From a certain perspective, I believe that what makes Jesus Christ one of the best stories ever written is the idea of forgiveness. The Buddhists teach this principle that we suffer because of attachment. In a materialistic world, it is very easy to become attached to an endless number of devices. But there is also the attachment to people, places, and things. Things here, meaning obviously the material side of things. But we can also become attached to concepts, ideas, and perspectives. For example, we may become attached to the idea of love and how love should be. When we become heavily attached to a concept, and we believe this concept to be true. It will be very hard for us to let go of that concept, or, in other words, detach from it. Some of us may be attached to the idea of power and control, and when we don’t have it, we may not want to detach from whatever we are trying to control, whether a situation or a conversation. But in all the stories and all the people I have come across. I have yet to fully believe that any of us has any true power. I may convince myself that I am an excellent basketball player. I may fully convince myself that I am a righteous person. But because of how all 8 billion of us think and operate. There is someone out there who believes I am a horrible basketball player or that I am fake or unrighteous. We attach not only to ideas and concepts about ourselves, but also to those about other people. For example, I may attach to the idea that I cannot trust a white person. Or I may attach to the idea that this political party or that religious group is insane, out of touch with reality, or just wrong in their beliefs. I may hold certain beliefs about people or ethnic backgrounds and become deeply attached to them. And when I am confronted with someone who challenges these beliefs. I suffer because I am unwilling to let go of whatever it is I am attached to. I may also cling to the idea or notion that I am not able to be loved by someone who understands me. And when I am confronted with the idea that someone does love me. I suffer because I am too attached to the idea that I am unlovable. What I am proposing here is that we suffer not because we cling to the material world. But we also suffer because we cling to ideas, concepts, and theories that we are unwilling to let go of. I may cling to the idea that I must outperform my peers. I may cling to the idea that I must be this overtly competitive person. And when someone outperforms me, I suffer because I hold to the belief that I must be #1 in everything that I do. I cling to, or attach to, the idea that I must be the center of attention in everything. And anyone who challenges the ideas or principles I believe in ultimately makes me question whether I truly know myself or whether the beliefs I hold are actually factual. I may cling or attach to the idea that all women want is sex. But then I may meet a woman who does not want sex at all. So I suffer because my idea of women is wrong, and therefore, how I overgeneralize women is wrong. So I suffer in the process because someone or something, or a new idea or perspective, forces me to confront a terrible truth. That I don’t know everything. I don’t consider myself to be a Bible thumper. But I find profound wisdom and clarity when I do read or come across certain pages in Scripture. What I find so fascinating about humanity in general is how different each of us is. Yet this alone is a mystery. Even brothers and sisters do not act, think, or behave the same. Yet brothers and sisters are raised with the same genetic material. So this, in itself, sheds light on the idea that, although genetics is important. They don’t necessarily hold to the notion that genes will be the key to discovering everything. Just look at twins and how different they are, but they are identical in the genetic makeup of who they are on the inside. Countless times, I feel that we attach ourselves to pain. We become so attached to our pain, and I am guilty of this, too. If we forget how to live, we forget how to interact with the rest of the world. We become so afraid of being who we truly are, which is nothing but a ball of light. For when we were born, we were light. When we were born, we knew nothing of racism, hatred, ego, pride, or ethnicities. This is what makes a baby more powerful than any of us are as teenagers, adults, or the elderly. As we age, we become more absorbed in the idea that we can be defined by our jobs or by how much we have. But a baby is not concerned about who the president is. A baby is not concerned about who the majority is or who wins the Super Bowl. A baby is not concerned with who is the prettiest or who dresses the most fancy. A baby is not concerned with trying to impress anyone. The baby is the center of attention. The baby is the light in the room. Above any one or any adult. But as we age, we become neglectful of our original nature as infants. Although our parents are not perfect. Our parents were once babies themselves. As we age, we forget how to be kind, sweet, and gentle because we attach to the idea that we are someone because of our status, or because of our race or ethnicity. What makes Jesus Christ so different than the rest of the philosophers and prophets is just the concept of forgiveness alone. A wise person told me that, by forgiving others, you accomplish that for yourself and let God’s spirit work on that other person. And for me, there is nothing truer than that statement. Because forgiveness allows you to recognize the monstrosity of how vulnerable we each really are. When a baby is brought into this world, that baby is the most vulnerable object in the entire universe. The baby is the most vulnerable and most expensive possession you will ever have. As we age, a part of me believes that we don’t necessarily lose that vulnerability. As we age, we want things, and we desire things. And many of us tend to live in the future. But a baby desires and needs only one thing, and the answer to that question is obvious. As adults, we’re always worried about how our lives should be tomorrow. If only I had money, I would be okay. If only I had a husband, I would be okay. If only I could get this job, I would be okay. We constantly postpone our happiness to some future event. As we age, we become mad at the world and mad at other people. But when we are babies, we are not mad at anyone. We don’t become upset with someone because they make a mistake or forget to pay the bills. When we are babies, we don’t hold grudges or have hatred towards anyone. When we are a baby, we are not mad at our parents, or mad at the president, or upset with the public education system. When we are a baby, we simply come into this world filled with a rainbow of colors and light. But as we age, we attach to beliefs. We attach to ideas. We attach to the concept. And from a certain perspective, Paul said something so profound that it is hard to ignore. That being said, we fight principalities. But what I am suggesting is that sometimes those principalities come from our inner being. James also said something so profound that I cannot ignore it. And it is the idea that the Spirit of the LORD inside of us yearns with jealousy. That is so profound to me because if the Spirit of the LORD inside of us yearns with jealousy, my God, how difficult a battle we must overcome within ourselves to not be jealous! But again, attaching to principalities or certain ideas causes us to stumble, because when someone or something challenges our belief systems, we become angry, argumentative, filled with hatred, and even murderous because of our pride and egos. But a baby is not filled with pride. A baby is not going to argue with you because you voted for Trump. A baby can have all the attention in the world and not be filled with self-righteousness. A baby is the only living entity in the entire world that can be the center of attention without anyone being jealous of it. But when we become adults and when we become really good at anything, be it basketball, baseball, school, drawing, writing, driving, or rapping. When we excel and become a star at whatever we do. We will face envy and jealousy. We may become the center of attention for excelling in a job field or in certain aspects of life, like accounting, fashion, or selling. We may be the center of attention in whatever career we pursue because we have mastered a skill or craft, like cooking or drawing. But a baby doesn’t have to do anything. A baby is already a master at life. A baby is already the master of life. A baby doesn’t need to do anything to be the center of attention. A baby doesn’t need to excel at math to be the center of attention. A baby doesn’t need to know how to shoot a basketball to be the center of attention. But as we get older and excel in a certain career or field. We become jealous of that person who is good at X, Y, or Z. But a baby is the only living spirit in this world who can take over the entire center of the room and not have anyone jealous over that baby. But as adults, we become jealous or envious over who is the center of attention in the room. Yet a baby can be the center of attention in the room without anyone being mad, upset, jealous, or envious. As we become older, we cling to the ideas, concepts, and beliefs that we hold. We suffer because we are unwilling to let go of these attachments. But a baby is not attached to anything or anyone. A baby does not cling to ideas, concepts, philosophies, or principalities. Every single human being in this world was once a baby. Every single human being in this world was once a child. Regardless of how you grew up. Regardless of how you were raised. Regardless of how your parents are. Regardless of how you were not shown love or given love by your biological parents. Regardless of the things you didn’t have or the things you did have. Every single human being was once a baby. And a baby doesn’t cling to ideas of race, or ego, or pride, or conceit. As we become older, we cling to ideas and beliefs and attach ourselves to them. I may attach myself to the idea that all black people are dangerous. But when I am confronted with a black person who shows genuine love and concern for me. The belief I cling to is ultimately wrong. However, I may attach myself to that idea. However, I may be fully convinced in my mind that all black people are dangerous. Ultimately, I suffer because I am unwilling to let go of whatever it is I am attaching to. And these attachments have nothing to do with the material world. I don’t suffer because I want a watch or a cell phone or because I want shoes or a gold chain. I suffer because I am unwilling to let go of the notions, ideas, and principalities that I don’t know everything, nor will I ever know everything, or the notions and ideas I have about myself or other people who don’t look like me or dress like me or share the same culture or ethnicity I have. I suffer because I cling to the idea that my way is the only way. I suffer because I believe that I can tell another human being what to do or how to think. I suffer because I am unwilling to let go of these ideas, and when I am confronted with people who challenge my belief system. I suffer because I do not want to let go of these ideas, notions, or beliefs because I am deeply attached to them. But when I let go of these ideas and fully commit to step #1, which is admitting I am powerless over people, places, and things. I can also let go of the ideas, notions, and beliefs I carry and give people the space they need to be themselves fully, without exerting any power over anyone. Perhaps we believe in a Higher Power to deny ourselves in search of a greater purpose than ourselves. For as we age, we tend to forget that we were once babies who just existed in a ball of light. Perhaps our Higher Power, be it wisdom, Scripture, plants, rocks, or the Prophets, exists to remind us that there is something greater than ourselves beyond what we think we know. Perhaps when we accept that we are only flesh and bone and human. We won’t become so upset with anyone who is different than us. After all, is a baby going to judge you because you speak a different language? Will our Higher Power judge us because we made a mistake? Most certainly not. Yet as we age, our judgements of others causes us to suffer, no matter how that judgement may be right or wrong.