Hey, how can you keep a light under a basket? You can’t. Especially if there’s fuel, fanning, faith. Keep shining.

Spirituality is NOT a Cult. Spirituality comes from faith-filled walking and listening. Do we have a cup, a collection, a condition to want our emptiness to be filled? Can we then both overflow or tip our our cup to share the flow? Can we relate to “I’ve Just Gotta Be Me” even if we are still trying to find out more about me? We should both keep asking questions as well as keep putting questions aside to simply BELIEVE.  Growing is in the Going.

It’s sheer JOY that of all the new employee groups they are starting at work, they (we) are starting a global Multi-FAITH group. WOW! I am jumping right on board. Never in my 20 plus years of work did we barely mention FAITH, no, except keeping holiday traditions and festive feels. On the flip side it could be so hush hush, as it probably is in most workplaces, due to the fear of exclusionary discrimination or insulting behavior. So now it seems crazy for us to open now. And yet the driving force of the group,  open to non-believers too, is to truly be non-discriminatory and take a stand against discrimination at work, where in the past Hush Hush was to prevent Push Push, and well-meaningly so.

Hush Hush. Now I’m NOT saying that it was dark – no, because SO MANY peoples baskets have been glowing in faith at work – for LOVE SHINES THROUGH – for a LIGHT will continue and can’t stop melting even a small hole in the lampshade or basket – for a light even tiny, hidden under a blanket, gives immense light – and I’ve witnessed great faith and the loving expression of acts of kindness in faith at work, I’m sure many of us have.

Push Push or Pull Pull, Spirituality is NOT a Cult. I say that in a comical way to me, because maybe to others my (our) enthusiasm is sometimes misinterpreted. I even joke that my love of Subarus is a cult, but it’s not either, because the performance of the fundamental basic system (I can tell you all about the benefits) is noticeable, not forced, not showing up as fake fundamentalism. Sadly, we probably HAVE seen sad occurrences of cults that ask too much, have to control with oppression and have had people taking advantage of other often enthusiastic lonely “lost” people, young and old. Sadly power corrupts the leaders whose heads grow bigger than what they present as a mission. As a 50plus aged person, I can remember news coverage and visualize the sensationalized outcomes of the Waco Texas compound fires, stories of cults turned prisons. Sad, scary, hidden and horrible. So for us now – and many around the world to our open lives to admit freely, live freely, be free in faith expression, then let us pray that no cults should be cultivated. Everyone should double check the teachings of their “source material” against the knowns of norms. 

(And let us pray for those who are persecuted for their faith, worldwide pockets of oppression.)

The fundamental principles of FAITH do allow expression, even experience-driven exploration – that “I’ve Just Gotta Be Me” opportunity to spill enthusiasm or puzzle in pondering… But are we ourselves educated with our knowns? What are the principles that we hold to? Do we “look under the hood” or ‘behind the curtain’? is it wizards or wowing?  Do we feel free and even compelled to go to the source material? Bigger than principles or written or rewritten norms, do we experience a FAITH FLOW that is MORE than from self-flow generation. It’s not “I’ve got to be me, cause I say so”, in an allowance of ourselves to flow, it’s accepting AND FEELING KNOWING the accessibility of a flow of faith from a higher power. 

Higher Power, like the song lyric I love to hear: “Let it be known, there is a fountain, that was not made, by the hands of men.” (Jerry Garcia, Grateful Dead, “Ripples”)

In an opportunity to share at the end of our work ERG organizational meeting, I got to share my faith with 40 plus folks, I could tell the Lord’s calming presence to speak of a journey, bringing in both my movement as well as what moved me. Sometime it is not always what we say that strikes our own chords but what is said that strikes chords in others. We are all on our own journeys. I appreciate the group for our bold initiative to encourage others to be walking on their journeys too all while staying in the warm fuzzy of getting to know each other. 

Cool… And yes Burning Bright Light True…

Growing is in the Going. 

Amen