The Adventure Begins

Hello.  If you are reading this blog I hope that you will find it informative, enlightening, and will perhaps provide a stimulus to seek out adventure and unique circumstances as they relate to what I will consider the three main features of this blog: culture, nature, and, of what shall be the focal point of my postings, religion and spirituality.  Of course, I would be naïve to think that as this blog develops I will not want to include extraneous topics as pertains to these three categories and so I will also add in food, books, and whatever else I become interested in or find relevant as time goes by.

This blog will be the anchor for a commitment that for a while I have been wanting to make to myself and, in many respects, to others.  Each week I hope to fulfill the main theme of this blog of religion and spirituality by visiting a different place of worship.  To define "place of worship," it can be any place where people come together in a search or pursuit of life's most succulent questions: "why am I here?, what should I do with my life?, do I have a purpose" and, pertaining to that which is already established by religion and faith, "what is my spirituality?, why do we do things this way?, who is God?."  It can also be any place where people seek comfort, solace, or community by means of spiritual devices or ties.

By doing this I hope to answer my own questions and to provide fun and interesting postings that can help to shed light on other's beliefs.  One of the main reasons this idea appeals to me and why I want to go out and experience these things myself is because of my own great ignorance in what other people believe and the basis of the ways in which they live their life.  By having others read my blog I also feel that there will be increased pressure that'll keep me going on my commitment!  In the event that I can't visit a religious place of worship, I will update about other areas of interest as I described above.

Additionally, since I am Roman Catholic I will not hesitate to share my own understandings as they pertain to faith through my own lens. A major purpose of this will be to help me to be both aware of my understandings and biases when encountering another faith as well as celebrating my own faith and others by drawing connections between them.

Another goal for this blog, however, is to stay away from the "I" mentality that I feel accompanies most forms of social media.  I'll certainly be giving my opinions, but in what I hope will be a constructive way, rather than just talking about my personal life.  I'd like to try to look deeply into what I find and share it as best I can with others.


Finally this blog is a response to what I see in Christianity as a lack of initiatives to certain areas of the faith that have been long overdue.  Mainly, deeper concern for nature, a stronger connection to the earth, an improved interior self-awareness, and the "faith" to step out of our own churches and into places that may make us a little uncomfortable, such as a mosque, temple, or even a different denomination!  I will definitely be exploring these areas as they relate to the Christian faith as time goes on.

As an added note: when possible I will try to talk to practicing members or leaders of the congregation.  This will be to help me with my problem of refusing to step out of my comfort zone and to help me get out of my shell.  It will also be to find in-depth and genuine answers to questions about the beliefs which people profess.

Also, all pictures on the blog will be taken by me unless noted otherwise. As many know, I have not always been a huge fan of being in pictures or taking them but I am starting to realize the importance of them in conveying information and feelings.  Like they say, "a picture is worth a thousand words."

Tomorrow I will start off my religious adventure by hopefully going to the traditional service at a local Presbyterian Church.  Although I have already had a considerable exposure to other faiths, I still get that uncomfortable feeling of not knowing exactly what I am doing and feeling blind when walking into another temple, mosque, or even just walking into another Christian church! 

Yet as St. John of the Cross says, “If a man wishes to be sure of the road he treads on, he must close his eyes and walk in the dark.”