The Examined Life

I will not leave this life

Without turning over every stone I can

Without asking the hard questions

And let every answer come from me.

I will not accept one that fails

Critical examination.

God gave me a brain

And He expects me to use it

I fail myself and my purpose

When I accept any assertion

Any guess hunch pronouncement

Any dogma or written word

That does not meet rational thought processes

That is not supported by facts

That cannot be assimilated into my experiences

That does not add to my body of knowledge.

I make exceptions for the spiritual and the unverifiable

And let intuition inspiration and love be my guide.

My brain and yours are not perfect

So I do not look for perfection

Not in myself or in others

Not in our laws or in technology

And not in our sciences.

I cannot be an expert in all things

But I can know the tenable

From the false

The honest from

The deceptive

Beauty from disgrace.

I do not seek to live a perfect life

Only an improved and improving life In knowledge,

ethics, values, relationships, and helpfulness.

If you cannot trust me

Let us depart on friendly terms.

If I cannot trust you

I will depart

On any terms or none at all.

It is not necessary that we agree

To find peace we need to respect our motives

And our good will.

If we can do that

There is room enough for both of us

To discover this thing called life.