This I Believe

It takes a very long time to learn the things we could have learned if we only listened to those around us. Old Bob was a most unlikely messenger of his idea that God could be the loving spirit of all of his ancestors – unique to him, and at the same time exactly the same as every other person on the planet. A spirit of internal presence that could guide his conscience and at the same time move him in directions he would never have chosen.

I was quite young when I heard these ideas. Although interesting, I was too busy with; a wife, a son, a career, a house to maintain and a yard to mow. I had important mistakes to make along my path. And I made plenty of them. Mistakes in relationships. Mistakes with money. I made bad decisions about how I spent my time and what I thought were the important things in my life. As I heard a friend say: “I never learned anything by doing it right!” So, I learned a little with each new mistake. Over time I have become a better husband. I have learned to be a better father. I’ve learned to be a better employee as well as a better employer. I’ve learned to see my life much more as it is than some scene out of a fantasy. I am learning to value the people around me I think of as friends. I am learning to care about the welfare of my neighbors. I am learning to care about the needs of people I don’t even know. I am learning that my views of right and wrong may not be the final answer on the question. I am learning to encourage others to be successful in ways I might not agree with. I am scratching the surface of learning how to help others when there is nothing in it for me. For soon I will be like Old Bob to some young person. I will soon become that unlikely messenger with some crazy idea that God might just be the loving spirit of all of my ancestors. I guess I am learning to take my place in that loving spirit of all of the ancestors. Yes, This I Believe.