Some Know, Others Think

New Yorkers should know better, Londoners as well.  People of all ages and places should know better.  Yet the attitude continues.  Individuals, even communities, think they “know”.  Everything is set, conclusions have been drawn.  The key “to-do” which remains, in opinions of those who know, is to educate and inform.  Life is about filling in the gaps.  If we only knew, we could solve everything. 
 
Others are not so sure.  They wonder, debate, and explore.  In many ways the framework many hold true is examined, rebuilt, and reinterpreted in the light of the world today.  This process and approach is rarely easy.  Absolutes are challenged.  Norms are questioned.  Even the building blocks are up for examination.  This isn’t for the faint hearted.  Yet the outcome is a belief and confidence which can withstand extraordinary challenges and events.  The potential for a strong God relationship is included.  The ingredients for leadership are established during the steps.  Compassion, passionate compassion, is given birth.
 
The world is a difficult place.  I wonder why anyone can be so sure they are sure.  How to do you respond to the prognosis of cancer?  How would you react to the death of a small child with a heart linked to your own?  What if your best friend, sharing many of the steps you have and are taking, grabbles with a reality of heart failure?  Do you still know all the answers?  Perhaps challenging, questioning, and rediscovering (learning) is the key to real living.
 
It doesn’t end with our shadow.  Our views of Divinity are equally fuzzy.  Just when you think you “know” the answer someone provides a different view.  One of the keys to growth comes in reflection, question, and thought.  Prophets encourage this; “Now listen to what I'm telling you, you who live in Jerusalem and Judah.  What do you think is going on between me and my vineyard?” (Isaiah 5.2) 
 
There are absolutes.  Understanding absolutes is a life long process.  Every generation can, must, rediscover God and the relationships which bind us to each other and Divinity.