This I Believe:

Ed Jones

I believe all life, in all its forms, is perfect, an emanation of the creative energy of the Universe, the proceeding of the infinite and eternal.  I believe the Creator is All, All that has been and that will be, and is me.  I believe in the oneness of all life and the power of knowledge to create among us understanding, respect and acceptance, and that from these comes love that can nurture our spirits and bind us together in brotherhood.

I believe in the goodness of us all, that love begets love, that "teaching," coercion, threat, punishment, and the instilling of conscience are the great destroyers of the human spirit, interrupting, interfering with, and often prostrating our potential for exploring the uncharted territory of the perfection within.  I believe it is these impediments, accepted as cornerstones of childrearing and justice in the conduct of society, which stand between us and our ability to evolve in all aspects of our lives toward yet unimagined heights of human progress.

 I believe our children become what we are, that we all suffer ignorance, that ignorance nurtures ignorance, and that so long as we tolerate it in our lives we perpetuate its ravages in the lives of our children. I believe we need to see our children as "angels," for they will become whatever we may believe them to be.

I believe my neighbor is my brother, that he who considers me his enemy is one who believes I neither respect nor want to understand the struggles of his life.

I believe war is unconscionable, that most human conflict can be resolved peaceably, that true self-defense may be necessary.

I believe that we must be on guard against the propensity of our fear to lead us to unreflective faith, untenable belief, and intransigence in the face of evidence.

I believe life should be lived in harmony with our fellow man, and with respect for life in all its forms.  I believe that we should preserve memory of the good and the bad we have experienced as individuals, and as a species, so we may be able to visualize where we might yet go, and can actively participate in the choice of those directions.

I believe that the greatest task before us is the challenge to evolve, however incrementally, toward the fulfillment of our potential, which we are as yet unable to conceive.  I believe we are more than we know, and that within each of us is the capacity to think deeply, sincerely, and fearlessly, to contemplate possibilities, and to make discoveries now beyond our imagination.

And, finally, I believe it is important to believe in the ability of rational mind, and poetic mind, using them to explore possibilities in all aspects our lives, probing for wonders within, around us, and in the Universe, for it is in those places we will discover more of who we are, and perhaps how we came to be, and what may lie ahead.