November, 2004 - Nr. 11
Hi Mom, I am just back from Berlin and Hamburg and I must say that I can hardly wait to be home for Christmas.
You just had Halloween in Toronto. Did you give out a lot of candy to the little goblins and witches?
Speaking about witches: Did you hear that somewhere in Scotland an apology was made to witches that have been burned at the stake way back when religious fervour was spiked with a lot of superstition? An official ceremony took place to acknowledge the wrongdoings of the past to the community at large and the descendants of the victims especially.
We were reminded that it was enough to be singled out to be a witch if a woman owned a black cat, or brewed herbal tees. Just imagine how many people would have to be burned nowadays if that was a valid criterion.
It also shows that at any given time, when religion is in the play, mankind does not seem to always play with a full deck. This is really funny, because I read somewhere that in its most original sense and from the early origin of the word it means nothing else but "a search for truth".
This really rings true to me. Isn’t religion a search for values of a higher nature than mankind is demonstrating habitually? There are various forms of religion, which codified their findings, and we use them as guidelines to better living conditions for all of our components, body mind and soul.
To me it appears that there are no rights and wrongs, but only some methods that are more workable than others, depending what part of the planet one comes from. If we could acknowledge this fact, that religion is a survival code, which assist individuals towards an individual freedom spiritually, thus enabling one to function better in the world, then there should not be a problem anywhere about religion, no matter which kind. All we would have to do is respect someone’s choice.
Personally I like to embrace all religious practices. I love it when a friend takes me along and indoctrinates me into his or her practice. It tells me so much about the person and makes our ties as friends stronger. I always find that we all have everything in common, and what sets us apart is manmade. As individuals we are just that: individuals, with personal likes and dislikes, which makes each of us unique.
If we were to dwell on what strengthens our lives and livingness on this planet without bias, then we could all live together better, without so much distrust.
You said once to me that technically mankind is pretty grown up, but in the ethics department we are still in our baby shoes.
I think you are right. There is still a lot to learn…
Geee, how did that happen? I really wanted to tell you about a few "green" stock options, since you asked me about responsible investments in industries that are not harmful to the planet…there are a few, but only a few of those really are responsible, if you know what I mean.
I hope it has time till I get home for the holidays? This time I am going to stay a whole month!
I am looking forward to St. Martin. Are you doing anything this year? I was just telling a friend from Chicago how we used to walk around with our lanterns and how much we had to sing to get some goodies. My favourite was the "Weckmann", remember? The little dough man with the white clay pipe in his mouth. And man, did he taste good with a nice layer of cold butter! I just cannot remember if he had raisins or not?
No matter…. Let me know what I should pick up for
you before I come home again, Mom.
Until next time,
Your loving son Martin
