The Present That’s Simply Present

Last updated on: September 1, 2022 at 4:40 pm by Spiritual Naturalist Society

The Present That’s Simply Present 2022-09-01T16:40:44-04:00 Spiritual Naturalist Society

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by Thomas Schenk

A bumper sticker I saw today read: “Don’t worship the creation, worship the Creator.”

That the Creation exists, I know as the most intimate of facts. I am a part of it. As far as I can see (which, admittedly, is not very far), the Creation is my creator.

Who or what created the Creation? The driver of the car with the bumper sticker probably would say, “God.” And I’d ask “Who or what created God”?

To posit a creator apart from the Creation is, it seems to me, merely to posit one inexplicable to explain another. Why multiply inexplicables?

That the Creation is is a great mystery. Religion, philosophy and science all attempt to shine a light on that mystery, but its depths remain unlit.

Whatever it is, It is our ultimate source. It’s the gift that gives Itself, the present that’s simply present. If we love our life, we have It to thank. If we hate our life, we have It to curse.

I don’t feel compelled to worship, adore or even revere the Creation, but from early youth I have felt compelled to wonder about It, wander about within It, and contemplate It.

These days I dedicate what little artistic skill I possess in the service of articulating my thoughts and feelings about It. I suppose that is reverence of a sort.

Is there a way to condense all this into a bumper-sticker-sized slogan?

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