Lesson 52: The Source of Blame

I follow this thing called The Leadership Yoga on Twitter. I can't remember how or when I started following, but the articles and thoughts posted there and on the Leadership Yoga website are interesting and thought-provoking. Today I read an article that ended with this thought:

Instead of finding blame in the words of scripture or the pages of history, we must search inwards for our own prejudices and fears. They are the culprits

Again, I think it's necessary to give out a little bit of background on myself before proceeding with today's lesson. I was born Catholic, raised Catholic, confirmed Catholic and will likely marry and die Catholic. I've had encounters with great Catholics who are willing to engage in enlightening conversations and I've met some "holier than thou" Catholics who just want to fight and tell me I'm going to hell. But I've also met people of other faith who are capable of engaging in the same enlightening conversation without judgment, and more often than not, I agree with what they're saying.

What I took away from the Leadership Yoga article above was that when we become critical of other people for having a different belief system or even being from a different race, ethnicity, or economic class, we're not doing so out because our religious faith calls us to do so. We're doing it because of our own internal fears.

As our world becomes smaller through technological avenues and instant news updates, we encounter people, ideas and philosophies that aren't necessarily congruent with our own. Yes, these ideas might cause us to become combatant in defense of our own belief systems, but I don't believe that it's impossible to still be open-minded and accepting despite those differences. Our generation offers us so many opportunities to learn from and grown from each other's differences, and that's a very special gift.

I've been criticizes as being "a lukewarm Catholic," and I'm sure that other Catholics may read this and continue to label me as such. But after reading Ravi Kudesia's article, I have to ask: "Who gets to decide that I'm "lukewarm," how can it be confirmed?

All these questions of faith may not be answered. That's what faith is, right? Belief in things unknown or unseen. And no person on earth, whether they are of a certain faith or not can have all the answers. We just do the best we can with what we have and hope that we leave a positive impact during our time on earth.