Merry Christmas

Eduardo del Buey
Foto: Jafet Kantún
La Jornada Maya

Jueves 27 de diciembre, 2018

[b]TODAY WE CELEBRATE[/b] the birth of an enlightened being. I will not debate here the divinity of Jesus Christ or any religious beliefs whatsoever. I leave that to the theologians.

[b]WHAT I PLAN[/b] to focus on is His mes- sage and how it relates to all of us: be- lievers and non-believers.

[b]HIS MESSAGE WAS[/b] to love each other as we love ourselves. All the rest is theological invention by human beings to further their own thoughts, convic- tions, or concepts of power.

[b]CANADIAN POET AND[/b] artist Leonard Cohen once said that the real weapons of mass destruction are the hardened hearts of humanity.

[b]AND SO IT[/b] is.

[b]MOST GREAT RELIGIOUS[/b] and social leaders have preached love and the unity of mankind. But their words have fallen on deaf ears, and the inclusion that they meant to foment has in most cases resul- ted in exclusionary theological precepts.

[b]INDEED, WHEN RELIGION[/b] stops being a link to the creative forces of the uni- verse and becomes a symbol of identity, the danger begins. People craft theology to meet their own needs and desires. The anthropomorphic creation of a God with human characteristics and love for only this or that particular re- ligion or cult leads to division, violence, and death for many, as we have seen throughout history.

[b]WHAT IS NECESSARY[/b] is to understand that theology is man-made, that theolo- gical texts are written by human beings with all of their faults and foibles and reflect the uncertainties of life in their time and place.

[b]WHAT I ALWAYS[/b] keep in mind is that the truly divine exists in each and every one of us. It is that spark of consciousness that gives us at once our individuality and our unity: individua- lity in the sense that each being has a free will and ability to determine his or her destiny; unity because we all spring from the same life force –call it God, call it the Great Architect of the Universe, call it the big bang theory.

[b]I AM REMINDED[/b] of a journey that I took in 1976 with my first Ambassador to Iran, James George, and his wife Carol through Afghanistan in a Land Rover over dirt trails and mountain passes. Under a starry canopy one night I asked Jim what he believed in.

[b]AS A DISCIPLE[/b] of the Russian mystic Gurdjieff, he liked to describe things in a profound yet simple way.

[b]HE COMPARED RELIGIOU[/b]S belief to the wheel of a bicycle: on the outer rim the spokes (religious doctrines) are far apart. But as one delves into the essence of spiritual belief, one reaches the hub, where all becomes one. And it is in this unity that we find the essence of spiri- tual life and our universal connection to one another.

[b]THIS UNITY, THIS[/b] oneness, is what I wish for all of my friends on this Christ- mas day. Regardless of your religion, nationality, race, or gender, we are all united on a spiritual plane as human beings.

[b]IT IS AS[/b] human beings that we should celebrate the myriad holidays of many religions that occur at this time of year. We should temper our political beliefs with a conviction that by reaching out and understanding each other we can achieve much more that by dividing ourselves with physical or spiritual walls.

[b]CONSENSUS AND UNDERSTANDING[/b] are fundamentally human traits and are to be celebrated rather than mocked.

[b]CONNECTING WITH OTHERS[/b] should always be our goal.

[b]REACHING OUT SHOULD[/b] always be our way rather than hiding behind the walls and barriers that divide.

[b]MANY LEADERS WHO[/b] profess to fo- llow holy prophets have practiced and continue to practice untold cruelties against others in the name of religion and a god that is alien to me.

[b]THEY ATTRACT FOLLOWER[/b]S be- cause of the fear that they impart and encourage and because their followers believe in the superiority of their own particular sect or religion rather that in the humanity that unites us all.

[b]AS WE FACE[/b] the new year, my hope is that people everywhere will stop and reflect upon where humanity is currently headed, and what each and every one of us can do to soften the
blows of t hatred and fear that su- rround us.

[b]MAY WE LEARN[/b] to reach out and connect with each other not to convert the other to our vision, but to understand and accept their vi- sion as being as valid as our own. Perhaps we can arrive at one single vision some day, but the objective should be to allow all visions to coe- xist peacefully.

[b]THIS IS THE[/b] first step towards peace, peace within our own selves and peace with each other.

[b]AS JOHN LENNON[/b] once said, “You may say I’m a dreamer but I’m not the only one”.

[b]HAPPY HOLIDAYS[/b] TO all of my rea- ders and a better new year to come!

[i][email protected][/i]