- I have faith in the church. The church is the prototype/archetype (genkei) and driving force of the cooperative society. I can only be myself by being a member of the church.
I would admit that given my current circumstances, this is a statement I don’t know if I could apply to myself and have faith in. What I know is that any attempt to bring forth an alternative society needs a community. It will never succeed in isolation. A group, no matter how small, has to be established.
I’ve reached a point in my life where I’ve recognized a need for community more than ever. And for the first time after a very long time, I am starting to feel ready to embrace church life once more as long as it is the right one. This is making me think whether the church I will be a part of should begin within my own household (Lea and I). Lea and I could explore free religion by ourselves for a while by reading, reflecting, writing, and sharing through a book.
I can also start a small group, a walking group (moai), that could function a bit like a church. This fits really well with the idea of a subsistent spirituality that I’ve been entertaining in the past two months. A spirituality that is simple, that doesn’t require much but that sustains me and provides what I need to continue believing that life is worth living and that my neighbour loves me and is capable of joining me in loving the rest of the world and the creatures in it.