(You can expect this post to be about something awful.)
Most people go through most of their lives surfing on the edge of faith. Somehow, somewhere, we were all taught to see life as a series of random events, and those who believe in fate/faith/God/any higher power are declared saps. There is also the argument that religion serves as an emotional crutch. What's wrong with that? What's wrong with needing an emotional crutch?
As humans, I believe that we have to recognise the extent of our capabilities and its limits. Yes, we are all brainwashed to believe the sky is the limit - mostly by those American movies where dogs and cats can also achieve the American dream. While this is true, in matters of destiny and realising the meaning of life, there are things that we just have to set to autopilot, because really, it is on autopilot. When life seems to spin out of control - for good and for bad, we end up with a feeling of helplessness. We deal with these emotions, when we should actually be getting to the root of the problem, that we see life as a series of random events, and that things just happen to spin out of control.
Paradigm Shift
But do things just spin in and out of control? Faith, whether in God, in the belief that there is a larger scheme of things, or even in the belief of the smallness of humanity (I am of the opinion that we take ourselves too seriously as humans and hence, a lot of the world's problems stems from the fact that we think we rule the planet), should ground us and prevent the emotions surface during periods of randomness.
My rationale to the fact that my life has spun somewhat out of control would be that there is a larger scheme of things that I am a part of. In my case, this larger scheme is coordinated by a higher Being, and faith is intrinsically tied with religion. Perhaps some quiet time away from life, but with my partner in crime, can make this large scheme comprehensible to me, a mere mortal.
Posted by Najah Nasseri at 2003年03月12日 14:04