this i believe

A neighbor engaged me in conversation about this and that.

And in the middle of that, a moment of truth occurred.

He pause and then asked:"Do you believe in reincarnation."

He seemed to be waiting for my response as a sort of permission to continue.

My time was limited and I considered my options:

No- might shut him down, might make him think I'm small minded, might spark a debate about reincarnation.

Yes- might be disingenuous- nothing against reincarnation (or for it)- I don't know enough about it to know if I believe in it or not.

-Or-

"Sure, why not?"- my response in this case.

He guffawed as if to say: "I know what you're doing. You're giving me some space to share this next bit... thanks."

So he told me an interesting and endearing story that he had recently heard that he suspected gave credence to the concept of reincarnation.

It was a remarkable moment. I think it was made possible by a willingness to put our beliefs in the back seat for a minute and then by taking some time to share. Harmless.

I wonder if there are other opportunities to let belief take a back seat so that knowing and understanding one another may occur.

You think sin is just more about action and not so much about a state of being? ok. (pensive head nod)

Trust is more about knowing someone will do the right thing (by your standards) and not about how well you know someone (including yourself)? all right

Jesus is all about atonement and not so much about experiential incarnation? I know, right?

Most efficient application of the largest amount of resources possible is a higher priority than relationships that develop in a culture of empowerment? hum... tell me more.

There are limits, right? To this exercise? To this way of thinking?

"Sure, why not?"