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I am here sitting looking out of my window.

The Sunday before Easter.  Work is prepped to cope with two public holidays packaging next Saturday and Sunday.  Our temp team have been advised to use their holiday funds: No work = No pay.  Hence the obligatory holiday scheme and funds we have to apply.

I have a hot water bottle strapped to my lower back – helping shift a mattress earlier this week.  Our wee grandson is out of hospital and looking “high on happiness” – he screamed every time a nurse came near him.  Mrs Paul and I have a rare “day-off” from family matters.  The clouds in the sky and the casual drops of rain on the window challenge the weather forecast of sunny periods and a “low chance of precipitation”.  Which means gardening and cutting the grass and all that stuff might not be happening today.

Two pigeons on a rooftop tv aerial opposite are negotiating copulation – the male pigeon loses out.  The street is quiet and empty – none of the usual “working-day” hustle and bustle.

And the grey-flying-water-filled-clouds are slowly drifting west towards London!  Maybe we will get into the garden later!

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And I see the blog-wars continue apace.  The for and the against. Those who write in disbelief and certainty – those who write in belief and certainty – both attracting comments for and against.  I get that.  My God gets that.

My beliefs are okay with that.

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Just like the weather forecast and looking out of the window … just like the grey clouds imposing and then drifting on … just like the hospital yesterday and (almost) normality again today … just like prepping for two public holidays called Good Friday and Easter Monday – a celebration of the death and resurrection of our Lord and Christ and Saviour.

Mostly celebrated with chocolate, barbeques, DIY “projects” around the house – or maybe camping/caravanning – perhaps even a City-break away from it all (don’t forget to check the public holidays in the country you are visiting).  That’s mostly how Easter is celebrated.

And for some it will be a busy time with lots of additional services to prepare.  Additional liturgies on the back of the Lenten Journey.  All those additional activities.  Additional church-and-diary-life stuff.

I have done both.

At no time did I think I was doing a bad thing.  And yet felt the need to defend my church attendance belief from those who attacked it.   Attacks AND defences that are petty – all of it a phony war – an armchair war.

A war mostly fought using keyboard and computer monitors. 

Appealing to converts for or against.  Both sides involved in defending or attacking “beliefs”.  Beliefs that can never be proven or dismissed because that is the very nature of “belief”.  Beliefs I put together (or are put together for me) and I use to make sense of my world and my world-view.  A view that expands and/or contracts – a view that is selfish and/or selfless.  A view that changes depending on what I see – and is mostly dictated by the mood I clothe myself in as I look – a cloak I change as my mood changes I travel though life.

“I am a believer” (usually of a believer’s heritage) so I wear a believer’s cloak – not realising there is a wardrobe of infinite combinations readily available.

“I am a disbeliever” (usually of believer’s heritage) so I now wear a disbeliever’s cloak – not realising that I am swapping the cloak of one belief for another.

The “uniform” allows both sides to indulge in cloak belief wars.

Both sides believe their cause is just – both sides believe they are doing humanity a good deed: one side saving souls for Christ – the other from their own naivety.

Both sides victim to cloak correct belief.

Beliefs that will – and have – changed.  Beliefs that – by definition – are improvable.  Beliefs that require the outer cloak matches the inner certainty.

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Which is simply a reverse image of “The Emperor’s Clothes” – belief dictating behaviour certainty.

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I have found that kindness is universal.  That love is universal.  That humanity is eternal.  

That no matter my belief in this or that … kindness is threaded throughout.  That no matter how my beliefs change or remain static … love is a driver for all.  That whatever I think or believe … humanity … love … kindness … they require no “commandment”.

If I allow,

So all I invite of my (current) belief is that ANY belief allows kindness and love and  humanity.

Because the rest is a lot of armchair cloak belief wars.

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