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Prestile Stream
Easton, ME; Aroostook County
I was confused about religion. There are so many. I thought it might help me to join one. So, I took a class "World Religions," and I was more confused.
I went to the Sage. I said, "I'm baffled about religion. I mean, there are so many. Does it confuse you?" "No." "Why?" I asked. "When a little boy, we lived outside a small town. We visited family in a big city, and my uncle took us to an ice cream parlor with 64 flavors of ice cream. I was amazed. It was like being in a wonderland! I'd never seen near so many flavors of ice cream!"
Puzzled by the reply, I said, "Well, I would like to be religious, but I don't know which religion to join." "If you want to be in a religion, you can choose the one that tastes best to you. That's okay. But don't forget the flavor is not the ice cream."
It took me a while to understand what the Sage had meant. And then I chose a religion. Before meeting the Sage, I had not understood the difference between being in a religion and being religious. Now I do. I am okay with both. Some persons criticize me for joining a religion. That, to me, is like criticizing a flavor for being a flavor of ice cream. I see it this way, the flavor is the means to taste the ice cream - they are two, and they are one. And I do not feel a need to judge persons who are not of a religion. Being of a religion is the way for me, however, at least for a time.
Do you see a difference between being in a religion and being religious? ... What is being religious to you? ... Can one be religious without being of a religion? ... Is religous the same as spiritual to you? Why? or Why not? ... What is meant by "they are two, but they are one"? ... Are you of a religion? Why? If not, why not?
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"Religion" carries the same basic idea as "yoga." Religion connotes bringing together into one. Religion can be defined as a system to bring into unity the everyday realm with the sacred realm, or in theistic terms, the human and the Divine. That a religion may fail to do this or do it well does not negate the value of religion as a potential means of help for many persons.
"Religious" can be defined as a being who is awakened to the sense of the Sacred. For me, "spiritual" and "religious" are synonymous.
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*© Brian K. Wilcox, 2021
*The above story is part of a collection of stories by Brian called "Meetings with an Anonymous Sage."
*Brian's book, An Ache for Union: Poems on Oneness with God through Love, can be ordered through major online booksellers or the publisher AuthorHouse. The book is a collection of poems based on wisdom traditions, predominantly Christian, Buddhist, and Sufi, with extensive notes on the poetry's teachings and imagery.
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