ANYALTR

On my way in to yoga this morning, I saw a Hummer parked in the parking lot with the license plate "ANYALTR." Stunned by the audacity, not only of someone driving a Hummer, but in feeling pride in the triumph of annihilation (of what? I wondered), I haughtily noted that it was parked [explicably] in front of a weight training joint, and yes, symbolically, I rose up the steps to the yoga studio. Coming out from class, two of my yogi classmates jumped in to the thing and drove off. What the *&$%$?

Earlier, during the class, I heard bells ringing from the church next door. I was thinking about how I was choosing to spend my Sunday morning, and how a mom from Violet's school told me that their family wouldn't be at the Back-to-School picnic today because they would be at church (all day?). This spun into ponderings (man, I don't think I was doing a good job focusing on just my breath today!) about atheism, agnosticism, and the ever popular, "Religion is the opiate of the masses." Sigh. I am often apprehensive to raise my atheist feelings, as I feel they are private and can be misinterpreted. One misinterpretation seems to be that atheists don't respect others' beliefs. While I certainly can't muster respect for all beliefs and actions of all religiosity, I absolutely respect others' rights to believe what they believe. The reason I distinguish myself as an atheist rather than an agnostic, is because I feel, in my heart, that there is no God. That doesn't mean I can't agree to disagree with those who do believe in God. I know and have known plenty of amazing people who truly live a life guided by loving and giving principles centered around their faith. And then I know those who choose to live a life centered around hate shrouded in a costume of faith. An archaic definition of atheism is "ungodliness, wickedness," but sometimes I sense that it is still interpreted this way, which leaves me feeling [again] that the world is all upside down, with "Christian" war-mongers running the country [thankfully not for too much longer].

As the Hummer was driving off, I flashed on the thought, "What if I've got it all wrong?" What if "ANYALTR" really meant "Any altar," and that on this Sunday morning, this pair was trying out my place of meditation, the yoga studio?





To further the paradox/confusion, Philip saw this bumper sticker yesterday. Perhaps we should just refrain from distilling politics and religion/spirituality down into bumper stickers or vanity plates, people. Or anything else for that matter. I mean, not too long ago, I saw what appeared to be a Hispanic man driving an old beat up gardener's truck that sported the bumper sticker, "I ♥ Vagina," but hey, I digress...