This I believe...

Based on Edward R. Murrow's 1950's radio series, This I Believe is a public radio broadcast that engages people in writing about their core beliefs and values.  In about 500 words, all different people, from Brian Eno (whose full name, by the way, is Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno) to Susan from New Lenox, IL, write about the beliefs that guide their daily lives. Mr. Eno writes about his belief in singing, whereas Susan writes about her former belief in the "unpredictable movement of the cosmic wheel [determining her] fortune for good or for ill" and how now she believes that happiness is a conscious choice--realizing that although she cannot change her situation, she can choose how she reacts to her circumstances.  (As it so happens, these are two of my own beliefs.)  Yesterday, while babysitting, I decided to try this exercise for myself.  I hadn't yet read either essay mentioned above, but knew about the concept.  And so I began writing.  Michael was busy doing his own writing: a comic book about his super hero, Super Goose and the villain, Poop Toddler.  I'm not making this up.  I wonder what he would write about for this exercise.

I had heard about This I Believe first from my mom, a Unitarian Universalist minister, but more recently from Jay Allison, the show's host, when I saw him as a guest on Portland's own public radio broadcast, Live Wire.  Below is a little bit of what I wrote yesterday--with some minor edits.  

"I believe in the power of music as an instrument of peace. I believe in the inherent worth of all human beings. I believe that if we can take more time to listen and consider what other people are saying to us, the world would be a better place.  I believe that children have a lot to teach us about ourselves and the world.  I believe everyone has the right to be happy and healthy and is entitled to his or her own opinions.  I believe we are all capable of creating our own possibilities and realities for our future.

Music as an instrument of peace. This is hardly an original idea.  I don't know the history and the facts, but I do know that when a simple message is communicated through song, it has the power to transform, transport, elevate, and inspire.  I know that when a group of people join together in actual harmonies, that there is no doubt that there is a possibility for world harmony.  Coming together in music is an agreement that says, 'We will stand together.  We will speak together. My tones and rhythms will complement yours and I will listen to you as we go along.  And I will stay with you.  We will begin and end as one, and in the process, we will create something beautiful with a combination of voices and tones never joined before.'  If that is not a precursor to creating peace, I don't know what is. "

The rest of it is pretty rough and incomplete so I won't include it, but it's an interesting exercise that will challenge you to consider your own belief system.  I'm not talking necessarily about religious beliefs, but that's not to say that those personal beliefs aren't or shouldn't be rooted in an established doctrine.  We all live our lives day to day guided by ideas and values, but are not very often pushed to clarify or put words to those beliefs. My friend that sat with me at Live Wire that night said she was going to have her whole family do this exercise over Thanksgiving. So after the turkey and the pie and the football, if nobody's up for a rousing game of Balderdash or Scrabble, maybe you'll want to suggest a family writing exercise.  Or not.  But maybe.  

Happy Thanksgiving!