We're All Alchemists

Yesterday morning I heard an amazing story on NPR by Judy Woodruff, "Experiencing Other Faiths to Find One's Own." The story was about a 21-year-old college student who traveled around the globe to experience other peoples' faith traditions. The story is insightful and timely--and gives me so much hope for this generation! Here's a clip:

"Siple calls herself a Christian pluralist, open to the possibility of the validity of other religious traditions.

After her tour of Asia, she spent a week at the Taize monastery in France, a place that attracts young people from around the world. In a Taize service, there is chanting and reading from scripture. But there are also long moments where more than 1,000 young adults sit quietly together in silence — not being told what to do.

"You do what you feel is right for your religious practice," Siple says. "I think that is what our generation is screaming for right now. People want not to be told what they should do, but to figure it out for themselves."

It occurred to me as I listened to her sweet voice on the radio that we are each alchemists of our own souls; we each experience God in our own unique way. We take those experiences, mix them with understanding, questions, wonder, hope, doubt, and trust, and ultimately create something completely unique and wonderful that we give back to life, in our own words and our own way. What a miracle!