Master Kong; Yeshua of Nazareth; the Prophet Muhammad; Charles and Myrtle Fillmore; Socrates; Plato; the farmers who labor to make the food I put on my plate; the Medieval Jews, Christians, and Muslims who gave ancient philosophy to the West and opened the way for the Industrial Revolution; George Washington Carver; the inventor of the copy printer system; the various creatures of the earth who contribute to the interdependent ecosystems of which we are a part; PMH Atwater; and countless others have helped me both directly and indirectly in my life. Ultimately, every experience I have had comes from someone else, as all are interconnected and interdependent.

I can remember that everything is interconnected and interdependent. Just now, I ate some pizza rolls. People worked in a factory to make the food and worked on farms to make the ingredients. Animals manage the number of plant predators so that the crops can remain, and the cows are milked to produce the cheese. The plants and the weather are deeply connected, and bacteria have created the atmosphere so that rain could nourish plants. When eating, I can remember the interconnectedness of all things and appreciate that.

Well, I am grateful for God’s efforts, at least, even though I didn’t exactly take the advice…one day, I ate three fortune cookies, and all three said, “A new pair of shoes will do you good.” I kind of giggled and thought, “What a coincidence!” I even ate another cookie to see if maybe they all said that, but the next cookie I ate was something different. That afternoon, during a meet, my shoes started falling apart. If nothing else, however, I am grateful for the sign that the Universe is looking out for me and guiding me through these subtle synchronicities. This is especially comforting in light of the fact that I used to be terrified and thought God hated me. I have a much different worldview now.

If you smile at a baby, the baby will usually smile back, without being like, “Who’s this guy/lady?” I think we can learn from this because it is an example of loving unconditionally no matter who it is. This includes the so-called “unlovable,” even though it’s difficult. If Hitler smiled at a baby, the baby would not ask what kind of person he was; the baby would just smile back because the baby is wise and knows that all humans deserve unconditional love, especially those who do not know love themselves.

My heroes are Socrates, Yeshua ben Yusuf, Martin Luther King Jr., the Apostle Paul, Krishna, the Buddha, Lao Tzu, Master Kong, Rabbi Hillel, John of Patmos, Muhammad, God, William Shakespeare, Baha’llah, and my pastor, Ben. These people have reminded me to never lose my spirit of philosophical inquiry and challenging of the status quo; have taught me to love God, neighbor, and “enemy”; have taught me the power of non-violent direct action; have served as an example to me in leading a church and interpreting scripture creatively but faithfully; have taught me the importance of following nothing but my own dharma; have reminded to let go of unnecessary clinging to what is impermanent; have taught me the power of living simply, naturally, and without resistance to what is; have reminded me to place the needs of others as a top priority; have taught me the essential messages of the Torah; have taught me the power of using art to convey hurt at injustice; have shown me what it means to obey God while serving humanity; have granted me great metaphysical wisdom through plays and poetry; have taught me the goodness in accepting people of all faiths into my heart, and have shown me wonderful ways that God has worked in their own lives. Above all, I am grateful to the Source of ALL THAT IS, who has blessed me with wisdom to co-create my reality and to do what is good and just and loving in the world.

My churches, my university, the demo.gratefulness.org community, the beautiful ecosystem, and the general community of all living beings bring me energy and joy. I can help them thrive by participating in community outreach projects and religious classes in church; showing love to everyone at school and participating in class discussion; continuing to write at demo.gratefulness.org; driving less and giving my possessions to those in need and to charitable causes; and showing unconditional love to everyone, especially those I disagree with or don’t always get along with. We can only fight hate with love, not more hate.

When I go to the church service tonight, God-willing, I can look at the church and its teachings with fresh eyes, seeing what I can learn from seeing religion with fresh eyes, especially in light of its origins in Judaism. Furthermore, when I watch Star Wars Episode I, God-willing, I can watch this with fresh eyes, approaching it as I would any other form of “text” and seeing what kind of metaphysical interpretations I can get out of it, applying new spiritual lessons and wisdom into my life.