Recently I had the experience of going to an Orthodox cathedral to celebrate Easter. I, not being a member of their faith, found to be absolutely enchanting in some ways. Although I do not believe these rituals I could find common ground in the service and got something out of it for myself. I myself was a missionary in the Romania Bucharest mission. There I was able to meet many Orthodox Church members and learn about their traditions. I feel this has greatly affected my ability to respect their services. In many ways, I am able to strengthen my own believes through this respect of what they believe. I am able to adopt in my own life the things that I agree with in their faith.
There is much diversity in the world today. Within my own family reside people of varying moral standards and beliefs. While still being able to make decisions for my own life, I have been able to meet and understand cultures that are not my own through these people. I feel indebted to these experiences because they help me see the world through different eyes. These alternative perspectives, though not completely lining up with my own belief system, strengthen my own beliefs in a positive manner.
Life is great because of the diverse circumstances we all get to interact with people. All people have worth and often times the outside appearance is the most fake, non-worthwhile part of our being. If someone judged some people I know by the way they look or present themselves in public, they would miss out on the best parts of that person. I include myself in this group of people. I often times exude a false pretentiousness that really does not accurately display my perspective of the world. I only hope that as time goes on, I can become comfortable enough with myself to show more and more of my true self to the people around me. The Jake scene in public is the most pitiful part of myself and its important to me to change that.
Much Love
Jake
