Freedom of Religion

Today the Haynies and us went to a symposium on Freedom of Religion put together by the public affairs of the Church. I love learning from a room full of incredibly smart people!  At this meeting were important religions imaginable. We sat with the Catholic group that came. Two father's and two secretaries.  It was great because the group was small enough to keep a controlled discussion, but big enough to have good representation from the different religions. 

 It was a fabulous experience to sit in the room with a group of people who were strong and independent, and who had diverse backgrounds and completely unique perspectives on freedom of Religion.   It was really quite exceptional to sit back and watch as each person shared their views from their different angles and then to see the ideas flow from the discussion. I learned a lot today from the people I was able to meet with, and it was a really a great experience. 

The speakers were Vic Taylor, our own legal adviser. Attorney Jo Imbong from the Catholic Church, Dr. Potre D Dirampatan- Diampuan a muslim woman from Mindanao where many Muslims live, and Miguel or (Mike) Valdez our Seminary and Institute of Religion Director. We couldn't stay past lunch but what we heard was enough to learn the different views of those who attended since after the remarks of the presenters there was time for questions and answers. 

As I sat in the symposium I was thinking to myself how we don’t do enough of those types of discussions.  Discussions with a group of diverse people, from different backgrounds, that can just sit in a room and talk openly about how we view a topic.  The discussions are the most interesting when you are not trying to necessarily come to an answer, but rather, you are simply sharing information and experiences that have led you to hold the views you hold on a subject.  It’s nice because there isn’t a right or a wrong to the discussion, just the sharing of information in order to get your wheels turning. What I was reminded of most today was the fact that I love to learn about other people. I really do. 

 I absolutely love it when I can learn new things and meet new people or explore new topics, or broaden my horizons, or see things in a new light because I have more facts to help form my views.  There is something so energizing about gaining intelligence!  I loved being reminded of that today!  It’s so easy to get caught up in the “norm” of just doing the day-to-day, and the problem with that is that it keeps your mind from expanding and learning new things or exploring new ideas.   In fact, I have come to recognize that the day-to-day routine is a complete creativity killer!!  And so I have decided that I will be committing a dedicated amount of time every week that I will use to learn something new – so I will spend that time either reading a great motivational book, or having a group discussion with a room of incredibly smart and diverse people, or learning a new skill  – the bottom line is that I will dedicate that time to learning!   And I would challenge all of you reading this to make that same commitment to learn something new each week as well.  And then we can all hang out together and share our new found intelligence with one another and that will make us even smarter!

Con amor,

Vero