Editor,
I am deeply indebted to many people who have loved, taught and inspired me. All my friends and enemies are my teachers — both on how to live and how not to live. I constantly collect wisdom in order to live it and to pass it on.
From my early childhood on, my mother took me with her to many funerals of relatives, friends and neighbors. From an early age, I learned life is not certain. Tomorrow is not guaranteed to any of us.
I want to be humble in all of life. I often say I aim to do, or to go, if am alive and able. In one moment when we least expect it, our lives can end and all our future plans evaporate.
Forty-five years ago as a young Mennonite pastor, I sincerely preached about life beyond the grave. I had not yet learned or dared to question deeply!
Now as an agnostic, I belong to no religion. From the beginning of the human family, people have swallowed and believed all kinds of weird stupidity, attractive lies and myths.
We all can often feel like shipwrecked orphans on the cosmic ocean on a dark and stormy night. I understand well why people grab on separately to religions for meaning, security and answers.
No one on Earth wants to be reunited forever with his or her loved ones and all people in a much better world beyond death more than I do.
But wanting something fervently does not make it so. I do not know! One thing worse than not knowing if life continues beyond the grave would be to pretend to myself or to others that I do know.
I focus my attention on the here and now — living simply, war-tax refusal, forgiveness, gardening, non-violence, close friendships, eating only raw plant foods, passionate sex and romance with men, deep conversation, sunbathing naked, vigorous daily exercise, nature, hear-touching music, compassion and fairness for all people on Earth and gratitude. These I treasure.
These I have to begun to know…
Don Schrader
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