i'm thinking about god

it's a biggun and no mistake.

two things happened this week that made me think about god and stuff. firstly, i was at the fruitstock festival in regent's park on sunday. it was busy. very busy. a beautiful day, the sun was pouring down on our shoulders, cider was flowing like the danube and from the smells i'm guessing a few were partaking in a bit of 'homegrown smoking.'

needless to say it was a merry merry occasion, and because it was a free festival a hearty cross-section of demographics were in attendance and creating a relaxed chilled-out atmosphere that was really rather pleasant. (that, or passive "smoking" had mellowed me beyond my senses)

something a bit surprising happened though, when the london community gospel choir came on to main stage. from about 50,000 people sitting on rugs in the sun, very suddenly there were 30,000 sitting on rugs and about 20,000 standing up and clambering toward the stage, many with their hands in the air. now i don't know what the statistic of the amount of christians there are in london, but i bet it's not 40%. so i'm quite intrigued as to what went through the minds of those who suddenly wanted to be close to the front of an evangelistic performance such as this.

yes, many of you probably are christians and wanted to get into the worship side of it.
yes, the LCGC are incredible performers and entertainers, i don't want to take this away from them, but there were other great acts too, with hardly a comparible reaction.
yes, many people just thought it was a bit funny and wanted other people to see them take the piss. i saw you, you're not as funny as you thought.
yes, there is a certain amount of in-built emotive response to the chords and harmonies of gospel music, especially over a big fat PA system.

but i'm not entirely sure if that covers everyone who had this reaction. it was literally an exodus, a wave of people from all over the park that was rolling stageward.

if you were there, i'd love to know your thoughts and whether you were one in that wave and why. i'm not naive to think that 'the Power of God' compelled you all. it may have done a few. if it was responsible for your movement then congratulations, i hope you see life with new, refreshed eyes and a big cheeky smile.

the second god-thought was inspired by a very old and dear friend getting in contact almost completely out of the blue. i have tried to contact her many a time in the last 4-5 years and our correspondance has never amounted to any longevity. while i won't go into very much detail it turns out that she has become pretty much a recluse, away from her long list of friends and ended up halfway around the globe in a far off but well-nourished land. this had been largely due to pressure from her family and 'friends' to marry quickly and settle down in the 'loving and supportive' environment of a religious community which i will leave unspecified.

now she is (quote) "fucking miserable... jaded... [and] without hope."

it's not god who made this happen. i'm fed up with people blaming religion for much of the shit that goes on in this world. it's not religion; religion is a basic human need, it's genetic. every human age in any part of the world, no matter how remote, has a history of worship or praise or god-fearing or at the very very least a belief that there is something bigger.

don't try and tell me religion is to blame. if that was the truth then your local vicar and his aged choir must be the most dangerous and fearful people in your community.

it's people. people unfortunately are the most dangerous additions to any situation. people are greedy. people get delusions of grandeur. people think they are infallible. people get allowed into positions of power and far too often they are the wrong choice. bush, bin laden, hitler, prescott, you know the list. they shouldn't ever have been in a position of that much power and they certainly should never be in a position where they make decisions about how other people's lives should be.

someone decided that my friend would be 'better off' in this fanatical, narrow-minded, racist, selfish, deluded, arrogant community. she's not. she's sad. she shouldn't be wasting precious moments of her life without a smile splattered over her face, she should be free to experience the pleasures this life can give.

same goes for everyone. there's enough food, water, justice, wealth, freedom, comfort and beauty in this world for every single person to have a feast for life. unfortunately there are a few people that think different. and we listen to them.

it doesn't matter if you're jewish, muslim, christian, buddhist, hindu, whatever. your god doesn't want you to spend your life in fear, ruining the lives of others. he/she/they didn't create a planet to punish a race that didn't yet exist. this planet is here to enjoy, those people around you are to be nice to, and - if you believe in a god of any kind - it's there to respect.

now stop fucking about.