But, as I once more prepare to hear the night's silence shattered by so many church bells competing to announce the dawn, I'm reminded of what we've done with that common gift. Religion substitutes recollection for revelation. Our souls each feel the challenge to find the divine. The search for truth is not simple. Distractions are abundant.
Confusion is easy.
Courage can falter. But for many the path, not the destination, becomes the object. People don't face the personal journey, they just comfort themselves by being able to quote a self-serving selection from the guidebook. Religion hides us from the tasks at hand here. I was listening to news reports the day they found the body of Samantha Zaldivar, a little girl who'd been murdered not too far from my home.