Moses was doing a lot of thinking. And stone etching. He came up with the best ten laws he could think of. And he was pretty on point. And then he destroyed them and rewrote them because when he came back from the mountain he was pretty amazed at how stupid most people are - worshiping golden calfs and what not. So he etched some super duper bad ass rules on stone tablets.
But times have changed and we need a rewrite. Or a re-chisel. And I might not be able to part seas, and I am no stone engraver, but I figure if I mess up this blog post I can make edits pretty easily. And the Israelites won't throw me into the worship fire. At least I hope not.
So after spending the last year investigating my own faith and that of my loved ones, this is where I am as far as Life Commandments go:
1. Honor thy body. My body is my temple. It is the only thing on earth that I have permanently, the only thing I have control over. It is my duty to take care of it to the best of my abilities. When I am angry at the world, I am not allowed to punish my own body in retribution. I must honor the potential of both my mind and my body and strive to create a balance between the two. Left unchecked, my mind will rot my body away, and my body will dismiss my mind, but I will continue to enrich the muscles in both centers, creating a formidable temple.
2. Honor the temples around me. I will reward intelligence, hard work, reason. I will ignore people or organizations that devalue human strength and intelligence, or assume they are evil or weak. I will forgive stupid people but not encourage them. I will encourage education and good health in others as I foster my own. I will celebrate others' successes and avoid jealousy. I will not take advantage of others' ignorance by lying or cheating.
3. Honor thy ancestors. I have a duty to learn as much as possible about my ancestors, honor their great traditions, and celebrate their challenges and accomplishments.
4. Honor the next generation. I have a duty to pass on the best values of the past and present to the next generation, whether it be by raising children of my own, volunteering with children's programming in my community, or teaching professionally.
5. Honor the peace and beauty in the world. I will leave the world better off than I found it. I will bring positive energy to every place I go, every person I meet. I will encircle people in kindness. I will create beauty around me for others to enjoy.
6. Honor freedom and avoid harm or coercion. As Oliver Wendell Holmes said, My right to swing my arm ends where another person's nose begins. I will not condemn others for exercising their freedom or making different choices than I. But I will condemn those who harm, imprison, or kill others, for any reason other than self-defense. This includes relationships, marriages, and business contracts, which can be as simple or complex as the free people who agree to them, but must not involve oppression or coercion.
7. Honor taking as well as giving. I will take time for my own wellness, whether it is through food, exercise, education, building a home, sexual intimacy, or simple relaxation. I will counter that to giving away some of my earnings to those in need, and sharing my wealth with friends and family.
I think that about covers it for now. But if you're not completely on board with these, here is what George Carlin has to say about Moses and his etchings:
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