I'm like Albert Schweitzer and Bertrand Russell and Albert

The words of Frank Sinatra, “I’m like Albert Schweitzer and Bertrand Russell and Albert Einstein in that I have a respect for life – in any form. I believe in nature, in the birds, the sea, the sky, in everything I can see or that there is real evidence for. If these things are what you mean by God, then I believe in God,” are not the boast of a singer but the confession of a soul. Beneath the glamour of stages and lights, he revealed a truth as old as the mountains: that reverence for life itself is the first act of worship, and that to love the world’s simple wonders is to stand in the presence of the divine. His voice here echoes the wisdom of sages, who taught that the holy is not distant but is woven into the song of a bird, the rush of the ocean, and the vastness of the heavens.

Consider his invocation of Schweitzer, Russell, and Einstein. Each of these men, though different in thought and path, shared a reverence for existence. Schweitzer, the physician of the jungle, left behind wealth and comfort to serve in Lambaréné, declaring that “reverence for life” is the root of ethics. Russell, though a skeptic of dogma, lifted reason as a torch to defend peace and human dignity. Einstein, gazing into the mysteries of the universe, felt awe at the harmony of natural law and called it “cosmic religious feeling.” By binding himself to their company, Sinatra placed himself in a lineage of those who sought truth not through temples of stone, but through wonder and humility before reality itself.

The ancients too knew this truth. The Stoics spoke of Nature as the very fabric of divinity, a living fire through which reason flowed. The sages of the East bowed not only before idols but before rivers, trees, and mountains, seeing in them the breath of the eternal. To respect life is not merely to refrain from harm, but to honor each creature, each wave of the sea, as a manifestation of a greater order. Thus Sinatra’s words are not a denial of God, but a declaration that God, if He be, is already here, shimmering in all that is real and good.

Let us remember the tale of Saint Francis of Assisi, who walked among wolves and sparrows, calling them his brothers and sisters. He found in their eyes no lesser soul, but companions in the song of creation. In his poverty and simplicity, he was rich in wonder. Is not Sinatra’s creed of birds, sea, and sky cut from the same cloth? To find sacredness in the things we can touch, to believe that reverence for the seen is as holy as reverence for the unseen—this is to bridge the ancient divide between faith and reason.

What then is the lesson for us? It is that we must live as guardians of life. To love the earth is not sentimentality, but duty. When we waste its resources, when we scorn its creatures, we diminish not only the world but our own souls. Yet when we walk in awe, even of the smallest flower, we partake in the divine banquet that Sinatra described. Reverence is not reserved for holy days; it must be practiced daily, in how we breathe, how we consume, how we treat one another.

Practical actions arise from this wisdom. Care for the natural world as if it were your temple: recycle, protect, plant, and preserve. Speak with gentleness, for words too are part of life’s fabric. Pause to listen to the birds at dawn, to watch the clouds drift, to feel the sea’s rhythm upon your chest—these are not idle moments, but prayers. Choose kindness where cruelty tempts you, for in sparing life, you honor the greater mystery.

Thus, children of tomorrow, do not seek God only in the hidden scriptures or the unreachable heavens. Seek Him, as Sinatra did, in the evidence of reality: in the laughter of friends, in the sweep of the stars, in the steadfast sea that forever kisses the shore. Believe, if you must, in mystery—but live, always, in reverence. For to respect life in all its forms is to write your own psalm, sung not on parchment, but in the living world.

And remember this: if God is indeed the sum of life, nature, and truth, then to honor them is already to walk in His presence. Be like Sinatra, like Schweitzer, like Einstein, like Russell—be a seeker, a lover of existence, and a friend to all that breathes. In this way, your life itself becomes a hymn, rising like the dawn, timeless and eternal.