to think of it as one window through which humans have looked and by which they sought meaning.
I like all the windows we have. I like that we get together to eat, sing, cry and laugh. I am missing dancing like I used and excited for a few new moves. I find God alongside us all whether we see or not.
Happy to talk further as you might like.
I would love to sit down and talk deeper about all this sometime. Better yet is around a campfire…
I’m 100% certain that I’m guilty of finding evidence to back something but not searching TOO hard to find countervailing evidence (especially with strong science credentials). Anyone can run an experiment. Not all methodologies or analyses are sound.
Compounding this: our human brains are naturally lazy (aka energy conserving). Once we land on a belief, it’s hard to shift ourselves. We can ignore what’s in front of us . . . like a frog in warm H2O slowly being boiled alive.
A plug for smart use of AI: prompted well, it can help us parse credible vs. junk science AND the associated unknowns.
It is really hard to hold two seemingly opposing facts as both true. And at the same time, it might be one of the most important things for us to do as humans.