We don’t know why we’re here. No one truly knows. There isn’t any religion in the world that can provide realistic evidence about the existence of our species. In fact, I believe a lot of people hurl themselves into religion out of fear. Fear is poison to the mind, body, and soul. I used to believe that I would find the meaning of life if I were to be exposed to a significant event, like having God come down to give me a hug. Obviously, that would be undeniably awesome, but also something one shouldn’t expect. All we have is this moment and in this moment lays beauty. A religious experience is about what he/she felt at that given moment. It has less to do with the events that led up to that feeling. I can find religious experience anywhere. It could be at a football game, beach, playground, or bus. Anywhere. It doesn’t have to be on your knees at a church, synagogue, or mosque. I have personally felt religious experience in the most random places and times. I find bus rides to be a religious experience for me. It clears my head, puts “conflicts” into perspective, and gives me a sense of “oneness” with the world. The feeling one gets during a religious is priceless and something we live for. It is also something found by being present. Brautigan’s A Short History of Religion in California revolves around the concept of religious experience. The narrator found his “electric surge” of an experience on a hike with his daughter in front of the beauties of nature. He described how overwhelmingly excited his daughter was about everything. His daughter served as the narrator’s lens. He seemed unresponsive initially. His daughter’s spirit and reactions demanded the narrator to be present to his surroundings. She was especially in awe of the deer. Her love of the deer rubbed off on the narrator when she said, “Look the deer! The same electrical surge against me, enough perhaps to light a couple of christmas tree lights or make a fan turn for a minute or toast half-a-slice of bread (Brautigan).” His daughter then saw the singing Christians. The singing Christians were the author’s attempt to make the notion of religion present in the story. The narrator seems unreligious and dismissive of it. This is indicative in the text; “They were busy singing about Jesus doing something good for them (Brautigan).” If he were religious he would have been appreciative of the singing Christians instead just brushing them off. The story is attempting to project the message that even if you aren’t religious, you can find religious experience. When he saw the cake the Christians gave his daughter on the ground and the river flowing he went and hugged the tree. This hug conveyed that he was at peace with himself and the world. It almost made me feel like this was the narrator’s first time exposed to the wilderness. I also see a man who loves his daughter very much. I don’t believe his experience would have been as special if he wasn’t with his daughter, which enforces the notion that religious experience is a personal thing. There isn’t any formula to achieving one. Nature is a central theme and symbol in this story. It is a paradigm of purity and purity is associated with religion. When we feel connected to purity that is when we are touch with the oneness of the world. The cake also carried a great deal of significance. It played an essential role in sparking an epiphany in the narrator. “The cake was very small on the ground. The water flowed over the rocks. A bird or an animal would eat the cake later on and then go down to the river for a drink of water (Brautigan).” The cake had heightened his awareness. The cake lying there made the author aware of the cycle of things and nature’s purpose. The dichotomy of the cake and nature is what ultimately inspired the narrator to hug the tree and feel at peace. “I hugged my arms around the tree and my cheeks sailed to the sweet and floated there for a few gentle moments in the calm (Brautigan).” I can indentify with the narrator’s experience. I have been in the woods and felt the very evident glory of nature. I believe what makes nature so powerful and uplifting is it’s ability of sucking someone out of the egotistical places in which he/she comes from. I believe one of the prominent problems in our world is the destructive egos we have developed. To quote one of my favorite writers, Charles Bukowski, “We're all going to die, all of us, what a circus! That alone should make us love each other but it doesn't. We are terrorized and flattened by trivialities, we are eaten up by nothing.” Bukowski is conveying the obvious message that we don’t have all of eternity to be on this planet, yet we focus on things that temper the human spirit. This concept is relevant to A Short History of Religion in California because the story focuses on things outside the “trivialities” we are so easily consumed by and as a result we find a story about the things that mean the most in life. I find it unfathomable that we are the only species that kills out of pure ego. In nature, the ego is nonexistent. Nature is at peace and in rhythm with the universe. It’s always one glorious moment in nature. When someone is around nature it puts things in perspective. It helps us understand the meaning of us.
The narrator’s experience reminded me a lot of a movie I recently watched called Boyhood. In the end scene of the film, Mason takes a hike into the mountains with some new friends on his first day of college. While gazing at the sunset next to a beautiful girl, he says to her “it’s always right now.” It was the priceless things the world had to offer like nature and the right group of people for him to reach that epiphany. He realized, just like the narrator, that it’s the little things in life, which are things that can’t be purchased. It’s funny though that the little things are the big things. In fact, they’re the only things.
We don’t appreciate the little things as much as we used to because our heads are always down at our phones. I always find it strange how we have the ability to be more connected than ever in human history and we decide not to be. Technology is getting smarter and lots of people are getting dumber and unable to hold a face-to-face conversation. It’s pathetic and upsetting. People are literally wiring their brains to think that their lives revolve around the internet. Constantly checking your phone to see if people still like you is simply a sign of insecurity. We are limiting ourselves of what’s right in front of us. We can’t experience life to the fullest if we’re not mentally, physically, and spiritually available. That’s why it’s important for people to always make time to be available. It’s okay to put the phone down. All of your virtual friends and apps are still going to be there. Brautigan’s story has inspired me to appreciate life’s natural gifts and be present. The narrator was appreciating the moment and found a sense of enlightenment. His availability and willingness to observe what was around him is what made him have a religious experience.

Works Cited
Brautigan, Richard. A Short History of Religion in California.