After a long night at the Tradewinds and staying out until 4:00 a.m. the band had another show in the afternoon that we had to be at by 10:30 a.m. for 4 hours of playing time. After lugging our gear into the bus (once again) everyone decided to head to my house because for some reason spending more time together sounded good, so we headed to my place to sit on the porch with our significant others to barbecue, have a few drinks, wait out the heat, figure out who smelled the most like cheese and stare at the stars. Late in the night as we all sat around talking people began to throw out questions: “what do you think happens after you die?” “Who was your first love?” “When was the first time you knew that music was what you wanted to do with your life?” It was one of those nights you didn’t want to end even though your eyes ached for sleep; not because the night was filled with energy and excitement but because the world seemed still and our minds had stopped racing. As people began to pull out blankets and curl up in lawn chairs to steal another hour of staring up at the sky I asked, “Have you ever had an experience of God? Not just an intellectual understanding of God but an actual feeling of presence?” It was quiet for awhile as people continued to stare at the summer sky until one by one people began to share their story. Each person had felt God or experienced his presence in their lives but not one mentioned it being in church, or synagogue, or masque. No one found him in a book or in a sermon. They all spoke of experiencing God in silence, in nature, in moments of contentment during a sunset with a loved one, or during loss and pain. Some went to church, most did not, but what surprised me was religion was never a part of the experience. All spoke of being quiet by chance or on purpose and stumbling upon this already present voice that overwhelmed them. They didn’t find God, they uncovered him. They didn’t open their heart and invite God in; they opened their heart and found him already there. I had the same experience.
So where does this leave they church, synagogue, or mosque? The thing is the Church is not God, just as the music industry is not music. It is simply the carrier, the torch bearer that passes on this precious nothingness to the next generation to hear, feel, love and pass on. Maybe the Church/religion has become too stagnent and stationary. Maybe it is time for something else. My friends and I have formed a group that meets once a month, to hang out, check in, talk about life, spirituality, baseball, …..whatever and these people are the most spiritual people I know. I know they wouldn’t say that about themselves but what I find spritiual about them is the fact that none of them pretend to be more than they are, all of them will drop what they are doing to help one another or a stranger, all of them give anonymously to people when they are down on their luck. What I am saying is; they live spiritually rather than talk about it or argue about which religion is true or false. These are the people I find worth knowing in this world. So let me ask you; when and where were you when you felt the presence of God?
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I am a big Rumi fan especially his works as translated by Coleman Barks. If you are new to Rumi get The Essential Rumi in paperback and you won’t be disappointed. At some point I am going to put up a reading list of all of my favorite authors and books but for now a bit of a poem by Rumi. I try to read something by him daily and it always help me to sink into the day. I read this today while having my coffee and watching my son Wilder play with his train set.
