Well done Cockeral. I cannot claim to be religious either. It takes real courage to stand aside and judge oneself. Sobering indeed. I keep putting it off. That must mean I have some shred of honesty, which should allow for some merit re your exemplary scale.

If we could just start to find ourselves as a society in general, I'm pretty sure we wouldn't be staring into the face of so much suffering and evil.

It' amazing that we can attend the funeral of a good friend and find some momentary solace, a glimpse into our true feelings, a rare gesture of love and understanding for the one who has passed, unbridled compassion, a sense of a greater presence and purpose, a fleeting vulnerability to death, a strong desire to comfort those in grief, a brief ability to focus, how surprisingly honest we can be with ourselves and a veritable kaliedoscope of feelings. The door is open but we fear not enter; something like reading and comprehending the Ten Commandments.

Alas, it is always too late. Too much to do to seal our fate.