I’m happy to say that I am currently working on a new audio project for Do Radio, under the Do Lectures umbrella. I will be interviewing a range of people on the subject of adventure, which is a wonderfully vague remit. I’ve only done one interview so far, which will be aired in June I think, but already it has taken me on a journey I was not expecting. A journey to try and make sense of - and perhaps even find - the sacred.
I am not a religious person but I do think of myself as spiritual. Or at least open to the unknown, which is what the word increasingly means to me.
I often use the analogy of football when explaining my view on spirituality. I grew up loving football and played it all the time because for me football is about the game itself. If I’m in a park walking the dog and a game is being played I stop and watch. I can’t help it. Even if it’s just a bunch of mates kicking the ball around. There is something unifying and fun and culturally known to me about it that makes me feel connected to it. But if you tell me football is about teams and leagues and trophies you begin to lose me. And if you go and tell me that, say, Manchester United are the best team in the world and the only team worth supporting and I should be singing their songs and go on a regular pilgrimage to Old Trafford all the time than I will resist with every fibre of my being. I have no desire to stop you supporting Manchester United or loving your team or supporting them, but that is not what football is about for me.
For me it’s about the game itself.
I have the same view of spirituality and religion. I know the immeasurable wonder of being a human being. I long to make sense of what it means to be alive. To prioritise love and meaning in my life and to feel connected to all living things in an indefinable bond of fellowship. But if you tell me that makes me a Christian and I should come to your church and sing your songs because yours is the best religion I will look at you, baffled. Because for me it’s about what it means to be human rather than any specific religion.
And this is the direction the series seems to be going in - of its own volition. The first interview went somewhere I was not entirely expecting and it seems to have unlocked or unleashed the Universe because now I find myself discovering people, ideas and books - so many books - that I’m struggling to keep up. At least the path is clear enough. And for that I’m incredibly excited and grateful. Watch the video for more info.
Thanks for reading / watching. I will be doing weekly video updates on the background research for the series and where it’s heading and would love you to join me on the journey.
Much love,
Dan
Share this post