Today's MOZEN 7/2/2013

Words and photo by F LoBuono

It's pretty obvious to most who read my work, or know me personally, that I'm not a particularly religious person. One might say my approach to things spiritual are non-traditional to say the least. In fact, the many of those who see me as downright iconoclastic in my approach to traditional religion would, indeed, be accurate. But I've also tried to make it clear that, at the same time, I certainly see myself as a spiritual person, i.e. a seeker of inner truth, clarity, and, subsequently, enlightenment and eventual salvation. And I see how the two can be interpreted as different.

So, I pray. It may be my version of what a prayer is, but it most certainly is just that. I pray to many of the entities that have been with us from the beginning of time and shine the light of love on the path to justice, righteousness, consciousness, and lasting peace. I want to live with passion and compassion. I want to know what it is to live without hate, avarice, greed, and intolerance. I want to sow the seeds of justice, patience, and understanding. And I pray. I pray to the Buddha to share his way of enlightenment with me. I pray to Jesus, Prince of Peace, to open my heart and accept the true way to salvation through forgiveness. I pray to the earth, the wind, and the sun, and the rain. And I pray to my ancestors to give me guidance on the long and winding path of life.

I have no church, no temple, no ashram. I endorse, nor condemn, any religion (unless it harms others). I pray where I sit, where I walk, where I stand, where I lay. And I pray whenever the spirit, any SPIRIT, moves me.