from Wendell Berry's A Continuous Harmony:
"If all that a man can understand were all there is, if there were no mystery, then the mind would be trapped, and damned within its limits; one should rejoice in understanding, but rejoice also in failing to understand, for in that failure the mind is set free" (Berry, 30).
In essence, isn't the mystery of what we fail to understand the main component of religion? We may feel some sort of presence, or perhaps we are seeking answers to questions we have about life and turn to religion to try and help us understand. We are constantly searching for the truth, or maybe searching for what is real. Discussions about what is real always discomfort me for some reason. Saying that certain things we feel are not real but delusions of our mind just seem like another person is forcing their scientific reasoning on your personal experience. But no one else can know the exact emotions and feelings that any individual has experienced, so how is it their right to say that it was just a delusion? As Cat was saying in the discussion in class today, it should not matter if it is real to everyone else, because it is real to that one particular person who is experiencing it. Reality is really hard to objectify, because it is such an abstract concept. I enjoy the fact that there is so much mystery in this world. In creation especially, there is quite a mystery. How did we all come to be? What came first, the chicken or the egg? There are so many different beliefs about how the world and its creatures were created, but how can we really be sure? We weren't there. We haven't witnessed it. All we can do is marvel at the wonders of nature and its meticulous cycles and unfathomable tiny details. Many people use God as an answer to this question of how such beauty can be lavished upon the earth. Even this name that is credited with the wonders of creation is mysterious. Is it simply something we made up for comfort? Or is it "real?" Is it just a name placed on this spiritual presence that we feel? "God the creator is the God of mystery, a presence felt but not known" (Berry, 35). There is no way I can ever answer these questions. There is no scientific, objective answer that everyone can accept as a fact. The most I can say is that the creation of this earth was an amazing feat to be accomplished and its beauty, power, and mysteries astound me everyday. I relish the unknown and immerse myself in the beauty of nature and take the advice of Wendell Berry to simply "Be joyful because it is humanly possible" (Berry, 40).
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