Imagine peace and joy standing on a limb with a saw in your hand

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Imagine peace and joy

(Standing on a limb with a saw in my hand)

Today marks the anniversary of John Lennon’s song “imagine.”  There is a real temptation (for me) to say just go listen to that and you will understand something about seeking peace and joy today and this entry is finished.  Yet......that would  leave some things about  that iconic  song unexamined by some and part of my spirituality  (notice I’m not claiming religion) just won’t quite allow that.  

“Imagine all the people living for today.”  Seeking peace and joy certainly  seems to be something to  practice today and every day if possible.  Yet many people  have a conflict of faith with other lyrics.  “Imagine there’s no heaven—it’s easy if you try—No hell below us—above us only sky”. Well...that gives a me pause for reflection.  Was that open  criticism of what  I’ll loosely refer to as Western Religion?  Maybe.  On the other hand was it an open challenge for us to imagine a world where we  did not take on the. Role of eternal judge with regard to someone’s worship?  Was it an admission that caring for one another should be part of the  meaning of every person’s life instead of being conceited  enough to think humans have fully answered. All questions about  spiritual aspects of our universe?  Is it a plea for us to have the courage to. Explore all of our fundamental assumptions?  Is it a request. To seek more of what we have in common than the human categories we apply?  

I feel I owe the reader my interpretation here.  I believe that we are spiritual beings living a human experience.  Is there a God?  Yes.  I am neither wise  enough, nor do I feel an overwhelming need to claim my understanding of what that means applies to every other human  being or creature  on this planet or  any other for that matter. Could it? Possibly but not because I believe it, and certainly not because other people raised like me do or other people with the same color of skin or inhabiting the  same physical space believe it.  I do not think my faith is weak, although sometimes it is, and  I would understand others as seeing it to be.  Judge not lest ye be judged.  

On the other hand I do believe we  can approach peace and joy is we imagine and then create (and there is a definite connection ) experiences and meanings for those  experiences that allow us and all others to pursue their true gifts and “place.”  

Do we live in a world that could allow each of us to  become our  dream, I don’t know but I believe we must start by “imagining” so