At some point in your very young life, you believed in something wholeheartedly. It might have been your parents, the Divine, Santa Claus, Fairies, Trees, or Magic. Probably it was a heady elixir of all those things.
Hopefully you learned as you grew that they perhaps were not as omnipotent as you had thought… at that point, you began seeking other places your heart might be safe. All too often, someone takes it upon themselves to let us know that one or many of these entities were, shall we say, not as powerful as we had hoped.
Thus, began both our disillusionment and, if we are lucky, our life-long search. There are few of us who don’t remember when our disillusionment met our emerging hormones. Those were tough years. I don’t know about you, but mine were narrated by some particularly distraught, rhyming poetry. Many guys I knew fixed cars instead. They found them dependable and able to be restored. Others of us wallowed and despaired.
I was a church kid. I found the rhythm of the seasons and the liturgies reassuring. I had friends there. Despite some very sorrowful events, I had great adults who taught me how they believed and how to question my beliefs and discover the beliefs of others. This led to fascinating journeys as I questioned and discovered beliefs, traditions, and people that I might never have known existed. My world got bigger. I left my teen angst and started early on the path of wonder I have been on for most of my life.
We could all probably make a list of things in which I do not believe, but I find that not particularly interesting. What captures my attention is what you’re exploring. How you find meaning in your life, and whether you believe those things will sustain you for the long-term.
As adults, we can leave behind those beliefs which no longer serve us in favor of moving toward how we might better serve the world. We can ask ourselves how we become Peacemakers.
Our beliefs should be a constantly deepening understanding of the way the world works and the ways in which I can work in the world. Tell me what you believe — and how it shapes and enriches your life. What does it free you from? What does it impel you toward? If you’re not asking these questions, you have no idea what you might be missing! Despite the hardships of everyday life, these questions make life richer! And what if it made you believe in trees and magic and fairies again? Wouldn’t that be sweet?
Salaam, Shalom, Peace. Blessed be.