GODS COME AND GO

Like the wind –
Like passing thoughts –
Like faint memories of the future.

From the beginning, people were fearful of being alone.

Before people made anything, before planting fields of wheat,
Before brewing beer and having fun, and before establishing permanent places to live –
They created “Gods”
And placed them high up on a shelf – served by priests –
Who then required reciprocal services, in turn, from everyone else.

When a God dies – the city also dies along with all the surrounding countryside –
Then, finally, the people’s very identity starts dying –
Because they believed in the wrong thing –
Because they didn’t understand that freedom comes before “God” –
Because they didn’t appreciate that God actually is freedom!

No person possessing an ego will ever see the real God
Because the ego is blind to itself – and to everything else as well.

No person lacking freedom will experience joy either –
Because joy thrives only in a world of unlimited freedom.

Historically, archaeologists have discovered Gods living inside other Gods
Like Russian nesting dolls –
There are also ladders inside our souls that go nowhere –
Because where there’s no spiritual orientation there can be no freedom either.

People have forgotten their love of God
So no longer remember what the opposite of despair looks like –
Instead, they’ve ended up inside materialistic media mirrors
And a desire, mainly, for morning to night entertainment.

This is how America ends.

ARE “GOD” AND “GOOD” SYNONOMOUS? (for Bruce)

In other words, is “God” just another name for the “Good”?
And, if so, wouldn’t that make it difficult to remain an atheist or agnostic?

The “Good” doesn’t require religious institutions
Like ministers, rabbis, or priests to support its natural state –
And, in fact, don’t they sometimes undermine it?

Perhaps we should consider getting rid of the word “God” altogether
Because, given the hypocrisy traditionally inherent in religion,
Couldn’t it frequently be pointing people away from the “Good.”

And perhaps it might also make sense
To dispense with other “God” accoutrements, as well –
Including holy books, religious paraphernalia, and all those buildings, buildings, buildings.

Maybe it’s time for “God” to be “born again” as the “Good” –
And for this ancient shibboleth to be de-institutionalized and purified.

Everyone recognizes the “Good” when they experience it
While “God” frequently can only be identified through religious passwords –
Especially in the Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, and other major religious institutions
Of today.