Moorings.....

It's always interesting when several people blog about the same topics unprompted. What's even more interesting is when it ends up being something I was thinking about anyway.

I started to comment at this site and realized my comment would be too long. (Don't you all secretly love it when someone nearly writes an entire post in your comments section?)

There are probably many reasons why someone adopts a belief system or a religion. For me, I did it because I felt rudderless without it.

I came to this incarnation with a sense of alienation. The world felt Kafkaesque. It's a difficult thing to explain in any concrete way that would be easily understood by other people. It's not that I was 4 years old and could say "I feel alienated" but there was a hollowness there that revealed itself in many ways. Frankly, I couldn't understand why I was here and wasn't sure I particularly wanted to be. In the end, it seems to be one of those "you won't understand if you haven't been there" feelings.

Over the years, I tried a lot of things to become rooted. When I was old enough, I was very political and was a powerhouse at a podium, arguing for my cause du jour. I had a big mouth and wasn't afraid to use it. At the same time, that lingering alienation was always just below the surface, threatening to pull me into the abyss. Before that, younger, I was just a common wanderer, an ideological nomad.

It's not that I would be a "bad" person without a fundamental, guiding belief system. I'd just be ineffectual.

None of the belief systems I tried eliminated that empty feeling and I've tried most of them. There would always be something that didn't fit. I couldn't pretend for very long.

The belief system I currently hold fits in every way ~ for me. I'm not going to say what it is intentionally because I'm not selling belief systems here. Most who have read for a while know what it is anyway. If you don't know and want to know, ask me. I'll tell you.

What works for me this time is that it is a belief system that offers structure but also leaves a lot of room for self-determination and thought. It involves a lot of choice. It doesn't address issues of a supreme being. That is up to the individual to work out for him- or herself. It provides an ethical base but doesn't tell anyone how to believe/vote/practice when it comes to any particular issue. That is also up to the individual to choose how to apply the principles. There's a comfortable level of ritual and interestingly, none of the holidays can be politicized.

There are multiple traditions, so it's possible to find one that "fits". The beliefs are fundamental but how they're applied is an individual decision. The standards of behavior are basically the same as all the other major world religions. Be a decent person. Be a compassionate person. Love other people and try to do no harm.

I'm a firm believer, perhaps because of my own experience, that a rudderless existence is probably one of the hardest incarnations. Those of us who come with a blank slate and have to choose everything for ourselves have to work really hard to find the right thing, to root ourselves somewhere, nurture the growth and wait to see if it blooms.

Some people claim that any kind of religion or spirituality is for people who, as my ex-husband used to say, "can't think for themselves."

Well, I can definitely think for myself. And sometimes get into a lot of trouble with all those undirected and unfocused thoughts.

I don't think religion or spirituality is for those who can't think. In fact, I think it is for people who are willing to think. It's for people who want to give some form and substance to their thoughts. It's a direction. It's a mooring.

I don't claim to know what's right for others ~ but I do know what's right for me.

Why do you believe, if you do?

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