Let's Talk About God
I often find myself speaking of God when all I really intended was a casual everyday talk. My life, in ways both obvious and unseen, revolves around my unprovable, uncontrollable, unstoppable belief in God. Every peaceful thought is a love letter to Him. Every worry is a desperate cry to Her. Everything that happens to me is an opportunity to see the state of my belief reflected in the pool of my life. And yesterday, once again, without instigation, the meandering path of conversation mixed with wine and friends led me to talk of the one recurring topic of my life. And I realize--when I am ever not talking of God?
“What is your definition of God?” I was asked. My reply was “Everything.” How can I define the indefinable? How can words convey what transcends human understanding? And yet, I had to wonder: what is my definition of the one, true God? To even attempt a definition is to immediately fail, but I cannot allow the most important piece of my life to go without words.
What is my definition of God? God is the substance and source of creation. God is the ineffable, original force from which all forces come, the supreme consciousness from which all consciousness originates. Everything around us, from the quarks to the cosmos, is God. What appears to be you and me, what appears to be the elements and atoms that form our world and the rules they live by is, in fact, that beautiful, invisible, unknowable One in disguise. God is the all-loving beingness that lies at root of all the most primal vibrations of the strings and particles that form us.
If this is my definition of God, then there can be nothing outside of that all-encompassing Source. If God is all, then everything I think, experience, say, or do is a part of that All. Every question, great or small, that my mind grapples with is a ripple on the surface of God’s being. Every feeling I have penetrates the heart of the One who is the end and beginning. Even if I never speak directly of God again, my every word will continue to define Him because He is my source and my substance. Every experience is an opportunity to understand more of this universe, which is God. No matter what I do, God is the ultimate doer. No matter what I experience, God is the silent witness to it all. No matter what I see, I am seeing God.
Throughout my life, I’ve always returned to the impossible task of defining the Divine. I have been a singer, a cashier, a secretary, a writer, a graphic designer, a producer, and a brand representative, and in every varied and unique job, I always find myself drawn to the aspect of the work that touches the soul. Whether I am singing a jazz tune or writing an article about a local business, I have always wanted nothing more than to convey what I see as divine in that song or story. I have never stopped my personal game of hide and seek with God. And no matter where I look, I see the One, True God looking back at me. In the height of my joy and the depths of my pain, I see Him. In my work, in the faces around me, in the life I’ve created, in the desires I hunger for, I see Her there.
I realize now that I can’t help myself. I need to talk about God. I need to continually tell the story of God. So, let’s talk about God. Or let’s talk about nature, friendships, art, music, or even the weather. Because we whatever we talk about, it’s all another page in the infinitely interesting book of God’s universe. So, lets talk about science and health and all the beautiful challenges we face. Let’s talk about the pains and victories of our human existence. Let’s debate the issues and cover all the angles. Let’s talk about Rumi’s love poems to the soul or Laozi’s “way.” Let’s find how many beautiful ways we can talk about the one thing we’re really all talking about...the one, mysterious, beautiful God.