tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4933657345140990360.post7170776629333312724..comments2010-04-19T10:44:20.912-04:00Comments on Generation Yes: News & Spirituality for Unitarian Universalists Under 40: Share Your Faith #11: On "Ultimate Concern"Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4933657345140990360.post-26765878285071358472010-03-26T19:28:19.078-04:002010-03-26T19:28:19.078-04:00This is such a difficult question! All of the kne...This is such a difficult question! All of the knee-jerk answers you would give (my kids, my job...me) don't apply here. I have been thinking long and hard about this. Thanks, Jen (and the various people you quoted) for posing this question!<br />I think I would have to say education is my ultimate concern at the moment. Through education we overcome ignorance, advance as a society, and ultimately grow closer to our gods. If we are ever to advance to the next plane this is a necessity. I believe that mankind in general has an obligation to educate and become educated. Specifically, to understand my values and beliefs I have to study and meditate on what I have learned. Through this I can form and ideology and through that I will become close to having a relationship with and understanding of the higher powers.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4933657345140990360.post-35576532981632818262010-03-26T19:01:06.684-04:002010-03-26T19:01:06.684-04:00I seem to recall hearing that one philosopher or a...I seem to recall hearing that one philosopher or another put forth the idea/statement that humanity is predisposed toward democracy. Democracy in the general sense, not just politically - that every person is entitled to their own beliefs and way of life. This happens to be one of our Seven Principles: We believe in the inherent worth and dignity of every person. Therefore, I can't presume to have the authority to make the decision of what someone's "ultimate concern" should be. I find even the idea of defining it for myself daunting. I know my ideas and pursuits pull me in many different directions, and can only assume it is similar for the great majority of people. We, as a whole, know that labels can only be loosely applied to an individual, and even then, the label may not even fit all that well due to the complexity of the mind and human nature (whatever that ends up to be). To tie this stream-of-consciousness-eque ramble together, I think the fact that we are all individuals predisposes us to have our own concept of "ultimate concern" and therefore create and live in true democratic form.Brentonnoreply@blogger.com