--my response to a blog post by a friend of mine here
This may come across as crass, but I have an analytical mind so just take it very literally, not personally. It's only my view of things in terms of 'do we matter'. The way I see myself in the world is that I don't matter. You don't matter either. Nothing matters. Well, maybe a little. More on that later.
People that have religion and faith in their lives believe something matters, which is why they have faith and religion in the first place. I respect their beliefs in whatever gods they have. All over the world there are various gods to help societies and cultures make sense of their surroundings. I believe that people's brains are hard-wired to use something like religion as a device to help them understand the world, to give them a reason or purpose for existing in order to preserve and perpetuate the human species. Mind you, this obviously isn't the only instinct used for species perpetuation and survival. But for someone like me who has no 'faith', I have accepted the fact that; nothing happens to me when I die, there is no higher power, I will not answer to anyone for my actions in this life, and nothing waits for me when I die. But that doesn't bother me or scare me -- I've come to terms with it and I'm okay with that. I may have no faith in a higher power ruling over me, but I still live my life with a certain personal code of conduct. I've adopted some principles from the bible as though they were true, only because I think they're good ideas, for example it is a 'sin' to murder someone or commit suicide (and even though I do not believe there would be a hell for me to go to should I ever commit one of those acts, I still never could because it's ingrained in me how wrong they are). I also have my 'own' karma system where I believe that doing good acts is good (it's pretty complicated) but I don't necessarily expect to get an equal return, e.g. it's completely fine if I get back 1 random good thing for 10 things I've done -- I don't keep score.
Although, in the greater scheme of things, I don't believe any of this matters--our hopes and dreams, beliefs, existence--I do have my own personal system of beliefs that I have created. A belief system that is a bunch of ideals and principles to live my life by which, in reality, isn't much different than many other religions out there, except that mine doesn't involve supreme beings and floods and plagues and boils and frogs and the apocalypse and all that fun stuff.
The only thing that matters is right now, and if right now isn't good, what can you do to make it better? If you don't like yourself right now, what can you do to make yourself better? If you don't like your job, friends, weight, house, finances, depression, whatever, right now, what can you do to make it better for later? This is the only life you have so make the best of it. Be as important as you want to be, and be that person for YOU. Do things that make you happy and make you smile and make you feel good when you look at yourself in the mirror. Be yourself, your whole self and as much of yourself as you can be. Be happy with yourself. know yourself. Love yourself. Then go out into the world and find the thing that makes you the most happy and go after it. If it's a dream job or a hobby or a soulmate or travelling the world or whatever, find it and never stop until your heart does.
This may come across as crass, but I have an analytical mind so just take it very literally, not personally. It's only my view of things in terms of 'do we matter'. The way I see myself in the world is that I don't matter. You don't matter either. Nothing matters. Well, maybe a little. More on that later.
People that have religion and faith in their lives believe something matters, which is why they have faith and religion in the first place. I respect their beliefs in whatever gods they have. All over the world there are various gods to help societies and cultures make sense of their surroundings. I believe that people's brains are hard-wired to use something like religion as a device to help them understand the world, to give them a reason or purpose for existing in order to preserve and perpetuate the human species. Mind you, this obviously isn't the only instinct used for species perpetuation and survival. But for someone like me who has no 'faith', I have accepted the fact that; nothing happens to me when I die, there is no higher power, I will not answer to anyone for my actions in this life, and nothing waits for me when I die. But that doesn't bother me or scare me -- I've come to terms with it and I'm okay with that. I may have no faith in a higher power ruling over me, but I still live my life with a certain personal code of conduct. I've adopted some principles from the bible as though they were true, only because I think they're good ideas, for example it is a 'sin' to murder someone or commit suicide (and even though I do not believe there would be a hell for me to go to should I ever commit one of those acts, I still never could because it's ingrained in me how wrong they are). I also have my 'own' karma system where I believe that doing good acts is good (it's pretty complicated) but I don't necessarily expect to get an equal return, e.g. it's completely fine if I get back 1 random good thing for 10 things I've done -- I don't keep score.
Although, in the greater scheme of things, I don't believe any of this matters--our hopes and dreams, beliefs, existence--I do have my own personal system of beliefs that I have created. A belief system that is a bunch of ideals and principles to live my life by which, in reality, isn't much different than many other religions out there, except that mine doesn't involve supreme beings and floods and plagues and boils and frogs and the apocalypse and all that fun stuff.
The only thing that matters is right now, and if right now isn't good, what can you do to make it better? If you don't like yourself right now, what can you do to make yourself better? If you don't like your job, friends, weight, house, finances, depression, whatever, right now, what can you do to make it better for later? This is the only life you have so make the best of it. Be as important as you want to be, and be that person for YOU. Do things that make you happy and make you smile and make you feel good when you look at yourself in the mirror. Be yourself, your whole self and as much of yourself as you can be. Be happy with yourself. know yourself. Love yourself. Then go out into the world and find the thing that makes you the most happy and go after it. If it's a dream job or a hobby or a soulmate or travelling the world or whatever, find it and never stop until your heart does.
Comments