Restoring my soul.

Not what’s my name, or marital status, or whether I have kids or what I do for a job.  Not any of that “stuff” that may indicate to someone my whereabouts or goings on, but truly who am I fundamentally?

This has been a question that I have been asking myself for a while now.  Sometimes I have moments of pure clarity of who I believe I am and other days there are clouds in my definition of self.

Recently I have been called a “left-wing crazy socialist”  which I smiled at and walked slowly away from the man in the white wrap around coat.  However perhaps on a good day to the normal populace my views may seem a little off kilter and not part of the status quo.  I am a socialist – in that I actually care about everybody and believe every human being has the right (whether given by God or man) to live their lives in comfort to their standards, to believe in God or not believe in God. To work, to study, to travel about through all borders.  I believe there should be no judgement, for none of us are perfect, least of all me.

There are a few that call me “friend”, these are the people that ‘get’ me, and love me anyway.  I am straight talking, tell it like it is and I don’t mince my words.  I don’t believe in Political Correctness or the “hurting of feelings” so to speak.  If everyone could just RESPECT each other for their humanness than there would be no need for Government mandated language.

I believe in Equality – pure equality. No provisions, no if’s but’s or when’s.  Equality.  The right for people to marry whom they choose without sanction from government or churches.  The right for all people regardless of race, nationality, colour, sexuality, wealth, poverty, to be treated equally by each other and by the laws of the land.

I believe in sharing the wealth.  Let’s face it the top 2% could put their heads together and solve famine in Africa, they could solve the lack of education in supposedly developed nations and then have some money left over to buy a couple of small European nations.  I believe that charity begins at home. Until we fix our own backyard we have no right to stick our noses into other peoples backyards.   I believe that in Australia there is NO need for people to live in poverty, there is no need for people to be homeless, there is no need for children to be going hungry at night; there is no need for old people to die huddled in blankets frozen because they cannot afford heat.  Australia is a wealthy country, a land of abundance.  There is no need to for schools to lack in resources, or hospitals to be going without.

There is just NO NEED for any suffering in this country.  The only reason there is, is because people are fed the notion that if they just take care of themselves that is all that matters.  We point fingers every day at the Government “what are they doing?” at each other “why don’t YOU do something?”  I believe EVERYONE has a role to play from the smallest child to the oldest person and everyone in between.  

I am a Christian – of Eastern Orthodox faith.  I am a convert from the Uniting Church.  But this does not give me special powers or make me more knowledgeable than my Islamic/Bhuddist/Indian/Jewish/Protestant/Catholic brothers or sisters.  It does not give me the right to demean or put anyone else down or treat them differently because their “God” goes by a different name or their “teachings” are different to mine.  We should all embrace each other’s beliefs, stop perpetuating the ignorance that is spewed forth by populist media and reactionary groups.  We are all brothers and sisters of the HUMAN faith and as such we should all respect each other.

Some have told me that perhaps I should have joined a Convent or worked for Charity organisation or even run for Politics myself.  I would never have survived the vow of silence in prayer at the convent.  I could not work for only ONE charity because they are all deserving and I would have to start my own Political Party because neither of the big two would have me.

My quest for finding myself will continue, as everyday with a little more knowledge and a little more study and experience, the Who I am today will change into the Who I become tomorrow.