God's Tiny Reflection: Defining God

The term 'God' is controversial for some, comforting for others. God is derived from the word 'good.' 'Good-bye' comes from the expression, 'God be with you.' If a practical interpretation of a deity exists, what would that be? I like the Taoist expression, 'the one and the many.' God is the mixing of you, the individual, with the whole, the universe. God is the paradox that bridges you and not you. God is the meaning we ascribe to our relationship with reality. Whether that meaning is finding a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow or simply uncovering the novel cracks in the universe, the meaning and purpose of our lives derive from our interactions, whether they are with nature, humanity, or even our own bodies.

Atheist assert the idea of an afterlife and a puppet-master pulling the strings is nonsense. The universe is what it is; there is no God. In this case, God or the 'good' exists strictly as a human construct, an outgrowth of the human collective. On the other hand, believers assert the 'good' or God is an individual with a plan and the means to pull it off. In that case, jump on the bandwagon or be tossed aside. God's Will generates the motion of the universe and to defy it is to destroy one's self. Both perspectives pour concrete words into foundations of quasi logic and postulated facts. One can no more prove a negative than the existence of anything outside of existence – a fact of logic.

The truth? The truth is, the horizon of a human life is limited by the organic material we inhabit; in other words, without the right perspective, some things can simply not be seen. But what we can see is a universe with structure and function, operating within an ordered set of probabilities. At the personal level, finding God means finding your place in the universe, your fit, your spot, your point of view. Whether or not God exists looses focus; discovering the significance of our relationship to the whole increases meaning throughout time.

Whether religious, agnostic, or atheist, comprehending, evaluating, and navigating our personal reality is about all we do. Therefore, the religious word for the secular concept of supreme personal meaning is God. Further definitions lie beyond human experience. But once we shed this mortal coil, we will either cease to exist, find God, or discover a reality incomprehensible to the human mind, something beyond vocabulary and narrative. If I were a betting man, I'd put the farm on the latter.