Riginslinger says: it would be a lot easier to solve problems if everyone was dealing with reality.

What's reality, Rig?

I have a favorite tree. It's a Ponderosa Pine, maybe 150 feet high. It's at the edge of my property, and then the land drops off and there's nothing until you reach the Pacific Coast Range, 80 miles west of us. When I look out my front door, all I see is that beautiful pine, with nothing but sky beyond it. I've seen it frame awesome sunsets, amazing lightning storms, vivid blue sky, and an infinite variety of cloud formations.
My tree has some scars, and its branches are gnarled like I've never seen on a Ponderosa, so it hasn't had an easy life. I've seen families of birds move in and out of that tree, and once I saw a Great Horned Owl in its branches.
I first got to know that tree in 1999, when I would come up regularly to visit my friend Jim, who was dying of colon cancer. I married Jim's widow, and the tree became part of my family - or vice versa.
So, that tree and I have had a long and rich history, and I spend a lot of time contemplating that beautiful creature.

What's the reality of that tree, Rig? And isn't the reality of that tree very different for you and for me - even though both of our perspectives are true?

I don't particularly care if my kids get religious doctrine or not - but I do want to teach them all there is to appreciate in a tree. Part of what I see in a tree is what I call its "divine essence." And yes, in my contemplation I seek union with that essence. Others may call it something else, but I hope we all can comprehend how perfectly beautiful that tree is.

-Joe-