Two Things

On the eve of the 1st ever Idle Time Ghost Hunt, let me take this opportunity to ponder that age-old question, “Do you believe in Ghosts?”

As the brother of the team leader of this expedition, Jeannie and I have had the same up bringing, relatively the same views on life and religion were taught to us. As she stated in her blog we both grew up in a religious home, but not one that was oppressing or in any way zealous. I have since shed a lot of the things drilled into my brain as a child concerning heaven and hell, and come to an understanding (with the help of Carl Sagan) of how I believe the universe runs and our place in it……well sorta.

If anyone ever tells you they have things figured out they are lying. I am constantly questioning things and trying to discover the ultimate truth. I know I’ll never achieve that, but the day I stop is the day that I give up and better off dead. This world is too amazing to not try, to not look for answers, to not try and see the impossible and live in awe. I am lucky to have been exposed to all the different views that I have. I wouldn’t trade my years in a Pentecostal church for anything – even if I no longer subscribe to that institute of thinking and way of life. But for those that do, I do not past judgment. John Lennon said it best, “Whatever gets you thru the night…it’s alright. It’s Alright.”

So with that, here is what I have come to believe, and the foundation of why I do not believe in ghosts.

We are all Starstuff.
Born from a supernova. Every element you see here on Earth – the gold in that ring you wear on your finger – everything was forged in a Supernova. A star explosion. There is no disputing that fact. This act of creation is happening right now, light years away. Billons of years of evolution later and I’m here, typing this on a computer – astonishing. The clockwork of creation took hold on Earth – all the dots lined up and life flurshished. If but one thing was out of place, if the sun was a little bigger or smaller, if the continents had not dislodged they way they did allowing for the right flow of the warm oceans to stave off the ice age, if Jupiter was not there to soak up killer asteroids, we would not be here. Life is extremely fragile and exists on the direction of a breeze. Thoughts like these make me smile. To me, this is far more inciting and beautiful then the belief of one all powerful creator.

But at the same time, couldn’t a God be behind all of the above? Yes. And that is where the idea of Faith comes into play. Faith is the most powerful force in this world. It can cause wars, it can save lives - it can bring peace or it can bring destruction. It controls every action and reaction. We cannot live without it. So the question shouldn’t be, “Do you believe in ghosts?” it should be “Do you have faith that ghosts exist?”

If the faith is strong enough, there are ghosts. If your faith is stronger elsewhere, you will go through your life never seeing a single ghost. This simple formula is true for UFO’s and Bigfoot. And it’s true for all religions and their Gods. George Michael said it best, “You gotta have faith-a, faith-a, faith-a.”

So my faith in ghosts never took hold. I love the hell out of ghosts and goblins and all things supernatural, and believe me wish and hope that I will see a ghost tomorrow night, or sometime in my life – but the faith is not there. It was there as a child, at night, in bed in the dark. It was there at church when the spirit moved the congregation and Jesus spoke. But that was never enough. The simple fact that I’ve always woken up the next day without a bite mark on my neck disproves any rational that there are vampires. And the simple fact that I much rather give my heart to my children and my family, then to Jesus, speaks volumes. But that’s just me.

So what do I have faith in? In two things that go hand in hand. Two things we all have in common no matter where we grew up, or what church we went to. No matter if you believe you’ve been abducted by aliens or think God shouldn’t be mentioned in the Pledge of Allegiance. In two things that cross all cultures, and to me, is the reason for living and searching and creating and laughing and crying and waking up in the morning and yes even ghost hunting…..

Where does my faith lie? With love and with the stars.