Crossing Nebraska

Spirituality is one of those charged words, loaded with connotations, crying out for precision, begging for clarification as to the user’s point of view. Religion  has connotations of its own, and far less subtle ones to be sure. All too often, though, they're used interchangeably. It's worthwhile, then, to spend some time differentiating the two. Spirituality is something that we all possess or manifest simply by virtue of being alive in this human form. Religion, on the other hand, is something that we choose to take part in or not. Spirituality is a universal human experience or quality, whereas religion asks that an individual’s spirituality be brought into accord with its dictates – its rituals, teachings, and beliefs. Spirituality and religion might coincide, as in the case of a healthy individual functioning in a healthy religious organization, or they might be divorced from each other, as in a religious organization that is more about wielding power over its members...

Some years ago, with my future entirely up in the air, I loaded my bike and some gear into the back of a rented car and headed west. At the time I had only the sparsest of itineraries and no real time frame to speak of. Yes, I would return the rental car to a certain place on a certain date and, yes, I would then cycle out to the coast before meandering back home. With the exception of those few parameters, however, everything was up in the air. The route that I would take, the challenges and the people that I would meet, the despair and joy and insights that would arise along the way – these were all just aspects of an awesome mystery unfolding moment by moment, and I with it. In my more enlightened moments I’m able to see that all of life is like that, and that realization fills me with great joy. Ah, but in my dark and small-minded moments I manage to forget it all. It’s funny how great truths can so easily be forgotten. Speaking of great truths… I remember the first time I b...