Complaint

I got a complaint about my conversations about the dream I wrote about and the conversations I had with Ted and the new way I wanted to view my life. I am not going to change and that is it. I am not going to promise I will stay forever in my new philosophy because no one knows what is around the corner, but it was a very angry response to what I had written.

You might remember that my friend, Ted, who is a writer friend of mine who writes memoirs wanted to try it himself. He wanted to call it a Book Philosophy and that one should look at one's whole life as a book with many chapters, each of them not more important as the other but just that a chapter. The chapter goes into the book and although you can go over it, you don't become overly attached to any of them. You look forward to the next one. It is like you look at your life as you are reading a book and that is why he said he wanted to call it the Book Philosophy. He told Candy about it since she is a writer too.

Candy is a cookbook writer and writes cook books based on ethnic flavors especially formulated for those with allergies. Her readership is growing and she does rather well. She lives here in Redding and has a kitchen that is the biggest and best I have ever come across ever. I get hungry just thinking about it. She started her writing career when her husband first started his CPA firm and when he spent so much time at his business she wanted to do something at home since they had several kids. First, she did a cook book for creating recipes that the whole family would like that was healthy. She found that area of cookbooks to be rather competitive and went into allergy cooking when her niece was found to be allergic to peanuts.

It is odd that she is friends with Ted as she is a super strong Christian and belongs to a church in town that is well-known for its size and its fundamental message which is why I am not putting her name down. I think that is why we have never caught on as friends because when she invited me to her church I told her that I was not a Christian and never go to them if I can avoid them. I think I was in a bad mood that day. Ah, karma because we have never got along since then. Ted is a Christian but not the type to go to that church since his open affirmation of his sexual orientation has been a cross that Candy feels she must bear to be his friend and his success as an author helps. Ted uses her husband for his taxes as almost all writers do in this area of the state.

Candy was furious with me for telling Ted about my philosophy because she says it directly contradicts that of self-responsibility. In this world, we are responsible for the sins we commit and according to my philosophy there is no reconciling this to the principles in the Bible. I have set myself above God. That is blasphemy.

That set me back. I did not think I was setting myself above God. Now, it is true that I do not have the concept of sin and told that to Candy since I am not a Christian. I deal with my karma every time I meditate. I really do not believe anyone burns in a place called Hell nor do I think there is this person on a throne that consigns people to that place to suffer. I think of karma as an tool so we can learn from our mistakes since all of us make them. Karma is not a tool of vengeance. It is not good or bad. It is just what it is. If I have already learned from my mistakes then it makes no sense to keep ruminating over it. The wearing of hair shirts makes no sense at all.

I think it would please our Spiritual Connection if we can enjoy life as much as we can considering how much sorrow that comes our way. I just think we need to let it go and just look at it as a chapter in this wonderful book that is our lives. Candy said that the only person that can decide if our lives are good or bad is Jesus and his father, God. The decision is not up to each of us. I had to admit that my philosophy is strongly influenced by my decision to follow the Buddhist path as well as that of Taoism. I am sorry that it upsets her, but I don't see many people running to my doorstep embracing it and besides it is Buddhism in a way anyhow.

Candy seemed appeased by the statement that my new philosophy isn't so new after all but a way of looking at life in a Buddhist way. She thinks I am trying to swing Ted over to my religion but Buddhists generally don't do this. Ted is happy as a Christian and is an avid 12 stepper. He doesn't go to her church as it is not open and affirming to the gay and lesbian population. He does go to several others that are.

I did enjoy the conversation though. It gave me thought. I did not think it through enough to realize that there was a Buddhist component in it. That is what debating a point of view does. It gives someone a fresh look at something. I am still sticking with it. What looked like a brand new way of looking at something isn't so brand new after all. For that, I am grateful to Candy although I don't think she would be happy to hear that so no one please tell her. She never reads my blogs so I am safe.