Did you think there were shortcuts to attain God? No sir. Faith is not something that is handed to you by your ancestors, your tribe, or by your books. True faith comes through your search, your inquiry, and out of your own experience.
Do people care about the eternal well-being of their lives in the hereafter as they say they do? If they did, wouldn't they be spending more time researching the materials that would take them to their heaven?
Instead, we spend more time researching the perfect diet plan or fabulous holiday spot for next summer. More care is put into exploring the best location for a wedding or the most divine name for a baby.
In this day and age, we no longer trust our parents in choosing our spouses anymore. Why are we then so trusting of old bearded strangers with curious looking headpieces in deciding our faith?
Isn’t it intriguing how so very few of us have the innate inquisitiveness to question such a subject?
Whether consciously or not, perhaps deep down, we are all aware of this dilemma. But we all know how people tend to avoid confronting difficult truths, especially if the truth does not fit our perspectives of the world and ourselves.
We humans are hardwired to reject anything that could potentially shatter everything we ever believed in.
It is as though the moment we are born, we’ve been placed inside a safe and protective bubble. And we have been taught at a very young age to never question the existence of the bubble, where it came from. And this is especially true when it comes to matters such as faith, religion and God.
There is nothing wrong with being in this bubble. After all, it gives us the safety and security that we all instinctively need as human beings. Furthermore, it offers us a sense of identity and belonging that make us feel accepted by our community and society at large.
However, there is a risk that can potentially plague the individual who finds himself too comfortable being in the bubble. And that is the risk of contentment and blind faith.
Throughout our lives, parents, preachers, imams, rabbis, and the likes instill their religious beliefs and dogma in us that eventually become ours. If we are able to be honest with ourselves for just one second, can we truly say that our faith is our own and not just mere inheritance? And can we admit that there has been although faint, but consistent nagging feeling deep inside of us that there is much more than what we've been told?
Why are we so afraid of giving this little voice a chance to speak?
Oh that’s right, because we’ve been told not to question anything that may challenge the sanctity of any religious teaching. No matter how dissatisfied we may be with the vague, inconsistent and at times blatantly illogical stories we’ve been told, we’ve learned to gobble it all up and shut up.
No, we wouldn’t want to displease the All-Loving, All-Benevolent God and be denied entry into heaven. Hence, we remain obedient in our little bubble, hoping that it will carry us straight into the loving arms of the almighty God.
But what happens when we just can't shut the little voice up any longer?
What if we just can't deny the fact that our little bubble just isn't enough to quench a certain kind of thirst? Do we dare peek through the holes that are now cropping in the wall of the bubble and wonder what lies beyond?
Do we further suppress the questions that we have been having since we were little girls and boys? Or do we say enough is enough, I want to know?
Who am I?
What am I doing here?
What is my purpose?
Who is God?
When no rabbi, preacher, or imam can satisfy our longing for truth with acceptable answers, do we keep mum and pray that God forgive us for our defiance, for daring to even question. Or do we start tearing down the thin bubble wall with our bare hands, and hope to find some answers on the other side?
I have chosen the latter.
After years of harboring this thirst, I've concluded that God isn’t here. At least not in this bubble that they have handed me.
So I've started my journey to unfold the undeniable truth, led by nothing but my intuition and a growing curiosity.
Thank you for reading.
Comments