I was sitting in the middle of Manly (Sydney) today lapping up the kind of sunshine that I as a Brit would barely dream about in the midst of our own summer, as I am reminded this is supposed to be Winter time here, when i was asked politely by a very smartly dressed man in his early twenties if i was "having a good day?".
I looked across at him somewhat startled as to be honest it's not an everyday happening in Blighty and I wasn't quite sure how to respond, so I just said "errr yeah great thanks I am fine" hoping that he would then go away.
Not so. He immediately stated the obvious, "you a Brit?" and before you know it we were engaged in what was for me a little bit of an uneasy conversation. Adam, for that was the young man's name was a missionary, he was working in NSW for the next 2 years and he had been in Manly for 8 weeks, he belonged to the Mormons who I have to admit I have heard of but I am not the most religious of types so I wasn't and still aren't that au fait with their way of doing things.
Anyway, I have to be honest, the lad was very polite and he asked me many questions, some of which I was happy to answer and some i skirted around, but the little so and so pitched a question to me that I couldn't and still can't answer, "what do you trust in?".
Now, I am wordly wise, I can look after myself, not brilliantly but i can get by, but that question had me stumped, I couldn't answer him because I cannot trust in God as this young man so obviously did because well, I am a little sceptical about religion and the existence of someone on a higher level, so I just said "I trust in myself" but not for a second did i believe that. At this point an Australian guy up from Melbourne butted in and said, "well to be honest I have done all the Harri Krishna stuff and chanting and Methodist and Catholic, I have tried them all and they are all alike, I don't know who i would trust"
This comment was obviously heaven sent for my missionary friend, he began his sermon about his faith in God and suddenly pulled a Rubic's cube from out of his pocket,
"You know what this is?"
Believe me the temptation to say 'no' was so overwhelming but I played along like a good C of E lad ought to and tried not be rude, "oh that's a Rubiks Cube"
A smile lit his face up bless him.
"That's right sir, it's like my life, sometimes it's all out of place and I can't see where I am going or what I am doing but when you work at it and concentrate you can get all the colours to match and your life is back on track" (I hadn't the heart to tell him that my Rubik's cube from Xmas 1979 was residing in the attic at home still in total disarray from my attempts to put it back to its former glory where it had sat since the same day i had it as a present) but to my surprise he just flicked it through a few moves and hey presto the cube was complete, I refrained from applause as i didn't want to show my complete ignorance of the task he had just performed and said a muted "oh yes.. well done", while secretly thinking he was a bloody smart Alec.
It was at this very point with these two guys talking to me i had to admit i looked around to see if there was a hidden camera somewhere, but fortunately not, these two guys were for real and we all chatted quite happily if a little uncomfortably for me the Brit, about the meaning of life, I just wish John Cleese had been there..
So, just when I was all comfortable with what they were saying and talking about I suddenly realised that young fellow me lad had switched to his hymn sheet, in other words he was now in full flow about what God did for him and what visions he had and how his life was devoted to one religion etc etc..and again how his Rubik's Cube mirrored his life at times. I have to say at this point I mentioned how wonderful it was that he had found his calling and that as a lightweight Protestant I was not entirely sure that God was actually anywhere other than in our minds, much like any other craze or fad we may decide to follow and that I wouldn't be the man to try and convert, with that I rose to my feet along with my new found Oz friend who accepted a card off the youngster and went on his way, I shook the young man's hand but I was not offered a card... obviously he see's me as a forlorn hope and not worth wasting a very nice card on, that was probably a good call on his behalf !.
I looked across at him somewhat startled as to be honest it's not an everyday happening in Blighty and I wasn't quite sure how to respond, so I just said "errr yeah great thanks I am fine" hoping that he would then go away.
Not so. He immediately stated the obvious, "you a Brit?" and before you know it we were engaged in what was for me a little bit of an uneasy conversation. Adam, for that was the young man's name was a missionary, he was working in NSW for the next 2 years and he had been in Manly for 8 weeks, he belonged to the Mormons who I have to admit I have heard of but I am not the most religious of types so I wasn't and still aren't that au fait with their way of doing things.
Anyway, I have to be honest, the lad was very polite and he asked me many questions, some of which I was happy to answer and some i skirted around, but the little so and so pitched a question to me that I couldn't and still can't answer, "what do you trust in?".
Now, I am wordly wise, I can look after myself, not brilliantly but i can get by, but that question had me stumped, I couldn't answer him because I cannot trust in God as this young man so obviously did because well, I am a little sceptical about religion and the existence of someone on a higher level, so I just said "I trust in myself" but not for a second did i believe that. At this point an Australian guy up from Melbourne butted in and said, "well to be honest I have done all the Harri Krishna stuff and chanting and Methodist and Catholic, I have tried them all and they are all alike, I don't know who i would trust"
This comment was obviously heaven sent for my missionary friend, he began his sermon about his faith in God and suddenly pulled a Rubic's cube from out of his pocket,
"You know what this is?"
Believe me the temptation to say 'no' was so overwhelming but I played along like a good C of E lad ought to and tried not be rude, "oh that's a Rubiks Cube"
A smile lit his face up bless him.
"That's right sir, it's like my life, sometimes it's all out of place and I can't see where I am going or what I am doing but when you work at it and concentrate you can get all the colours to match and your life is back on track" (I hadn't the heart to tell him that my Rubik's cube from Xmas 1979 was residing in the attic at home still in total disarray from my attempts to put it back to its former glory where it had sat since the same day i had it as a present) but to my surprise he just flicked it through a few moves and hey presto the cube was complete, I refrained from applause as i didn't want to show my complete ignorance of the task he had just performed and said a muted "oh yes.. well done", while secretly thinking he was a bloody smart Alec.
It was at this very point with these two guys talking to me i had to admit i looked around to see if there was a hidden camera somewhere, but fortunately not, these two guys were for real and we all chatted quite happily if a little uncomfortably for me the Brit, about the meaning of life, I just wish John Cleese had been there..
So, just when I was all comfortable with what they were saying and talking about I suddenly realised that young fellow me lad had switched to his hymn sheet, in other words he was now in full flow about what God did for him and what visions he had and how his life was devoted to one religion etc etc..and again how his Rubik's Cube mirrored his life at times. I have to say at this point I mentioned how wonderful it was that he had found his calling and that as a lightweight Protestant I was not entirely sure that God was actually anywhere other than in our minds, much like any other craze or fad we may decide to follow and that I wouldn't be the man to try and convert, with that I rose to my feet along with my new found Oz friend who accepted a card off the youngster and went on his way, I shook the young man's hand but I was not offered a card... obviously he see's me as a forlorn hope and not worth wasting a very nice card on, that was probably a good call on his behalf !.
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