TGIF

"I always say that people should not rush to change religions. There is real value in finding the spiritual resources you need in your home religion." Dalai Lama

Thank God it's Friday. It is also payday for me so that helps some. After all I do have two cats to support in the style they have become accustomed to.

My Mom told me the other day that the handyman really thinks I'm special, smart and sweet. I guess he liked the fact that I was able to help him MacGyver together something to hold the door shut until he got the part to fix it using a rubber band and a paper clip. See I wasn't spending seven years lusting after Richard Dean Anderson I was learning how to fix things using the resources at hand. Now if you believe that I have some prime Florida real estate you might want to ask me about and of course I'm still trying to unload that bridge in NYC.

Today is officially World Day of Prayer. I found the quote from the Dalai Lama interesting because I did check other religions during one period in my life and ended up coming back to the Catholic faith of my childhood. I am aware that there are problems in my church but that is true of any organized institution. Nothing can ever be perfect but the bottom line is that my church does fulfill my personal spiritual needs.

I think one of the reasons I am more tolerant of the more mystical beliefs is that there is a great deal of mysticism in my religion. I can understand the draw of New Age or the Kabalah. To believe in God is to believe in something that can not be scientifically proved. After all God is there before science is thought of. It doesn't invalidate science to believe in God and it doesn't invalidate God to believe in science. In my mind they coexist just fine.

Freedom of Religion is one of the cornerstones in the founding of the United States. The great American artist Norman Rockwell did a series of four pictures showing the Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Want, and Freedom from Fear. All four of these are important in our lives. We should be able to speak of our religion with out the fear of ridicule. We should be able to practice our beliefs as long as we don't use our religion or speech to harm others and to try and prevent their right  to worship and speak. Freedom has responsibilities attached to it.

If you haven't offered a prayer recently to God, however you perceive Him/Her to be, then today is a good day to do so. S/he has been waiting for you.

The picture is called Guardian of Freedom.

The real counter is 4505.