philosophy among the stacks...

I stopped by Barnes and Noble after work tonight. It had been a rough afternoon and when I'm feeling stressed I often turn to the written word for an escape from reality. I was looking specifically for a book written by a Buddhist (Thaych Nhat Hahn?) on finding mindfulness and happiness in everyday little things. (I had been looking up the topic of meditation on Google right before leaving work and this book was highly recommended for beginners.) I found the book but after reading a few passages I lost interest and decided to amble towards the philosophy section. (I've been reading a book called Socrates Cafe by Christopher Phillips and just love it! I would recommend it to anyone who is curious about philosophy but doesn't want the stuffiness or academia inhereit in standard textbooks. His book brings philosophy to life.) I wasn't really looking for a specific author, but while scanning the spine titles I saw one that caught my eye...."Why I Am Not Christian" by Bertrand Russell. Philosophy and discussions of belief vs. non-belief fascinate me. I don't consider myself to be Christian so I'm always curious about others' efforts to define their beliefs. As I'm standing there, in the philosophy stacks, reading the first few pages of this book, a man comes over very determined to find a book in the shelf next to me. I tried so hard not to laugh -- the shelf next to me contained bibles. He was absolutely adamant that he must find the New American Bible. When he finds it and is standing next to me, also reading the first two pages, I'm struck by the irony of the situation. Like yin and yang, we were opposites -- a believer and a non-believer. He was arguing with his spouse about the merits of that bible when compared to the others. I, being an anthropologist and not having his faith, was silently taking a different stand. It was funny. I decided to hide the title of my book from them. You never know how those of strong faith will react when confronted with a non-believer. Will they see you as an opportunity for conversion? The very idea made me cringe and select another book to preview.

I once fibbed to two women who came to my door to "spread the word of God" and told them I was Wiccan. I thought it would make them go away and not bother me anymore. Alas, it was not to be. Instead their faces brightened and they started asking all kinds of questions about what the religion was like, what was my belief on such and such issue, etc. *sigh* Fortunately I knew enough to blunder my way through it (I had researched Wiccan for an academic paper), but I learned my lesson that day. Now I just pretend I'm not home when they come knocking. Ha!