This is admittedly a bit weird, but I think it’s worth sharing if for no other reason than I want to verbalize the thoughts.
In the middle of lunch on a beautiful sunny day, completely randomly my girlfriend stops, has an intense moment of thought, and then makes a little dish of food and sets it out on our balcony.
She’s Buddhist, which isn’t even supposed to be a religion (according to the Buddha himself), but whatever. These days I pretty much dismiss all religions equally, except for the ones that essentially hate life itself – they’re despised on a different level.
I didn’t think much of it though and we continued our lunch, a nice breeze blowing through our flat, the river and city far below bathed in the mid-day sun.
And then, a few minutes later, out of nowhere came rain. Heavy, tropical rain, blowing sideways. We had to slide the glass doors closed to keep the floor from getting soaked.
A bit surprising, but it’s the tropics, it happens.
But then it was gone. In less than 5 minutes, the balcony completely soaked, the rain dissipated and the sun came back out.
To make the point stronger, it hadn’t rained all day, and it hasn’t rained since. Sun, all day. Except for those 5 minutes, coming just minutes after she’d put the dish of food out on the balcony, presumably as an offering of some sort (she doesn’t try and explain, because she knows I’ll try and logically talk her out of believing in it).
It made me laugh, and still does. Because while my parents would call it some kind of witchcraft, if I had a dollar for every time my mom has claimed that she prayed and God changed the weather for her, well…
So I guess the discussion point is that if a Christian had walked out and prayed for rain, and then coincidentally it rained 5 minutes later, that’d be God, but if a Buddhist puts out an offering and then coincidentally 5 minutes later it pours, then the sun comes back out, that’s either nothing (just a “coincidence”) or it’s witchcraft.
It couldn’t possibly be the universe noticing and showing gratitude…or could it?
I do believe we live in a spiritual world, and I happen to like parts of the Buddhist belief system as a way of living and interacting with others and the world around one’s self.
So is it possible that as she was doing a kind deed externalized into the universe, the universe was really saying thank you? Is it just coincidence? Or was it the devil himself?
Considering this girl’s heart is more “good” and despite not having much she’s more giving than most well-off Christians I know, I’m pretty sure the devil had nothing to do with anything – and anyone who’d believe that has some serious issues.
Which leaves either coincidence or some kind of universal statement of gratitude.
Everything is energy, and everything is connected…so I’ll go with the latter. I have no idea what it might mean, but it’s kind of cool.
If “God is Love” as theologians have stated, then why wouldn’t Love say thank you in a tangible, creative way, in response to a humble act of deep gratitude, rooted in a love for life itself?