Giving Thanks

The days here are generously supplemented by prayer and song. In the mornings, I often wake to singing, the prelude to praying itself; before and after meals, we all bow our heads in thanks; at night, someone is chosen to read from the bible and lead everyone in song and more prayer. Twice a week, the older Christian girls meet with members of the church and rehearse the song which they sing on Sunday. In this small corner of Bali, we are constantly giving thanks.

Unfortunately, I have never been a particularly religious person. Spiritual maybe, but never religious. Basically the only time I have ever gone to church has been for funerals or, when I was little, after spending the night at a friends house. Although I think I went once with my Grandma, and I remember I became so hungry during the service that I went up and received the host because at the time, I thought it was just a cracker. Oops. So all of this praying is kind of a new thing for me. But I like it.

I like taking time to think about what I am thankful for, because there is so much to be thankful for. So while everyone thanks the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, I just send out a wave of thankfulness. I’ve told some people that I do not have a religion, right after revealing that my hobbies are cooking, reading, and traveling. Usually, after sharing my godlessness, I am asked to repeat myself, because usually, the girls cannot believe that not only am I not Hindu or Muslim, but that I am not Christian either. But now, I am just starting to say that I am a Christian, but a bad one who has never gone to church or been involved in any youth group. It is much easier, especially because I am worried that I would be asked not to sing in the choir. Yes. I sing in the church choir every Sunday.

And I like it. I like going to church too because everyone has so much love in their hearts and is so passionate about their God. Every Sunday is a beautiful celebration of love. My favorite part is when we all shake hands and ask God to love and forgive each other. It makes me cry (just a little bit), because everyone is so genuine and their words are so heartfelt. They really do want God to love me and forgive me, and I really do want Something to love and forgive them. I wish we would go around everyday to everyone, wishing them love and forgiveness. The world would be a much better place.

Church does get a little tricky though sometimes, especially because the pastor speaks very good English. One day she asked if my parents were Christian, and not wanting to lie, I said no, they were not. She replied that maybe when I returned home I would be able to save them. She went on to say how hard it is now, in the modern world, to stay on the right path without the guidance of Jesus. I think I mumbled something, and then very carefully replied that I think there are many right paths and many right ways to walk along the right paths. She sort of nodded and changed the subject.

I was perfectly serious though. I know a lot of good people who have a religion, and I know a lot of good people who don’t. Both groups are happy, and both groups give much of their heart and energy to helping others and making the world a better place. I figure that both groups have found the same thing, but perhaps they just have different names for their motivation. That’s really what it comes down to, I think: names and definitions. I think that at a core level, people walking along the “right” path have found the same thing, but they just call it differently: enlightenment, Jesus, God, Buddha, and all sorts of other names. But it is all the same because the core of all of those names encourages people to be good people who make the world better for themselves, for their neighbors, and for strangers. Who cares what anyone calls it.