When You Believe
There are very few things I get nervous writing about. Politics and religion are at the forefront. I rarely even comment about it on my Facebook page unless it is a funny or disarming jab at both sides. I have very strong feelings about both topics and LORD knows I have friends who let their feelings be known on Facebook. In all honesty, I find that refreshing in many ways. I love when people take a stand for what they believe in. I just really dislike when their stand is so dug in that their opinion cannot and will not be swayed by anything or anyone. Thus my hesitance to usually speak about those two taboo topics. People lose any sense of objectivity or common sense when it comes to those, so please give me the benefit of the doubt during this blog as I am not espousing religion.
I "Believe." Like most Hispanics I was born Catholic. I grew up with those beliefs, did my fair share of questioning as a teen and young adult, and found myself becoming what I call a hybrid Catholic. While my default will always be my inherent Catholic beliefs, I have been truly blessed with friends who are other denominations of Christianity, Jews, Muslims, Mormons, Buddhists and a whole lot of Agnostics and Atheists. I have learned so much from them and my boundaries have expanded significantly.
I have also learned to appreciate that in the end, it seems we're all searching for the same thing. We all want to be a part of something bigger than ourselves; to feel like we mattered while we were here, and that we made a difference.
I submit first that I respect people's opinions and whatever path they choose. I cannot intellectualize my belief to an Atheist just as a Mormon can't rationalize their beliefs to a Muslim or Jew. What I can do is the most powerful thing a human being can do to another human being, accept them the way they are, love them and allow them to follow the path which makes them happy.
I believe in something bigger than me. What I also believe in, and it is at the core of so many of my blogs is the Human Spirit. That incredible connective energy between us all. We've all felt it. That moment when you look into your child's eyes after they're born, if you've ever had to hold the hand of someone you love as they breath their last breath, or as simple as when you're watching tv and a loved one comes over and snuggles with you. That feeling you get, the connected, heart-felt, unspoken thing, that is the Human Spirit. For those of you who are willing to open yourselves up to it, I think you'll find yourselves less angry all the time, less aggressive towards people, far more tolerant of those around you and ultimately far happier in your journey on Earth.
I don't wish that you hold my religious views, I wish that you believe in the human spirit, in that thing that connects us, and let's us know we are part of something far more special than random mutations, even if in all reality random mutations brought us here. It is our path to carve from here. We can destroy each other or we can lift each other up. I choose to lift, just as I choose to believe.
I "Believe." Like most Hispanics I was born Catholic. I grew up with those beliefs, did my fair share of questioning as a teen and young adult, and found myself becoming what I call a hybrid Catholic. While my default will always be my inherent Catholic beliefs, I have been truly blessed with friends who are other denominations of Christianity, Jews, Muslims, Mormons, Buddhists and a whole lot of Agnostics and Atheists. I have learned so much from them and my boundaries have expanded significantly.
I have also learned to appreciate that in the end, it seems we're all searching for the same thing. We all want to be a part of something bigger than ourselves; to feel like we mattered while we were here, and that we made a difference.
I submit first that I respect people's opinions and whatever path they choose. I cannot intellectualize my belief to an Atheist just as a Mormon can't rationalize their beliefs to a Muslim or Jew. What I can do is the most powerful thing a human being can do to another human being, accept them the way they are, love them and allow them to follow the path which makes them happy.
I believe in something bigger than me. What I also believe in, and it is at the core of so many of my blogs is the Human Spirit. That incredible connective energy between us all. We've all felt it. That moment when you look into your child's eyes after they're born, if you've ever had to hold the hand of someone you love as they breath their last breath, or as simple as when you're watching tv and a loved one comes over and snuggles with you. That feeling you get, the connected, heart-felt, unspoken thing, that is the Human Spirit. For those of you who are willing to open yourselves up to it, I think you'll find yourselves less angry all the time, less aggressive towards people, far more tolerant of those around you and ultimately far happier in your journey on Earth.
I don't wish that you hold my religious views, I wish that you believe in the human spirit, in that thing that connects us, and let's us know we are part of something far more special than random mutations, even if in all reality random mutations brought us here. It is our path to carve from here. We can destroy each other or we can lift each other up. I choose to lift, just as I choose to believe.
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