Between mid-April and mid-August, Harry and I had regular discussions atop his mound. Our conversations covered everything from religion and spirituality to politics and social issues, from schools and education to celebrity and entertainment. Harry had insights on any and every subject, and not once was he stumped by my many attempts to catch him off guard.
Harry always used to caution me, however, that anything he said was only relevant to the present moment, to his understanding at that point in time.
He used to say, “Don’t ask me next week or next year about something I say today. I will have changed a thousand times in a million different ways by then.”
So the discussions I present here are in no way an accurate reflection of his understanding now. They were what he was thinking and feeling at the time, and chances are he has learned more and understood more since then.
April 21st – Thursday evening, unseasonably warm, slightly overcast
Paul: OK, tell me about all these little statues around the base of this thing. Why did you put them there, where did they come from, and what do they mean to you?
Harry: I found them in many different places. Each one means something different, of course. They represent the major religions and spiritual paths that mankind has developed throughout our recorded history.
Paul: And what do they have to do with this mound?
Harry: Well, in a way they have everything to do with this mound. When I originally came up with the idea for it, I was in the midst of the lawsuit.
Paul: What lawsuit?
Harry: Three years ago, I tried to sue God.
Paul: Sue God? (this caught me way off guard)
Harry: Yup. I sued God. Or at least, I tried to sue God. It didn’t work, though.
Paul: Alright, hold on. Start from the beginning. Why did you do this?
Harry: To be honest, I’d rather not go through all the details. It was an interesting experience that went about as far as it could. There’s not much more to say about it.
Paul: Well, did you win? And what did you sue Him for?
Harry: No, I didn’t win. Though technically, I didn’t lose either. The case was never heard, and I ended up dropping the whole thing after a few months.
Paul: But you have to tell me why you did it.
Harry: Well, I did it because the human race is ridiculously confused about who God really is, what God really is, whether or not God really exists, what it is He expects of us, how we really came to be here, what happens when we die, which religions are right, which ones are wrong. Shall I go on?
Paul: No, no, that’s enough.
Harry: Indeed. So I really did it to prove a point, which was that we need to figure all this out once and for all. Because if we don’t, we’ll probably end up destroying ourselves, in one way or another. We’ve got terrorism, global warming, disease, poverty. And underneath it all, everyone thinks that their religious beliefs are right and that any opposing beliefs are wrong. And worst of all, we have radical fundamentalists who feel that there is a war of ideology to be fought in the twenty-first century, and they all want to prove that their side is right. It’s ridiculous, and chaotic, and God doesn’t seem to be doing anything about it. So that is why I sued God – to get Him to straighten us out once and for all.
Paul: And how was He supposed to do that?
Harry: Well, I asked him to send us one more messenger.
Paul: Ah, one more messenger. Good idea. One more guy for people to worship.
Harry: Well, yes, I had thought of that. But then again, why do you think it would be a guy? Maybe He could send a woman this time.
Paul: Oh, I’m sure the Muslims would love that!
Harry: Indeed! But that’s a good point: would anybody believe that this “messenger” was the real deal? How would we know it? Would he or she walk around performing miracles? How would people know that this person was a messenger of God?
Paul: That’s a good question. I have no idea. How did people identify the others?
Harry: Oh, every religion has their stories about their messenger, their prophet, their messiah. I don’t think we need to go through all that again. And besides, they all lived during other eras, other periods. Some would say they have little relevance today because the world is not what it was then. All the major religions were founded over a thousand years ago. And it’s their lack of relevance today that has the human race so screwed up. Or so I thought.
Paul: Or so you thought?
Harry: Or so I thought. These are all things I was wrestling with back then. They are why I decided to sue God.
Paul: But you don’t feel that way any more?
Harry: Nope.
Paul: Why not? Isn’t the world just as confused now as it was then?
Harry: Yes it is. But I’m not.
Paul: Really? Why not?
Harry: Because I have begun to awaken.
Paul: Awaken? What, have you “seen the light” or something?
Harry: You could say that, yes.
Paul: Oh, great wise one, sitting atop your mound in your backyard in Ohio, please share your wisdom with the rest of us!
Harry: I’d be happy to! What would you like to know?
As an aside here, I have to say that at that particular moment I saw Harry change, at least in my perception. As I sat there looking at him, he seemed for a moment to be much older than he usually did. It could have been my imagination, but the way he was smiling at me, his odd confidence, made him seem like a different person than the guy I had met in a bar a few weeks before. That quiet guy playing video poker was not at all who I had originally thought he was. How many other people sitting in bars, or in libraries, or on street corners, are like Harry? How many people have silently attained a state of inner peace but have no need to draw attention to themselves, choosing rather to enjoy their lives and share their perspective whenever asked to do so? I wonder…
Paul: OK, let’s see. What’s the meaning of life? We’ll start with an easy one.
Harry: The meaning of life is life itself.
Paul: Huh? That’s not an answer.
Harry: Of course it’s an answer.
Paul: But it doesn’t say anything.
Harry: I respectfully disagree.
Paul: OK, look, if you’re going to give me non-answers, then you don’t really know any more than I do.
Harry: I agree. I don’t know more than you do. The major difference between us, perhaps, is that I know less.
Paul: You know less? Less than I do?
Harry: Indeed. I have unlearned much of what you still know. Therefore, I know less than you do.
Paul: And how, exactly, did you unlearn it?
Harry: By realizing that it isn’t true.
Paul: What isn’t true?
Harry: Much of what I knew.
Paul: Oh. Okay, I see. So you unlearned the things you used to know but that weren’t true. But where does that leave you now?
Harry: Less cluttered. Less confused. Truth is quite simple.
Paul: I’ve heard that. But why do we always see scholars and spiritual seekers pouring over teachings in an effort to learn?
Harry: Much of what they are learning, if they are making any progress at all, is that most of what they “know” is not actually true. There is tremendous freedom in releasing false knowledge.
Paul: Now you’re sounding like a wise old sage. I like that: there is tremendous freedom in releasing false knowledge. So if I am going to learn anything from you, it is going to involve unlearning. Would you agree?
Harry: I would agree with that, yes. Your willingness to let go of your limiting beliefs and ideas will produce the clarity and balance you desire.
Paul: I think I understand.
Harry: Good!
Paul: And now my brain is tired. Let’s talk about something else.
Harry: Fine with me. How are those Red Sox looking this year?
