I’ve been reading widely lately, enjoying the poetry of Rumi and Hafiz; it’s amazing how looking at shared life experiences from the life of another can help re-focus your lenses in powerful new ways. I’m experiencing this same phenomenon with a contemporary writer, Samir Selmanovic, and his provocative book It’s Really All About God. Samir has walked in many shoes across his life. Ethnically he is Croatian. In faith, he is a Christian – a Seventh-Day Adventist pastor to be exact. But these labels don’t tell the whole story; there is more: At different times in his life, he has also been Muslim, and Atheist – and with strong affinities for Judaism – all lived out, these days, in the melting pot of New York City (see his work at Faith House Manhattan). In the crucible of these different identities he’s been able to hold all identity lightly and focus on what unites rather than divides us – what I’ve come to call meeting at the intersection of humility and mystery. Samir says it differently than I do, and I celebrate this difference as I’m reading his story.

As my friend Mike Morrell recently said on his blog regarding It’s Really All About God,

Do yourself a favor and read it. If you’re too cheap to immediately spring for a copy merely on my recommendation, listen to this recent talk he gave. And hear him read excerpts from his book. But then buy it! You’ll be glad you did.

Here’s Samir in his own words:

What are you reading right now that’s giving you life?

An ancient Sufi poem goes like this:

     I have a thousand brilliant lies

                For the question:

                  How are you?

      I have a thousand brilliant lies

                For the question:

                  What is God?

If you think that the Truth can be known

                    From words,

  If you think that the Sun and the Ocean

     Can pass through that tiny opening

                Called the mouth,

     O someone should start laughing!

Someone should start wildly laughing –

                        Now!

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This week we’ve been posting thoughts on the power of story, of reframing the narrative of our lives in ways that empower us rather than limit us. I must admit that the previous two posts were lightweight compared to what you’re about to read – mostly because I wasn’t sure how to lead in to this – I wasn’t sure if people could hear it.

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