What do you believe?

My Daddy used to make up things all the time. To be fair, I was quite an inquisitive child (and remain a curious adult), so I asked him questions like it was my job. His answers, even if they were less than true, had to make sense to me because I’ve always been rigorously logical. So, I think he can be forgiven if he made up, at times, elaborate lies about things that he didn’t really know the answers to.

For example, when I was probably seven or eight years old, we had a beetle invasion. Upstairs in our home, there were hundreds of tiny beetles living in the windows. I was fascinated by the way they just lived in that liminal space between the window and the screen and never really tried to get out. They crawled on top of each other and, often, perished in the heat of that very close space. 

I knew they weren’t lady bugs because they weren’t red. But they were orangeish-red with black spots. And they were the same size and shape as ladybugs. And they looked like ladybugs, except for the color and the fact that they lived in my windows, not the garden. So, being the child that I was, I went to my Daddy and asked him what they were. He took a look, pondered for a minute or two (this was the nineties, so he couldn’t just google it- that would have taken fifteen minutes), and told me that they were male ladybugs.

That’s right folks. My father, who maintained his position for years, told me that orange-ladybug-like-beetles were just the boys. In case you haven’t figured it out yet, they’re not. They’re asian beetles and they eat my sister’s marigolds. Now, my father obviously didn’t know this, but he couldn’t tell me that he didn’t know. I would have pestered him until he went crazy. He also couldn’t have told me that they were just beetles and it didn’t matter what kind they were because I would have indignantly responded that it absolutely mattered what kind they were. So, Daddy went with his best guess and stuck to it.

But here’s the thing that I don’t want you to miss- I believed my father. For several years, I also thought that the orange bugs were just boy ladybugs. It wasn’t until I was an adult and trying to figure out what was ailing my vegetable garden that I discovered otherwise (with the help of Google, of course, because we don’t use dial up anymore). My view of my father was so high and his character seemed so impeccable that I believed anything he said. He mostly told me the truth, but he also told me a lot of harmless tall tales, like this one.

When I think about this story, I think about my beliefs in general. I wonder where they came from and why I have them. I’m a pretty introspective person by nature of my personality and my upbringing, so I consider things like this a lot. I also grew up in a time where we had space in our lives and schedules to think on such things. Have you considered recently what you believe?

I’m not just talking about big picture things like your worldview, though I’m not not talking about that. I mean, do you believe that green is better than blue or that vanilla is the best kind of ice cream? Do you have a preference for the kind of town you live in or a vacation locale? All of these things, even if they are small, are beliefs and they make up a good bit of who you are.

You are what you believe. Did you know that? What you believe will drive what you do. If you believe that peanut butter is disgusting, then you won’t enjoy pad thai. If you believe that small towns are superior to cities, then you either won’t live in a city or you’ll be miserable if you do. Beliefs, even small ones, are incredibly significant.

So, what do you believe?

If you’re up for it, I’d like to invite you on a little adventure through the highways and byways of your heart and soul. I’d like you to use your mind to discover what it is that drives your actions everyday: what do you believe?

Over the next few months, let’s take the time to evaluate what we really think and believe about ourselves, our lives, our world, and those around us. Let’s take some time to explore the influences on our beliefs and decide why we believe them. Let’s determine which beliefs are merely preferential, and can, thus, be compromised upon, and which are dogmatic, shaping everything we do and foundational to our identity.

I’m going to warn you, this won’t be easy and it will certainly be uncomfortable. It’s going to require honesty, but the good news is that there’s no judgment here and no one is going to hear or read any thoughts that you have, unless you decide to share them. But don’t let the difficulty and discomfort stop you- you can do this. You need to do this, for your own sake and, believe it or not, for the rest of the world. 

Do you want to know who you really are? Do you want to make changes to the things you don’t like? Do you want your beliefs to line up with your actions?

I do. I think you do too.

Join me?