Last Monday’s coffee talk with Jack was left incomplete I felt, because we touched on an important issue just at the time we had to go. This left some remarks on either side kind of aborted, which I have been thinking about over the last few days. The result of this I will address below under ‘Writings’.

Yesterday was discount day at Safeway’s, which kept me busy with two shopping trips and burdened by heavy loads as I made my way home. I was out off many things including detergent, which is only an occasional purchase for me. In additions I had apples, potatoes, onions besides the regular monthly items. Heavy work all this, “I should get paid for this, instead having to pay for it”, I said to myself, hoping that lord Safeway was listening.

Heavy work all this, “I should get paid for this, instead having to pay for it”, I said to myself, hoping that lord Safeway was listening.

Today I join Juliet again later on, which reminds me that I have to photo-shop some picture I took for her last week. On Monday and Tuesday I had long telephone conversations with Elisabeth and Derrick cum Metta respectively.

Both were about relationships and personal life experiences exchanging with both and relating my own, all as well as I could. Conversing alone is often helpful in such cases and I gladly lend an ear, as I have learned to do, albeit slowly, over the years.

This morning I formulated the following: “Existence Divine reveals within the realm of humanity dynamically and interactively according to time, place, people, person and circumstance.” New is here the notion of dynamically, interactively and person, which were not present in earlier formulations, while ‘realm of humanity’ was left implicit until now.

Existence Divine reveals within the realm of humanity dynamically and interactively according to time, place, people, person and circumstance.

Now, how did I come to this new formulation? It was in part as answer to the issue that arose between Jack and myself, which I referenced in my Diary section above. The other part is my continued effort to make more clear the perspective that Existence Divine gives for our human situation.

In our conversation last Monday Jack referred to ‘The Divine’, to which I responded ‘There is only Existence Divine, not the Divine as a person‘. With my response to Jack’s remark, we left on a dissonant I felt, which I have been considering since.

The aspect of ‘Existence Divine’ is one of a more general nature. It regards our situation as humanity as we evolve finding our way in existence, giving perspective to that experience. The question here is to what extend are we humans in charge of our own destiny, formulating it as such and being responsible for its outcome?

In other words, there is no set or predefined destiny for us humans, we are like the young adult who is on its own after having left the scene of upbringing.

In other words, there is no set or predefined destiny for us humans, we are like the young adult who is on its own after having left the scene of upbringing. That is: Humanity fends for itself in its realm within Existence Divine, which is dynamic and interactive.

This interactivity and dynamics play out at the collective - people- level as well as the personal, which brings us back to the opening statement and my reply to my friend’s remark of how he understood ‘The Divine’. This I now can see as his own and personal understanding of ‘Existence Divine’ understood by him as person, which is different from the way I understand my relation with ‘Existence Divine’.

The ‘Divine’ aspect of ‘Existence’ must be considered, since what we as humans know about existence is quite limited.

The ‘Divine’ aspect of ‘Existence’ must be considered, since what we as humans know about existence is quite limited. We do not know enough to exclude the concept of ‘Divine’ as this has been known to human traditions. I like to say that we live in a ‘Knowable Mystery’ which I have called ‘Existence Divine’. Humans have become more knowledgeable with time, but the mysterious aspects of existence are not the less for it.

So, the mystery is still with us and arises from us as we become more conscious, knowing what we did not know before. Even the position of the secular person and its view is part of the way ‘Existence Divine’ becomes known to the humans in their realm of existence.

This difference, real as it is to each one of us, can now be understood within the perspective of the way each one of us has a personal awareness of ‘Existence Divine’.

This brings me back to the dissonant views that were expressed between my friend and I. This difference, real as it is to each one of us, can now be understood within the perspective of the way each one of us has a personal awareness of ‘Existence Divine’. We can exchange about this difference, leaving each within his or her own value and experience.

However, we should note that human traditions do provide an historical and informing source of guidance, which includes our accumulated ethical rules and discoveries, governing human conduct.

And with this, I will close these consideration, triggered as they were by that monthly coffee chat between my friend Jack and myself!
<10:41am~