Belief

A journal prompt a few weeks ago asked me what I believed in. I have to admit that I have a hard time with this, because my beliefs have nothing to do with a conclusion. It might not even have specifics. I do not have a strong believe that God exists or that there is life after death or that there is some sort of reward system that determines if you lived a pious life. Those things I am undecided on, because I do not have enough evidence to sway me and there are so many different versions of these sorts of ideas that all of them seem both equally plausible as well as inconclusive. Of course if you believe in any of that then good for you, but my brain does not work that way. I cannot conclusively give myself to any organized belief system, because there is so much I am unsure of.

I do believe in a process though that brings meaning to people's present life. I believe we should be kind, we should be honest, and we should all serve a purpose that is bigger than ourselves. Some find religion, other create their own belief systems, and a few find an outlet in their careers. I believe we are meant to serve one another and help one another, but not in a selfish way in which we give so much of ourselves that we in turn lose. Truth is service should provide just as much as someone gives. I served as an AmeriCorps member and I gave up pay along with many hours of my life, but I got inspiration, experience, and friends. To me the deficit lands on what I got rather than what I gave up. I also believe part of being kind and service oriented is to speak the truth we are always meant to speak. We should declare who we are, what we believe, and what we need in an assertive manner. To teach the people around us how to better take care of us and so that we can learn how grow in turn. Lastly, I believe the whole point of our existence is to grow and to make the best of the time we are given. Lifting people up, helping people out, speaking out truth, righting wrongs, educating ourselves to solve problems, and learning to understand ourselves. This if I had to give it a name would be secular Humanism for which I am a member and a proud one at that.

The conclusions and the rewards or even the point of origin does not matter to me. It can go any which way. It is the here and now though that matters most. I want to make the world I live in better and I want my life to mean something to me.  It all starts by making sure that I matter to myself and from there everything else follows.

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