“All Living Things Must . . .”

A longtime friend who was a member of our church before she moved away to Oklahoma still periodically sends me provocative articles. When I taught classes, I always loved it when she was there, along with a couple of others, because they were doubters and questioners. They were unafraid to ask tough questions and hammer away at their points of view.

I can guarantee this: when these people provoked the other members of my classes, they would always have their thinking challenged, which is one of the best ways that people can grow and develop, especially in their faith.

This friend of mine sent me this quote by Alvin Conway: “All living things must grow or they will die. Adaptation to change is a characteristic of all living systems. Thus, all living things must grow, adapt, evolve, or die. Evolution is nature’s creative way of pushing living organisms to higher degrees of complexity. We adapt up, not compromise down.”

And then this morning I opened my meditation guide Living Buddha, Living Christ, which is a book written by Thich Nhat Hanh, a deceased spiritual leader of Vietnamese Buddhists. In chapter 10, “Faith and Practice,” he started with the words, “Our faith must be alive, always growing, like a tree,” which coincidentally is the heart of this blog. He ends this meditation with the words, “We must abandon our notions of God, Buddha, nirvana, self, non-self, birth, death, being, and non-being.”

For a ninety-three-year-old, I am in pretty good shape. People ask me how I do it. I reply, “My wife and I live a healthy lifestyle (food, drink, exercise), always see the glass as half-full regardless of circumstances, are best friends who love to be and do things together, and challenge our brains.” Sometimes, I’ll add a couple of other ideas: Independent travel (we have visited over seventy countries) forces one to adapt and grow. Critical thinking also opens all sorts of doors so we can grow, adapt, and evolve.

For many, especially seniors, change is a dirty word. They talk about “the good old days.” Change can be hard, and too many older folks refuse to do it, which then leads to rigor mortis setting in.

My faith journey from my seminary days to today has changed radically. I’m wide open to change. Nothing is a constant. Today, my concept of God is nonexistent. Jesus has been demoted to a Jewish prophetic revolutionary. The Bible is a religious history book that constantly needs to be reinterpreted. My complex theological training has been reduced to living agape.

I’ve been a Democrat my whole life. A month ago, I left the do-nothing party looking for a new political change agent that is going to reenergize democracy.

I’ve struggled with learning to use modern televisions, trying to master computers, driving an electric car, figuring out Google Maps, completing a project without ever talking to another human, using iPhones, buying everything without leaving my desk, and waiting to learn tomorrow’s newest invention. Change makes me and everyone else struggle, but it’s a struggle that allows us to grow, adapt, and evolve.

What do you think about change?

PeaceLoveJoyHopeKindness

Bil

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P.S. People often ask me provocative questions about current events, both religious and secular. I have found that some of these questions are being asked universally. I’ll be periodically alternating regular articles with one of those questions and my answer. I invite you to send me your question to bilaulenbach@yahoo.com.

 

Photo by Håkon Grimstad on Unsplash