"There's a way in which each of us makes small choices every day, and after a period of time, those choices develop into a pattern, and we might be thought of as choosing our "Selves." So each moral, ethical choice forms our identity, and as we move forward... We choose our way into being ourselves."
Beyond Belief, a documentary about 9/11.
I wonder sometimes where you draw the line between choosing a religion/a way to worship God, and choosing God himself. Where do the lines blur between Ritual, Real, and Relationship?
Last night, my best friend and I were talking about the appeal of Islam. I said that most of the women I've met have chosen Islam, not out of lack of other choices, but because they have explored other religions and found Islam to be the one that spoke to them. After lunch with some Muslim friends yesterday, one thing I underlined three times was that Islam is a religion of SEEKERS. These women were seekers, they were trying to find the way and the truth. They sampled other religions - Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity, Catholicism, and ISLAM was the one that stuck for them. Why?
My best friend and I wondered if it might be the clarity of Islam - it leaves nothing to speculation: if you do this ___ you will reap this ____. There are no variations of "good." Either you pray five times, and perform the ceremonial washing, or you dont. There are no two ways about it, almost as if you have a checklist and you can go down it, at the end of the day saying "Yes (or no), I have been a good Muslim today." It is concrete, it is measureable. It is real.
But my question is, in any religion, how do you discern when you cross from ritual into real and from real into relationship?
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