ash wednesday
Ash Wednesday. Sitting on a bench outside the cathedral (historic but unimpressive). Even after Mardi Gras discourse I will assert with confidence that there is no God, not here not anywhere and I'm no worse off for knowing it. There is a magic to it all. Some unnamed connection between the details of every day and one. Some pull toward a city or repulsion from. Energy and exhaustion. And yes, even love. But let's not shout about knowing. Let's not lean in to italicize the greatness of our truth. Let's not give it names or dogmas or presume to know the facts of an abstract. Let's not. Why would we? "Even with all we understand about the world, there are still things that cannot be explained by science." Why presume humans are capable of understanding everything about everything? Isn't that the height of hubris? We humans, self-crowned animals that, evolutionary speaking, are barely a blip on the radar. Like America in re...