Reflections and reminders: It's about -people-

Might I first mention that this blog comes biting at the heels of my most recent blog ramble!  I must also admit that perhaps nothing in this post will relate to my experience in New Zealand and it may be quite out of place for a blog which is, admittedly, awkwardly referred to as, 'Sheep and Mountains with a Side of Kia Ora'.  And yet, it is quite possible that most of the words to follow are, in fact, wholly related to my name and life in New Zealand.  Whatever the case may be, I would like to share some thoughts that have been flitting about in my soul recently and you can do with them what you like...deal?

OK, it is important to give a bit of exposition for this post as I am normally a quasi-monthly blog updater and never one to overexert my blogging interest jump the gun on updating too soon.  I've been reading book.  Yes, books.  They are bits of paper, delightfully bound and sometimes accompanied with cover art.  Additionally, you will occasionally come across books that are imprinted with wisdom, often written with no such pretense.  I've actually read quite a lot since coming to New Zealand and usually try to read material unrelated to my coursework each night before bed.  I've read some classics, things like, The Life of Pi and Catcher in the Rye.  I've also read the likes of The Road, The Passion of Alice, About a Boy, and...completely unrelated to the previous work, Boy.  In each of these works, I've found new themes and ideas to grab onto and I'm appreciative of each new text.

I also like reading books with religious spiritual overtones.  Examples of these include An Altar in the World, Why Christianity Must Change or Die, Thich Nhat Hahn: Essential Writings, and, of course, The Bible.  Folks, I must say...I've been struck by these latter texts.  Some of you may know that I've had struggles with religion and the shortsightedness of the Church.  Still, others of you may have read my previous blog detailing my own personal struggle to live in way that is 'pleasing' or, perhaps better put by a friend of mine...a life of 'quiet grace' (credit to Alex Brown for that eloquence).  I must say that with each day and with each new personal experience with faith and with spirituality...I do feel like I am growing.  I am not necessarily saying that I am becoming a better 'Christian' or a better 'believer', but I do think that I am becoming more spiritual.  


I've often seen and heard the phrase, 'Love God, Love People' and it has always resonated with me.  I think that we, in the very general and far-reaching sense of the word, have lost sight of what it means to love people.  There are plenty of people who will exalt God's name and lift God above all others and yet...they would turn their backs on those they are commanded by God to love and to care for.  You will hear plenty of Old Testament arguments that favor condemnation and intolerance.  Rubbish.  You cannot love God and hold God's children in contempt.  You cannot believe in Jesus and turn your back on those he loved the most, the the ones we have marginalized and the ones we have denigrated.  I want to scream every time I see someone marginalized because of who they love, their personal beliefs, their past and present deeds.  I also cringe every time I realize that I've done my fair share of marginalization.  This is not what my God envisioned, this is not what my God is about.

I will tell you this, I was raised in a home and in a family that was full of love and support.  I was also raised in the Western-view of the Christian faith.  I am not quite sure that the God I pray to today is the same God I prayed to when I was five.  I could say that perhaps God has changed...but that would be a farce, through whatever lens you choose to employ.  What is most likely the case is that my understanding of God, along with the accompanying who and what , has grown and changed.  I will admit that I am no Biblical scholar.  I know the stories and the teachings, but I cannot recite the Word to you without prompt.  I will also admit that I am greatly influenced by other spiritual, yet decidedly non-'Christian' texts and will continue in my journey of interfaith learning.  Thich Nhat Hanh is a Buddhist monk who has written some pretty love-inspired words and I can say that I've learned just as much about 'Christianity' from him as I have in my 23 years of Church-going and he himself acknowledges the power and the relevance of the Christian faith while not excluding his own faith or the faith of other traditions.  He's written things such as 'We do not have to die to arrive at the gates of Heaven.  In fact, we have to be truly alive.  The practice is to touch life deeply so that the Kingdom of God becomes a reality...The Kingdom of God is available here...the Kingdom of God comes to us'.  My friends, I am inclined to accept and believe this.  Why?  Because, for me, God/Jesus/Christianity/Religion/Spirituality all boils down to one simple truth: we are here to love people and to love them deeply.

And thus the crux of my spiritual ambling: whatever faith and whatever tradition you adhere or don't adhere to...you must realize the necessity for love, understanding, courage, and acceptance.  Since coming to New Zealand, I've had the time to evaluate what it means to truly live in this world and what it means to live a life of purpose.  Each one of us has the capacity to radically change the lives of our brothers and sisters with things as small as kind words or a genuine smile.  We have the capacity to completely eradicate the worries and the troubles of this world and to realize a true Heaven on earth if we could only realize that our life in this world should involve significant investment in people, not causes.  There are men and women who live and die for 'causes' that, which with respect to human life are tangential at best.  I will never die for a cause...but I will live and die and advocate for people, especially the ones on the fringes of society--the marginalized wonders of this world.  Heaven, in whatever manifestation is relevant to you, can be and should be sought here on Earth.  After all, John 17:12 tells us that Jesus said "While I have been with them in the world, I have kept them in the power of Your name.  I have kept watch over those you gave Me.  Not one of them has been lost except the one who is going to be destroyed, which is the son of death."  John 17:23 goes on to say, "I am in them and You are in Me so they may be one and made perfect.  The the world may know that You sent Me and that You love them as You love Me."  This is powerful stuff!  None of us have been lost and all of us are loved.

Christianity should not be static.  In fact, I think Jesus said something to this effect when he said "No one sews a piece of new cloth on an old coat, because if the new piece pulls away, it makes the hole bigger.  Men do not put new wine into old skin bags.  If they did, the skins would break and the wine would run out.  They put new wine into new skin bags and both can be used" (Matthew 9:16-17).  I think this is a call to heed the teachings of the past while acknowledging the dynamic and constantly evolving nature of faith and spirituality.  My faith is something that is special to me and it is something that I feel is very personal to me.  My beliefs most definitely do not align with any mainstream version of any particular religion and I am more influenced by a necessity to seek interfaith communities--call me an "all paths to 'God' kind of guy".  I wear a cross daily as a reminder of my own spirituality and my own beliefs and I believe we can learn things from all faith traditions.  I do not believe in a world that is 6,000 years old and I believe that it is irresponsible to defame science and reason.  I do not believe in a world where religion and spirituality are interchangeable and I certainly do not believe that Church-goers are better off than those who have never stepped foot in such buildings of mankind.  I do not believe in a God who is incapable of accepting the marginalized into Heaven and I do not believe in a God who approves and commands such behavior.  I do believe in a bigger God who is wholly accepting and a God whose Heaven is already available to us through a re-dedication to loving people, not religious rituals and worship-less pantomimes.  I do believe in people and I believe it is our mandate, spiritual or otherwise, to care for each other and accept each other without question.  I do believe that we are meant to live in communities of understanding and compassion.  These are the things I believe and I encourage you to seek out your own, personal understanding of spirituality and your specific tradition, if you have one.

I'll leave you with this, a few verses from Matthew 5--a comment in which I think Jesus calls us to each develop our own faith in the context of our own experience while fully expressing who WE are:

"You are the salt of the earth.  If salt loses its taste, how can it be made to taste like salt again?  It is no good. It is thrown away and people walk on it.  You are the light of the world.  You cannot hide a city that is on a mountain.  Men do not light a lamp and put it under a basket.  They put it on a table so it gives light to all in the house.  Let your light shine in front of men."

How easily it all slips by...

I don't think I'm even going to try and make excuses for my lack of blogging, it's not worth it.  To be honest, I guess I am just not a committed blogger...it's not because I am necessarily working day in and day out and it's also not because I don't enjoy updating you fine people about my life in Aotearoa.  This blog comes in the wake of mental exhaustion from having spent too much time on an essay for class; I needed a break :)  Also, I am watching 'The Grudge 3' right now and really need a distraction from the outrageously creepy 'aaahhhhhhhaaahhhahh' of the demented Asian ghost...

In my last post, I talked about my strangely wonderful journey to Tonga and all the fun events and conversations that occurred in this Pacific paradise-of-sorts.  It's been roughly two months since I returned and I have to say that things are pretty standard as far as my life in New Zealand goes.  I started a new school semester, I picked up a part-time job tutoring some undergrad epidemiology students, and I've made some interesting friends all along the way.  This is not to say that I don't wake up each morning feeling too blessed to be stressed--I do.  But I can't shake this feeling that my next adventure is one that centers around going home...more on that later in this edition.

But back to class!  I've started--and am now close to the end of--some new courses in my program!  I am enrolled in PUBH702: Society, Health, and Public Policy and PUBH703: Health and Environment.  There's quite a bit of overlap between the two courses, and even some overlap between 702 and my Health Systems course last semester...but, you win some you lose some.  Actually, I've become more interested in my classes these last few weeks and I'm just hoping for some decent grades.  Not going to lie, I've been on struggle street for a solid month...AT LEAST.  Nevertheless, I think things will end up alright and I am still quite pleased with the work I've done over the course of the program.  In fact, the program has definitely increased my interest in Public Health affairs and I could definitely see myself working in the field.  I've even considered doing a PhD in Public Health over here, focusing on health policy and primary care.  But, for those of you who know me...my career path changes from week to week, and that's a conservative estimate of my propensity to casually date when it comes to careers.  No worries though, I've applied to vet school as well.  And I've still got a spot in pharmacy school.  And I've applied for a few jobs in Washington D.C.  Some may call this 'indecisiveness mixed with being non-committal by nature'.  In fact, I am one of those people who calls it as such.  However, I would prefer to call it 'winning' because no blog is complete without a Charlie Sheen reference. 

But! I digress.  School stuff is going well, check.  In other New Zealand news, the World Cup is here!  yes!  It is the Rugby World Cup and there are 4 games in Dunedin.  I've not been to one yet, but am hopefully headed to the Ireland v. Italy game in October.  The 'buzz' in town has really picked up since the start of the sporting event and Dunedin actually feels really culturally-diverse at the moment!  I can sit in a coffee shop and hear loads of differents accents and even a few different languages.  It's fantastic!!  But, what makes this whole Rugby World Cup thing interesting as it relates to my life is that I was in France during the last Rugby World Cup and as some of you may know, France hosted that year!  The Eiffel Tower even had a giant inflatable rugby ball in it!  Perhaps this will provide me with a new life direction?  Maybe I should base all my life and career decision around whether or not I can pick up and be in the Rugby World Cup host country ?  Sounds like a strategy to me!  Thoughts?

On a more general note, this whole experience in New Zealand has already shown me so much about myself--good and bad.  I've had a few "coming to Jesus" moments since I've been here and it's forced me to be really honest with myself about my motives and my beliefs.  It's been a bit of a struggle but I am in a really good place right now.  I've been reading a few fantastic books that have really made me think and I'm literally about to burst at the seams because I feel like the fun is just beginning.  Perhaps I'm just growing up.  For those of you who know me, again, you will know that this TERRIFIES me.  I am not talking about 'growing up' in the sense of not being silly and spontaneous and all that...I'll never shake that stuff.  I'm talking about the real meaty stuff.  You know...figuring out who you are, what you want out of life (aside from a career though, in my case), and what matters to you most.  You start to realize that you can't keep living the way you do if you want to make changes and that it takes work to make things happen.  But...at this point I'm rambling.  So with that, I bid you fair people adieu and I hope to update again soon :)

CHEERS!
Chase