I've really been thinking and compiling my thoughts recently on religion. I had an epiphany a few days ago. Religion hits the core emotions that every human goes through. Let me extrapolate:
Religion is human. Religion is people wanting to believe that there is an all-powerful being that will love them and help them with their problems.
People are scared. They are afraid that they will get hurt, or something will come along and destroy everything that they have made for themselves. They need to believe that there is a supernatural being in the sky that will protect them if they pray right, or perform the right rituals.
People don't know what will come of their life. They don't know what direction they should take in their life. They don't know what will happen when they die. They don't know where they came from. They need to believe that there is a heaven/hell when they die. They need to believe that a supernatural being in the sky has their life planned out for them.
People want to be loved. It is human instinct to want to be loved and accepted by as many people as possible. They need to believe that there is a supernatural being in the sky that will love them no matter what.
People are afraid of messing up. They want to be perfect. They feel like when they do something to hurt someone, they need to feel like they can redeem themselves. They need to believe that there is a supernatural being in the sky that will forgive them and make everything right again.
People have problems. Hard things happen in everyone's lives. They need to believe that there is a supernatural being in the sky that will help them solve all of their problems.
What I'm getting at is that religion is people. It is so human. It is formed by human emotions and needs. Humanity still has the same needs that it had hundreds of years ago. That's why religion still hasn't faded. Humans will still be humans. They will still have the same problems, just in different contexts. Religion is humanity.
Religion is powerful. If you believe enough in something, your brain will make it become real to you. If you convince yourself that you will feel a certain way after doing a ritual, then you actually will feel something. Many people have psychology healed themselves just through placebo effect. I think that people really misjudge and miscalculate just how powerful your brain is. If you believe strongly enough that rubbing watermelon all over your skin will help your flu get better, it actually will. Brains make connections with things that don't exist. If you think that the local newspaper is hiding a conspiracy in code in one of the articles, then you will find that your brain is finding many secret conspiracy messages in just an innocent newspaper. Belief drives your brain. Belief becomes stronger with more people. Religion is just belief playing games with your brain. Many religions have a large community. They all pressure you to believe strongly in their doctrines. You start to believe, since logic says, "If so many people believe in that one thing, then it must be real!" But people can't be trusted. People follow their emotions. People are making assumptions. People don't actually know what's really out there. People don't know if there really are supernatural beings in the sky. People love to believe. It fulfills their worries. They can feel safe. I prefer not to put my trust in something that doesn't exist outside of everyone's brains.
I get scared sometimes. Something terrible might happen to me, or people close to me. But I am facing my fears. I'm not trying to hide my worries with some supposed supernatural being in the sky. I am facing my problems head-on. I am finding ways to cope.
I don't know what will happen in my life. But I know what I'm interested in. I have a pretty good idea of fun things that I want to reach for in my life. I have decided that I'm not going to let a non-existent supernatural being in the sky tell me where I should move to. I have decided that I'm not going to let people who think that their religion knows where and what I need to do take over my life. I am going to follow my dreams, and if I end up living on a park bench eating out of dumpsters, at least I tried. It's better to try and fail, than to never try at all.
I don't know what happens after I die. I also don't know if I came from another life before this. I figure that I'll worry about dying when it comes. I might not even have time to think when it comes.
I want to be loved. Every human is born with the want to be loved. But I have found that I have some very good people in my life. They love and accept me for who I am. I trust them. And if they turn around and hurt me back, it'll hurt, but what's life without a little hurt? I'll eventually get over with it and move on. Life is full of setbacks, but I can decide to slap those setbacks in the face.
I'm a bit afraid of messing up. I worry sometimes about if something I said came off as a bit offensive to someone. I worry if my attempt at a joke was a bit mean. I worry if my anxiety came off as self-centered. But I have to stop being afraid. No human can be perfect. No one. People will mess up. People will hurt other people. It's only human. I'll stop worrying and move on. I won't dwell on those thoughts. All it does is cause me to convince myself that I'm a bad person. And that is poison to anybody's soul.
I have problems. Heck, everybody does. I have so many huge problems happening in my life. And I encounter so many little, almost petty ones, throughout each day. But I need to learn to deal with them myself. No one is going to magically take away my mental disorders. I have to cope. No one is going to magically make me do better on that math test. I have to make that happen. No one is going to make money or food magically appear on my doorstep. I have to go get my own money and food. I have to make things happen myself. I have to deal with things myself. And I can choose to slap them in the face.
I just want anyone is curious about me to know that I don't need religion in my life. I know that my life is hard, and I have realized that no supernatural being in the sky is the answer to everything. I have to face hard. And I certainly don't like to trust in things that don't exist. But, I am not slamming any of your religions. I am open to learning. I will probably say, "Hmmm, that's interesting." or "That's a fascinating idea." or "I'm glad that you've found something to put your heart and soul into." Really, I am happy for all of you that have found a religion that rings true to you. If you preach about it to me, I'll still be nice. I will try as hard as I can to politely decline you, or politely leave the conversation when things get a little too political for me.
I am very open-minded. It's just that religion isn't for me. Religion was never meant to be for everyone. It has never been an absolute requirement for living a life. I have a right to live a life the way that I truly desire. I'm not trying to be rebellious. I'm just trying to find me. I know that there is still more of me hiding deep down somewhere, just waiting to be found. And I'm going to find it.
~M.B.~
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