Holy Cow!!....where did that come from? I wonder what kind of nonsense the childs parents have been putting in his head? Just kidding. My first gut reaction was to avoid this one, but knowing that wasn't going to work with Colby, I just chose to answer honestly, and then play it by ear. I thought I could probably handle the god thing ok. So after my affirmative response he came right back with, "do you believe in heaven", and I sudddenly started to sweat. This one was going to be tougher, but I quickly decided that yes was the right answer again, even though if we got into more detail l I wasn't at all certain as to how I was going to describe the place. But fortunately it fizzled out from there. Even though by this time my gears were turning and I was starting to rise to the challenge. Apparently his friend Theo had been asking him the question and that's where the whole thing started. I can also tell you that Colby believes in god and heaven as well....he answered with no hesitation, and without any follow up questions.
Aside from the amusing anecdotal aspects of this story, how does a discussion about god belong on a blog about Ironman training, and even if I can find a twist to justify it, is it not dangerous water to swim in?
Actually I dont think so, as long as I avoid specific reference to individual denominations or sects, or cults or whatever we call them. I guess even in that comment I do somewhat slander organized religion in general. Alright, I concede that maybe I have some prejudices.
But let's try to find some common ground here on a generic level. No matter what you call him, what you think he/she looks like, whether you believe in an afterlife or in reincarnation, I believe it to be true that all human beings believe in a god of some form. In my mind even those that deny they do, are looking over their shoulders.
So for me the common ground, and the fit with my triathlon blog are two elements. First the human body and the complexity of it ; never "mind" the human "mind" that propels it, and allows us to do "stuff" like this triathlon "stuff".
And secondly there are the elements of this earth within which we perform triathlon. The earth, the air, the water etc. Call it what you like, our bodies and minds, and the planet we live on are spiritual places, both!
How did these things come to be....all by themselves?
So when I'm hammering down the highway on my bike, plodding along the shoulder in my running shoes, or crawling down the lane at the pool I feel a part of something way, way bigger than what I'm doing. I feel humbled and glorified both. This I will bet you. That if you ask anyone who competes in this cool sport at any level, you will get some form of a 'yes' answer to Colbys question. That's because most poeple who choose to do something so demanding, recognize that they are blessed to be able to do so, and so instinctively give some credit to some entity, even just out of gratitude. Gratitude also because if you've spent enough time out on your bike on our highways, you will not dispute that your life has been saved many times by some divine intervention, conveniently arriving just in time to make up for your lack of attention(read that as stupidity).
And if today(at least in St Thomas) didnt tell you something about a higher power I dont know what would. One of the most incredible early fall days you could imagine. Absolutely clear skies, temperature that actually reached 25 celsius, and little to no wind. Just a perfect exhilirating day for a bike ride. I felt like I could ride all day, which in hindsight is what I should have done, instead of deciding to get off, and run for 10K. That didn't go so well, as I only did 7, and I did some walking....but you know what? I was not in the least discouraged. It was a great day for walking as well. A day that my god made.
So call your god whatever you like, but don't try to convince me you don't believe in one! How else could a 5 year old, without having any idea how to explain who or what, can instinctively know it is what it is? That's my story and I'm sticking to it!
By the way...I prefer Creator, and I belong to the Church of the Great Outdoors!
I dedicate day 25 to my dad who I miss terribly. He believed in God!
And lastly for Mary...
"When God made me. Was he planning only for believers, or for those who just had faith?"....Neil Young
Live, laugh, and be happy.
peter
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3 comments:
I agree wholeheartedly. I don't understand how anyone can look at the marvel of a newborn child or the grace of a trained athlete and deny that there is a higher power. So call him what you will it is still a miracle to me that you can run an ironman and a baby can suck it's thumb and I respect anyplace you choose to worship!
When I read your previous blog about the journey or the destination, I began to think about the religious element. For thousands of years, religious leaders have tried to control human behaviour through the destination...eternal reward or damnation. as we began to question this as a society, i think we had to think more about what drove our behaviour if it was not 'heaven'. Thus we had to consider the journey...is there meaning in the trials of life and how we handle them. Ultimately i come to the same conclusion as you...there must be meaning in both. If we focus only on the destination, we become the 'suicide bombers' of life, willing to do almost anything for the 'reward'. On the other side, if we consider only the journey, we would never push ourselves beyond, and the great feats of human endeavour would never happen, not in athletics, engineering, medicine etc.
so now today's blog you talk about religions or as my son refers to them 'belief systems.'Personally I believe in God, but I struggle with a religion that I grew up with but that does not seem to reflect my inherent 'belief system'
But enought about that. Brett travelled with a colleague to Detroit airport yesterday, so the other guy left his truck here. It has a Subaru Canadian Ironman sticker on the back window! I think of you everytime I walk by it.
Love you
teresa
First of al I would like to say that I have no denomination, and I have no faith. I do not believe in any entity that is our higher power or a greater being of some sort. I beleive we are made of atoms. I beleive we are all made of the same energy. My son beleive what ever he does, I bthink due to his lack of perspective. He iss too smart to blindly call something "god" I will not try to stop my son from being curious. He can beleive what ever he wants. I do all though promise that if he asks me what I think that I will very firmly and without hesitation, tell him that I beleive there is no such thing as god, or heaven. I am glad that he has many different people in his life that can give him many diferent perspectives. I can do the things I do because I choose to. I am a machine that if given the right gas will and can do anything. Without the grace of god, I have ben without the grace of god for ever. I have what I have due to the blood sweat and tears I have put in. ot due to anything else certainly not due to some being that gave me anything. I look over no shoulders, fear nothing, and regret nothing. I hope that I have not offended anyone too much. I love you all, regardless of your race, religion, or creed.
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