Knowledge and spirituality. I have been thinking a lot about this as a couple weeks ago I was in a discussion with someone about it. Though I kept repeatedly saying that both are equally important, she kept saying that all she needed was her faith. While that is her choice and I honor that, without knowledge she becomes biased to her own beliefs.

What do we gain from faith? Security. Feeling that there is something greater than us, something that guides us, so to speak, is inherent to the human race. Not all believe in a “higher power”, but at least 3/4 of the world does have some kind of faith in a higher being.

What do we gain from knowledge? Tolerance. Understanding of our roots. Those who study not only their own faith, but other faiths as well have a greater understanding of how the human mind works. We have an understanding of the roots of faith. In having such an understanding, tolerance generally follows. When we can understand why we have the beliefs we do and where they come from, we become more accepting of all types of faiths.

Knowledge doesn’t have to compete against spirituality. One does not trump the other. Only in our minds, in our fear of the unknown, does knowledge scare us. The fear behind learning tends to be that we’ll learn our beliefs are a fraud. But how can that be? How can true belief (not fact, mind you, but belief) be wrong? How can it be fraudulent when spirituality hinges on personal experience? Knowledge tells us what happened in history. No amount of balking or turning a deaf ear is going to change how religion started. It will, however, open up our eyes to what people of the past believed in relation to what we believe today. We would learn, for example, that all faiths have very similar beliefs. The deities in those faiths may differ, but the core values remain the same. That tells us a lot about the human race. No matter what gods we call on, we all want respect.

Knowledge and spirituality can co-exist. We can have one without the other, but then we become unbalanced. Knowledge without faith can leave us feeling empty. Faith without knowledge can lead to intolerance and hatred, which in turn leads to death and destruction. Either we take on faith that there are other beliefs that are just as valid as our own, or we do the research on the history behind those beliefs, as well as our own. Condeming others because we are scared of what we would find about our own faith (how it started, what early people believed) is cowardice at best.

We all have a choice. What we choose to believe is solely up to us, regardless of what other people think. Whether we choose to study (both our own faith and outside of it) is also up to us. Bringing an end to hatred of different faiths should be on everyone’s to-do list.

Ok, it’s a few days past the fourth…but bear with me, I’ve been down with a summer cold.

So…our fourth was prettty good. We went up to Chester for their annual parade (which my sis-in-law and I missed …long story, though) and their craft fair. The boys got some sno cones while us adults got the tri tip lunch. For a little country thing, you expect to pay more and get less, right? Well, not there! For $9 you get about 4 big slices of tri tip, half a plate of beans, a big helping of salad and a slice of french bread…and the lady even gave me extra bread for the boys! My 4 year old was happy to be able to share such a big meal with me.
We walked around the craft fair for a bit after eating, then headed back down to my sis-in-law’s (ok, so it wasn’t as easy as that). It was more like my hubby called at exactly the right moment (he was sleeping late from working late the night before) and the boys and I got a ride to our house with him and then got a ride into town when he went to work a couple hours later. We were picked up by my sis-in-law’s hubby and taken to her house.
Anyway, we hung out at their for a bit, then around 7ish headed back into town to watch the fireworks at the fairgrounds….and my sis-in-law’s hubby set off their own. It was awesome and the boys loved it.

That night I tossed and turned (I hadn’t been feeling very good, but not too bad, either, for most of the day) and woke up with one hell of a head cold. I’m just now starting to get rid of it. It hasn’t been a very fun past 3 days.

Here’s a beak-down of the busy week I’ve had…lol.

Monday - Heart-to-heart talks with Crystal (my sis-in-law) while she looked for a place in the area I’m living. Thunder storms brought about quite a few fires in the area…resulting, of course, in lots of smoke. The boys and I headed back with her into town, with the idea of staying the night at her place. That’s when we realized how bad the fires in town had gotten. A few smaller ones merged to create one big one. We were all hungry, but quickly found out most of the town was without power…either from the thunder storms or from the fires. No fast food for us! We stopped at a resturaunt that had power and spent more money than planned. Eventually, we made it to Crystal’s house and hunkered down for the night.

Tuesday - ’G’s 10th birthday! Though since my hubby had to work that night, we decided to post-pone the event until the next day, when he’d be off. Before heading home, we stopped off at a new friend’s house to visit and console her, since the fire came really close (about 100 feet) from her house! As we were visiting, the helicopters started coming in and dumping water close to where to fire had stopped. As the wind picked up from the next approaching thunder storm, the embers were stirred, causing flare-ups. We were getting ready to leave when we heard the sirens coming in from the highway. We pulled out just as all the fire trucks and police were pulling in. Then it started raining…huge drops…really started to pour down…like monsoon weather! The roads in downtown were flooded in about 10 minutes time. About 5 minutes up the hill and the roads were almost dry as a bone. Strange. On the way home, we noticed another fire on the ridge…thinking it was too far away from my house and hoping I was right (which I was…whew!). Babysat my nephew (Crystal’s son) that night. Made cupcakes for ’G’s birthday and had the kids decorate them. They had fun.

Wednesday - Crystal came back up to get pick up her son and to watch ’K’ while my hubby and I took the birthday boy around…to Walmart to pick out a birthday gift. We got him a bb gun and accessories…well, my hubby helped him pick what he wanted. Of course, being 10, that’s what they gravitated towards. And ’G’ got some money from his grandma, so he picked out a video game to spend that on. Went home and I baked his cake and we had a bbq. Bought the movie Eight Below…about the huskies and mals that get left in the arctic for 6 months. Very sad movie…made me want to hug my husky and mal.

Thursday - My nephew’s 4th birthday! Crystal took ’K’ and her son back to her house where they had a little party (big party was set for Friday). Meanwhile, hubby, ’G’ and I took the doggies for a walk on a nature trail in the area. We walked about 2½ miles before turning around and heading back. Walked about 5 miles all together. It was nice to just walk in nature and get some excersize and let the dogs get some excersize, too. Crystal ended up bringing ’K’ home around midnight because he just wouldn’t stop crying (he was going to spend the night). He’s got some seperation issues lately. Being 4 years old, I’m not sure where this is coming from…maybe a stage.

Friday - Celebrated my nephew’s birthday at Chuckie Cheese. Crystal was running late, so the party didn’t get started until late (we had to drive an hour and a half to Reno to the nearest Chuckie Cheese). It was fun though once we all got there and things got started. The boys liked it when Chuckie himself came out and said hi and sang happy birthday, though they were a little hesitant towards Chuckie. My nephew stood with Chuckie while he sang and danced…looking a bit unsure of this big mouse. We ate, then the boys got to spend their tokens on games and rides. It was fun, though exhausting.
Last bit of news…my hubby called me from work earlier and told me the latest book I had ordered had come in the mail (we’re really working on getting married next Nov, so I’ve been ordering handfasting books to help with the planning) aaannnnd….that he had finally gotten his acceptance letter for the state corrections! After a year and a half of testing and waiting, he’s going into the academy! Now we’re just waiting for the packet that states when the academy is and what prison he’ll be going to when done…hopfuly the one near where we live, as that’s the big reason we moved. YAY! We’re so thrilled things are finally moving ahead!

So…that’s my week…lol! Busy, busy, busy…wouldn’t you say?