Exchanging Pleasantries

It's always sad to hear of a person succumbing to cancer. When I saw that #GodIsNotGreat was a trending topic on Twitter, I had to investigate why. After rummaging through many defensive tweets, some that were aimlessly offensive, I found out that Christopher Hitchens had passed away from cancer. Hitchens had wrote a book in 2007 titled, God Is Not Great, where he criticizes all religion. By accounts, he was a brilliant intellectual and he fervently stood for his convictions. Relevant Magazine featured a masterful piece on the reflection of Hitchens' legacy. After reading more about his work and his life, a notion stirred inside of me that I need to engage in more conversation with people about their passions, even if they may stand on the opposite side of faith.

Engaging in meaningful conversations, where real progress is made, isn't as easy as it may sound. I know many people who don't even know what they might be passionate about. I dream of a setting where we are free to express our thoughts and dreams without the fear of judgement. I believe if I had the chance to sit and talk with Hitchens, the truths I would discover about myself would be golden. I think the simple truth we would both agree on is that we are broken people. He spoke of liberating people from the tyranny of religion. I can relate to an extent that Christianity has left a bad taste in a lot of mouths. That's why I take it on as my responsibility to change that. A question I may have posed to Hitchens is that if my faith, boiled down to its lowest common denominator, moved me to be compassionate, to dish out radical grace and to be a better human being, is it conceivable that it is God that moves me to these ideals? Even though he may have argued that faith in God is my admission of reverting to infancy in my way of thinking, I would not take offense, nor would I argue. Faith is where my values only begin and we always begin with the basic. The things I am moved to be, compassionate, overflowing with grace, liberating in the name of love, all stem from my faith. I may not have the answers to every event in the timeline of the biblical age but I know that the teachings and actions of Jesus lead me to a pursuit of a better life for not only myself, but for others.

Here's what I do know. I know that we're all people who are flawed, broken and 100% human. Although we don't always agree on everything, it is absolutely essential that we stay open to talking about our differences to get to know more about our own humanity. Simply living is hard enough, let's not close doors too quickly on people. Everyone's story is sacred and that is what fuels me, discovering the stories of others. I encourage you to share your story and be a part of other people's stories, even if you think it may not be worth it. This life is too short to simply write people off or even write yourself off. If you don't know where to start, write the next thing that comes to your mind. That's always a good start.