The Pageless Book

Above Photo by FreaksAnon. Photo below by Monkey123.

One of the major things that I strive to do with this website is offer a different point of view. Sometimes, that means pushing buttons and envelopes - a dangerous game of seeing how far down the rabbit hole you’re willing to follow me. Quite honestly, I’m surprised that I haven’t been admonished yet for going too far. Sure, readers have disagreed with me, but I don’t feel that any disagreements have resulted in a loss of respect. However, I also know that being controversial for the sake of controversy is an easy trap to fall into. Have I crossed that line this week?

My views are genuine, but that doesn’t mean a thing if I’m losing credibility with you, my audience. Sometimes I’m afraid that I am doing just that. I really care about the message I’m putting out there, and I don’t want my own words to get in the way of what needs to be said. Although I do this as a hobby, I also see it as a stepping stone that brings me closer to
my true goal of making this world a better place. Should I be myself, even if that means being viewed as an eccentric?

This is probably one of the more difficult aspects of trying to get people to think differently; you never know if they are actually thinking or if your words are just falling out of their ear, unheard. I wonder if other would-be ministers have ever felt this way. Of course this could all be part of the learning process - or perhaps an indication of the extent of my bovine manure collection. Either way, I shouldn’t beat myself up about it, should I?

It is all a part of the journey. Even if I wasn’t interested in becoming a minister, I would need to have these thoughts and these experiences. My development as a human being depends on making meaningful mistakes. Sometimes that means rubbing people the wrong way. I have this tendency to try to please everyone in my offline life; I need to get away from being so concerned about what other people think of me. Seth Pickens recently wrote about needing to be unmoved by criticism and praise as an important trait of ministry. I can’t agree with him more - I just need to apply that lesson more consistently.

I also need to hear back from you, my readers on a few things. I haven’t received enough responses to my short questionnaire. So far, only two people have taken the time to tell me a little about themselves. Don’t be shy - I really want to hear from you. If you don’t remember the questions I asked, they are:

• Which religion or spiritual path do you identify with?
• Which of my articles is your favorite and why?
• Which of my articles is your least favorite and why?
• What would you like to see more of or less of?
• Are you an RSS Subscriber?

Thank you for listening and Namaste.