Belief in Review

Well, friends. We made it. It’s the end of the fall and, if you haven’t already, you’ll probably be putting up Christmas decorations soon and thinking about all the wonderful activities, traditions, and celebrations ahead of you. It’s a joyous time of year! Before we embark on a delightful December, I’d like us to review what we have (hopefully) learned during this season.

First, I asked you, “What do you believe?” This question is important because our lives are so fast and so busy and too full to allow us to really think about what we believe. Many of us just go through the motions of our lives without ever considering the deep waters of our hearts. What we believe impacts every decision that we make, both big and small. It’s important to take time to consider what we even think about the world we live in and the kind of life we’re living in it.

Second, we began to dig a little deeper and I asked you, “Why do you believe it?” I hope this question spurred you to consider your beliefs more closely. Once you’ve identified what they are, the next logical step is to think about why you have them. Both the “why” and the “what” of our belief systems are foundational to who we are.

Then, we went down the potentially dangerous road of exploring where we learned our beliefs. I wrote about setting and how where you learn something has an influence on your attitude towards what you learned. It could be either positive or negative, but what matters is that we don’t let our experience, positive or negative, completely overshadow the validity of our beliefs. We can learn valuable things through terrible circumstances and vice-versa.

And since we were already on a perilous road, I asked you, “Who taught you to believe?” Again, a loaded question, depending on who you are and what your life has been like. Just like all the other questions, this one was intended to help you identify if you believe or reject part or all of a worldview more because of who taught it to you rather than the merit of the idea or worldview itself.

Next, I asked you, “How did you learn your beliefs?” If things are starting to get redundant, good. We must evaluate all facets of our belief systems and how we came to them if we are going to be able to understand the world around us. I don’t want anyone to believe something for bad reasons. By exploring how we learned our beliefs, we gave ourselves another opportunity to consider if we’re believing anything simply because the method by which we learned them was effective or because the beliefs themselves make sense out of the world.

My final question was, “When did you learn your beliefs?” Again, helping us see the roots from which the flowers of our beliefs blossomed. This question is especially important because our psychology changes as we age and it might be worth re-evaluating some things we learned in our childhood or adolescence. 

A couple weeks ago, I gave you what I hope was an illuminating essay on the nature of belief itself. Now that you know what you believe, why, how, etc., I want you to be able to identify if your beliefs have any merit. That’s basically what I’ve been driving at this whole time: does your belief system make sense out of the world? Do you even have a belief system? Would you be willing to explore other ideas or do you think yours can bear the weight of your life?

And, now, it’s your time to shine. Don’t get to the end of this year and not think about your beliefs. Human beings are designed to put faith in something. Even having faith that there is nothing beyond this life is a belief and you must have faith to believe. You cannot escape it, it’s the way the world was made.

Despite what some of you may think or want, I’m not here to tell you what to believe. I’m here to help you think. I won’t tell you what to believe because I believe that all sincere inquiry after truth, beauty, and the meaning of life leads to the same place. I believe it like I believe in the sunrise: if you follow the path towards truth, you’ll find the right answer. Every time. 

You won’t find the right answer because all answers are right answers. You’ll find the right answer because nothing else will work. Nothing else will satisfy. All the other answers that claim to be right will ultimately disappoint you. There’s only one answer, the truth, that will satisfy the deep cravings of your soul.

There are powers deeper and stronger than you or me at work in the world.

So, take a few steps down the perilous path. Explore what you believe, what you see, and consider what makes sense of the world. Ask questions. Never stop asking questions. And don’t trust anyone who wants you to stop. The truth does not need a defender. It is the essence of reality and the foundation of the world itself. It’s far beyond you or me to define. Ask for it. Seek for it. Knock on every door.

For all true seekers, it will be opened. And then, you’ll know the sort of thing that can bear the weight of your life. You’ll know what you believe and it will never be taken from you.