A Few Thoughts (Ramblings) on This and That

In no particular order, here are some things I've been thinking about or noticed in the press that made me stop and think for a bit...

There is a magazine called Tricycle: The Buddhist Review.  In the Spring 2008 issue there is an article on Meditation.  In it, the author says this, "Knowing is Antithetical to Openness."

That made me think for a while.  That made me think this, "Openness is a Prerequisite to Knowledge."

Maybe I'm wrong, maybe I'm on to something.  I don't know, but that's something I'm thinking about right now.

There was a recent article in The Guardian (a leading UK paper) that focused on a statement by The Catholic cardinal of the UK.  In it he's quoted as saying that "Judeo-Christian values were the only thing binding British society together..."  I think that possibly many people in the US would have the same thought.  But isn't it sad that this way of thinking excludes the possibility of bringing in to our communities and societies over half the world [Buddhists, Hindus, Moslems, animists, Confucians, etc.?]  

And isn't also sad to think that a serious religious leader doesn't know how to look past religious differences to the core similarity that binds us all regardless of religion - we are all children of GOD?  That's the real value that we need to focus on to make the world a better place.

There was another interesting article in the Guardian recently - this was an OpEd, I think.  In it, the author says this.  "At the heart of the Christian Gospel are the values of integrity, justice, wholeness and inclusion: 'In Christ there is no bond or free, male or female, Jew or Greek."  How, therefore, can a church which claims to set people free and treat all as equal refuse even the possibility of considering whether a woman can be called to the episcopate?"  It's an interesting question...

In case you were wondering or had noticed, it's Champions League time in European Football (soccer to those who live in America!)  :-)

Paul and I had a great time last week watching two exciting matches:  Liverpool vs Arsenal and Roma vs Manchester United.  Paul's been a ManU fan forever so I had to root for them, or course.  But secretly I wanted Roma to win.  But ManU really outplayed them, so the better team won that night.  

Of course, we weren't there in person, but one we watched at home and one we watched at the pub.  That was fun!  I was also interested in the Chelsea vs Fenerbahce game - Fenerbahçe is a big club in Istanbul.  In Turkey they take their football VERY seriously!  You should check it out if you can - great games, amazing players and a lot of fun!  Hopefully when I'm in Istanbul I'll be able to go to a match or two - Istanbul has Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray and Beşiktaş, so there are some gret games there.  I'll have to check out the schedule.

I'm of to London tomorrow (Thursday) so I should have a few good pictures to share at some point in the next few days.