Scripture, by God

Today's thought:

God is always and everywhere, omnipresent. We learn this as children. Well, I did, anyway. The Jesuits “endeavor to see God in all things.” I went to a Jesuit high-school in San Francisco, and the current Pope, Pope Francis, is a Jesuit. Only God is good. Which isn't saying much, because “only” everything is God. Life, the Universe, and Everything, you might say. Infinity. The Universe, which is infinitely big, is Reality, which, in the words of Adi Da, is “all the God there ever is.” If the big U is infinitely big, you might be tempted to consider yourself as infinitely small. And you are. But infinity goes in both directions: You can go infinitely in the other direction, smaller and smaller, like a computer's screen saver. So, in a very real sense, you are infinitely big, too. Big up yourself, says Ali G. Big me, big me, sings Kurt Cobain. Maybe there is an entire universe in your head! Anyway, God is made in man's image: God is love, and God is the creator, which is just another way of saying your parents, or if you like -sex- is God, too. I am God. You are God. We're already God, whether or not we have sex, or “make love,” or whether we consider ourselves to be Gods, claim to be God, or think, say, and do in the role of God. So as much as we all are in fact God, I still hold that some of us are more God than others, however. God is the principle of goodness, and there is a full spectrum of human behavior between depravity and saintliness -or goodliness/godliness if you prefer. Godliness is just a matter of being good, making yourself good, making life good, as a positive force in the world. And each of us lives in our own world. You are in control of your own life, your own destiny. God is One, says scripture, and the Top Dog, the Big Cheese, the Head Honcho, is of course you exercising control over your own quality of life, with a little help from your friends. But -and this is the big problem and exception- some people relinquish that control, and submit to the will of others, in some cases even being possessed. You can “let go and let God” or you can “let go and let SMELBAD.” That's my acronym for Satan, Mephistopheles, Evil, Lucifer, Beelzebub, Antichrist, Devil. I'm just pointing out that others may not have your best interests at heart, and may even hate you. Others CAN make us happier, of course, but we shouldn't rely on them. And others, in the same vein, can make our lives a tormented, miserable, even painful, living hell, longing for death, and consumed with suffering. You can be in love, and live in a heaven on earth. Or you can be hated, even tortured. Children have to obey their parents, and their teachers, and -like adults- the law. Some advice, and some laws, are better than others. However, we all only live once, and we should all follow our own lights and do whatever is necessary to make ourselves happy, without infringing on the rights of others, who deserve the same high level of happiness as ourselves. Psychology is the new religion, the science of happiness the new scripture, of the New God, You. Economics, then, is important. Money is an anagram of 'my one,' which only emphasizes the importance of prosperity to happiness, which is what God wants for all of us. Wealth, Riches, Affluence, & Prosperity: that's a WRAP! Comfort should be a universal goal, and it is reasonable and within the realm of possibility to imagine an entire planet with basic needs met, the highest level of healthcare available to all, and a sustainable peace maintained in a safe and secure world, that respects the equal rights of all. Poverty, war, preventable disease, and suffering can all be prevented and mitigated and replaced by a happy, rewarding, comfortable, healthy, and secure lifetime of pleasantry and global mutual respect.

Scripture, by the way, is -in my view- absolutely anything written by anyone, ever (!).  The entire library is holy writ.   The dictionary, cookbooks, all the graffiti, jokebooks.  The onion had a funny article recently about this, but I'm holding fast to this outlook, even if it seems absurd that a Honda's drivers manual is made to be as holy as, say, Song of Songs.  Omniscience means God reads everything!  Right now, I'm reading the Prairie Home Companion's Pretty Good Joke Book, 5th edition :-)