North Vancouver, B.C. at 4:20 a.m.

It's going to be another wonderful day here in Lotusland, and I'm feeling much better now, after my outburst in the previous entry here. "And why is that?" you ask....

In my guise of "Dr. Sutton, Traveling Amateur Psychiatrist" may I explain? It's because, in the words of a former neighbor I once had out in Squamish, who himself was something of an amateur traveling psychiatrist, being a traveling salesman of tourist novelties and one of the hierarchy of the local Kingdom Hall of the Jehovah's Witnesses, "Being bad is a hell of a lot more fun than being good!" Even when we know we shouldn't. Especially when we know we shouldn't. And therein lies the problem.

That semi-senior-citizen "J.W." and I got into some convoluted arguments about religion, its purposes, its publicity, its privacy, and its many brands, as compared to the concept of "One Almighty God". There were seven or eight families of those Witnesses in our 30-unit townhouse complex, so they had me surrounded, and they were absolutely determined to save my soul, come Hell or High Water. They went through the whole assembly, from the rank-and-file door-knockers, right up to the local leader of the group, giving me their best shots. I even attended a few of their 2-hour services at the Hall, to see for myself what it was all about. It's a well-oiled machine! They know their stuff!

But they forgot one thing.....and I had to point it out to all of them.

Religion isn't something you peddle on the streets, like newspapers or souvenirs or political propaganda. It isn't meant as a means of conquering neighborhoods or besting others in arguments. Its sole purpose is for conquering ourselves and controlling our own faults and sinful ways or bad habits. And it isn't meant to be a public display - in fact we're cautioned against that in the Bible, and warned that those who do that have already received their reward. It's a private and very personal thing, between the individual and his or her own God, and its one purpose is to help that individual connect with his or her higher spirituality.

So why are wars being fought over it? That's today's Question Everything.