If someone asked you the question - “Who are you?” - how would you answer? Someone put me on the spot with this question the other day. The person told me to give them only one word. I gave that person two - “OLD SOUL.” I try to live a spiritual life filled with knowledge, good company, independence, introspection, and non-conformity. Here are five principles that guide my life and soul, as depicted in five short clips: 1). Embrace religious pluralism, or the energetic engagement with religious diversity, the encounter of commitments, and genuine interreligious dialogue; 2). Understand that holy books provide solutions to our problems - no need to pick them up only to search for differences; 3). Resist binary world views that paint the world in black and white terms; embrace the “grey zone,” or the area of ambiguity as well as hybridity; 4). Stand for humanity always; realize that we are humans before any other identity category; and 5). Be compassionate and then be even more compassionate than that.
1 Corinthians 13:4-8📖: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” I read this Biblical verse, at this very moment, at Our Lady’s Catholic Church in Newton, Massachusetts, right before my sister and brother-in-law said their vows. One of my favorite verses from the scripture. Have a blessed weekend, one and all✌🏻.
