A MOSAIC PIECE OF MY LIFE: The Primacy of Free Will for Each Individual.

Inexorably linked with the notion of a template through which all reality seems to fit together, at least in a preliminary sense, is the ability of the human species to choose what they think is good for them. What differentiates us from other living species is that we can control nature within the limits of human nature.

If B.F. Skinner’s concept of operant conditioning holds true; humans and animals respond to pleasure/pain impulsively. I know I do. In the operant conditioning sense, free will gives me the ability to choose an alternative that I know to be true but may not be pleasurable.

If I, along with all other humans of my species are characterized as being free to choose what we think is good for us, then what is good for us depends not only on our emotions (although that is a part of it) but on what is right versus what is easy and pleasurable.

My research into the human condition has shown that humans often must make a choice that goes against nature and seemingly against reason and life experience to move to that next level of human awareness, like a snake shedding its skin through molting.

My choice of The Christ Principle as the template to explain how everything works together results from over seventy years of trying (and still trying) to answer three questions that haunt my human heart: a. What is that next step in humanity that will fulfill my nature? b. What does it mean to love fiercely? And, c. What is a truth that does not corrupt with time nor increase consciousness?

To further challenge me, each person must look at being Catholic or Atheist or nothing at all, with the sum of their life experiences. In this sense, my Catholicism is not valid because of its conformity to rules and regulations but rather primarily because, with that one vote, that one act of my will, I must sustain my resolve daily lest it fall victim to original sin’s incessant pull at me to resist growing to that next level. My Catholicism is not your Catholicism. Each person addresses their Faith from the individuality of their being. Yet, the one constant in all this is the Real Presence of Christ, body and blood, soul and divinity, who waits for me to sit down each moment and just be there, without agenda, with only unconditional love (as I can muster) and wait.

Like sitting out in the Sun with its nourishing rays of Vitamin D, I need to be in the presence of this natural part of my existence, but, like all things human, realize with my free will that too much Sun will cause my physical skin to get sunburn. Ouch!

Freedom to choose is a prerequisite for moving to the next level of my humanity: being an adopted son (daughter) of the Father. Free will is the gift where I must realize that, to move to that next level of my humanity, it would seem that I have to give up my will as subservient to that of God. In actuality, I am not subordinating my will to anyone, but rather adding my lack of energy to that which has no limits to their nature. This relationship called a covenant, needs daily renewal to keep me sustained and resolved at this higher level of my humanity until I move to the next step of my nature, being with God in heaven.

It is what I choose to help me be aware of how to move to that next level of my humanity, one that I alone must make, not my nature in its natural progression. Not all ideologies nor “isms” get me there. Christ became human to give us that plan (Scriptures) and to show us how to sustain ourselves in the martyrdom of our ordinary life (Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, and Reconciliation). All of this while I live will prepare me to live forever. While my physical life may be corruptible, being also an adopted son (daughter) sustains me now and forever in the future. All of this is possible because, like the Blessed Mother, I realized that I am me and God is God and used that to breach the barriers between visible and invisible reality.

Don’t overcomplicate the religion part of religion. See the big picture and where you fit into your human maturation, and just wait with a humble heart for the fulfillment of your humanity. Christ transforms you by just being in His presence. Being a Lay Cistercian means I aggressively look for ways to be with the one I love as much as possible.

To be continued…

uiodg