This morning I woke up and asked God the question, “What do you want from me today?”
Since God rarely capitulates to my demand for an instant answer, I didn’t wait for a response. [Atheist Mother Theresa also explained her "communication" with the ultimate Christian deity as one of "mutual silence."] I jumped out of bed and into my day.
It was in the [bathroom] shower that I heard God’s reply. This happens so frequently that I’m beginning to wonder if my bathroom should be designated a religious shrine.
“Be compassionate,” God said. “That’s what I want you to do today.”
As [Buddhist monk and peace activist] Thich Nhat Hanh says, “Compassion is a verb.” Unlike someone who is merely empathic, the compassionate person not only feels the pain of the other but actively does something to alleviate their suffering as well.
Since God rarely capitulates to my demand for an instant answer, I didn’t wait for a response. [Atheist Mother Theresa also explained her "communication" with the ultimate Christian deity as one of "mutual silence."] I jumped out of bed and into my day.It was in the [bathroom] shower that I heard God’s reply. This happens so frequently that I’m beginning to wonder if my bathroom should be designated a religious shrine.
“Be compassionate,” God said. “That’s what I want you to do today.”As [Buddhist monk and peace activist] Thich Nhat Hanh says, “Compassion is a verb.” Unlike someone who is merely empathic, the compassionate person not only feels the pain of the other but actively does something to alleviate their suffering as well.
Why is compassion in such short supply these days? Radical self-concern, our spiritual nemesis, militates against our practicing it. We are so preoccupied with our own struggles that we become inured to the unseen difficulties others are surely facing. More
The mystic experience of Oneness (while dancing)
- Was Mother Teresa an atheist? (Guardian.co.uk)
- Mother Teresa's crisis of faith (Time Magazine)
- Christopher Hitchens on Mother Teresa's atheism
- Shattering the Myth of Mother Teresa
- Can "Godless Atheists" have Moral Values?
The mystic experience of Oneness (while dancing)