As I was leaving Wal-Mart earlier today, I heard the greeter tell
another customer, "God bless you." My thoughts instantly entered into
Hypothetical Conversations™ mode.
"If he would have said that to me, I would have replied with, 'Oh, I'm Atheist,'" myself told myself.
"And that would have accomplished what?" myself asked.
"Ope! Ya got me there!" I replied. And then we all laughed together.
My second line of thought went to a more empathetic place. If he would
have said that to me, I should just interpret it as I know it. "May the
Universe bless you," is what I would have heard. A friendly "And you,
too, sir!" is what I would have responded. Beliefs are sacred but so so
variegated. One sect alone can spawn thousands of unique ideologies. One
person might believe Jesus was the son of God and be completely against
same-sex marriage. One person might believe Jesus was the son of God
and be completely for same-sex marriage. Muslims and Christians
both agree that Jesus lived, however one believes he was a prophet and
the other believes he was the messiah himself. Native Americans and
Ancient Greeks both believed in polytheism, but the representations of
each god took on different roles.
It took me a long time to not be pompous about my atheism. And I'm actually not even Atheist! I just tell people that to make myself clear: no. white. omnipotent. male. god. for. Nessie. I've studied it, flipped it, and reversed it. Doesn't make an ounce of sense to me. Seeing how bushes and snakes can't speak, I think the author of the Bible had some dank-ass shroomies on deck. Most importanly though, Jesus wasn't white.
I am Pantheist. One definition says: a doctrine that identifies God with the universe. I love it. Nail on the head. Yes. Scientists claim our galaxy began with the Big Bang Theory. So nature did this on its own, because it's gangster like that. From there emerged trees, oceans, volcanoes, mountains, fields, deserts, sharks, otters, sloths, dogs, and flowers... all the radiant and lively aspects of this Earth. Don't even get me started with humans. The way we have a muscular system to move our bones. The way adenosine triphosphate is created during the Kreb cycle. The way our distorted vision can be fixed with a fine laser. The way we know DNA is a double-helix (shout out to Rosalind Franklin). THE WAY WE EVEN KNOW WHAT THE FUCK DNA IS. Majestic. Magnificent. Magical. Nature is perfect and beautiful.
The second definition says: worship that admits or tolerates all gods. I like that. There are truths across all faiths and religions and creeds. I don't believe in Christianity, but when Jesus said, "Do to others what you would have them do to you," I'm like, my nigga. I don't know anything about Judaism, but when I see quotes from the Torah like, "Seek peace, and pursue it," I'm with the shit. When considering Greek mythology, it makes way more sense to me to have multiple gods handling humanly affairs: one rules love, one rules war, one rules the ocean, one rules the underworld. I'm sure if I looked into Satanism I'd find something I'd like about it. Same with Mormonism and Catholicism and Zoroastrianism, etc. There's a picture I've seen on the internet of Jesus, Buddha, and Krishna with their arms wrapped around each other. Above them reads, "We're all just walking each other home. ~Ram Dass" And it's true. Whatever gets you through the day.
What keeps me going is relatively simple: it's knowledge. For monotheists, most of their questions have answers. They can consult their holy book or a religious leader. For me, there is a world out there full of vast unknowns and possibilities. I'm still searching for my answer, and I suspect I always be. I love to learn about history (local, national, global), psychology, sociology, biology, anthropology, politics, technology, nutrition, photography, literature, and other cultures. I love to write in journals and to give myself tarot readings and to trip on DMT and to go on walks with my dog at midnight when the streets are lonely. I love to read good books and poetry. I love to make myself tea and take soothing hot showers that wash my transgressions away. I'm a very simple person. I love depth, intellect, ambition, and a sense of purpose in people. I dabble in witchcraft and voodoo shit. I don't believe in astrology or know when Mercury will be in retrograde, but that doesn't stop me from peeping at the paragraph titled Aquarius at the end of my magazine. I don't own crystals that will cleanse my chakras, but I meditate in the sunshine on windy days and do yoga to stretch my fears away, waiting for peace to meet me in the middle. This is the religion of me.
It took me a long time to not be pompous about my atheism. And I'm actually not even Atheist! I just tell people that to make myself clear: no. white. omnipotent. male. god. for. Nessie. I've studied it, flipped it, and reversed it. Doesn't make an ounce of sense to me. Seeing how bushes and snakes can't speak, I think the author of the Bible had some dank-ass shroomies on deck. Most importanly though, Jesus wasn't white.
I am Pantheist. One definition says: a doctrine that identifies God with the universe. I love it. Nail on the head. Yes. Scientists claim our galaxy began with the Big Bang Theory. So nature did this on its own, because it's gangster like that. From there emerged trees, oceans, volcanoes, mountains, fields, deserts, sharks, otters, sloths, dogs, and flowers... all the radiant and lively aspects of this Earth. Don't even get me started with humans. The way we have a muscular system to move our bones. The way adenosine triphosphate is created during the Kreb cycle. The way our distorted vision can be fixed with a fine laser. The way we know DNA is a double-helix (shout out to Rosalind Franklin). THE WAY WE EVEN KNOW WHAT THE FUCK DNA IS. Majestic. Magnificent. Magical. Nature is perfect and beautiful.
The second definition says: worship that admits or tolerates all gods. I like that. There are truths across all faiths and religions and creeds. I don't believe in Christianity, but when Jesus said, "Do to others what you would have them do to you," I'm like, my nigga. I don't know anything about Judaism, but when I see quotes from the Torah like, "Seek peace, and pursue it," I'm with the shit. When considering Greek mythology, it makes way more sense to me to have multiple gods handling humanly affairs: one rules love, one rules war, one rules the ocean, one rules the underworld. I'm sure if I looked into Satanism I'd find something I'd like about it. Same with Mormonism and Catholicism and Zoroastrianism, etc. There's a picture I've seen on the internet of Jesus, Buddha, and Krishna with their arms wrapped around each other. Above them reads, "We're all just walking each other home. ~Ram Dass" And it's true. Whatever gets you through the day.
What keeps me going is relatively simple: it's knowledge. For monotheists, most of their questions have answers. They can consult their holy book or a religious leader. For me, there is a world out there full of vast unknowns and possibilities. I'm still searching for my answer, and I suspect I always be. I love to learn about history (local, national, global), psychology, sociology, biology, anthropology, politics, technology, nutrition, photography, literature, and other cultures. I love to write in journals and to give myself tarot readings and to trip on DMT and to go on walks with my dog at midnight when the streets are lonely. I love to read good books and poetry. I love to make myself tea and take soothing hot showers that wash my transgressions away. I'm a very simple person. I love depth, intellect, ambition, and a sense of purpose in people. I dabble in witchcraft and voodoo shit. I don't believe in astrology or know when Mercury will be in retrograde, but that doesn't stop me from peeping at the paragraph titled Aquarius at the end of my magazine. I don't own crystals that will cleanse my chakras, but I meditate in the sunshine on windy days and do yoga to stretch my fears away, waiting for peace to meet me in the middle. This is the religion of me.
No comments:
Post a Comment