Overcoming struggle...

Thich Nhat Hanh has become a wonderful insight into my own struggle with reconciling my Christian background with Buddhist practice. His writings are fantastically accurate and precise, explaining very simply the most intricate of concepts. For this, I am grateful. And thank you, Lindsey, for giving me the book.

What I have been struggling with as of late is the idea that I am straying from contemporary Christianity. The way I think about Christ and his divinity is shifting--into something I'm not quite sure of yet--and I'm incorporating other schools of thought into my religious life. What scares me is the idea that contemporary Christianity thinks they have the strangle hold on truth, so I am "unorthodox" or "not correct." Here is where I have to get out my critical thinking cap in order to solve this dilemma.

The more I think about it, the more I'm okay with being unorthodox, and here's why: Praxis. In practicing straight up modern Christianity, I have yet to find any sort of contentment, solid love, or reason to continue its practice. It is generally unsatisfying to me. I think the modern world is finding this to be true as well. Everywhere I look people are dissenting from the Church and changing their minds from "orthodox" truth. People see that the current interpretations of the bible aren't really working out the way Jesus says they will, but there are other ways to read and practice things. Paired with meditation and mindfulness, my Christian faith has been giving meaning. I have found much more contentment in the past few months of practice and thinking than I ever have in the past years of Christian practice.

If what I was doing didn't work and what I'm currently doing is producing results, I can't be too far off the target. I still see a very real need for my Christian doctrine. It isn't a total abandonment, just a reinterpretation. I'm happy. Life is beautiful.