Beliefs are not good or bad, right or wrong – they are just something we all have. Kind of like a face.
You may not agree with the beliefs of others, but it doesn’t make the other person wrong. It just makes them different. And different is what our world is made of.
One subset of our beliefs is often handed down generationally. As parents, we strive to teach our kids what we think of as foundational concepts that will equip them to live a good life. And there is a good chance that at least some of those concepts were passed down from our parents.
There are also the beliefs that have evolved because of our experiences. In many cases, this subset is the opposite of what we were taught by our parents. But chances are we have been influenced by another person of authority or an event(s) of significance.
I like to live in a world where people get to believe what they want to believe. (see how even that is just a belief?) But still I am saddened when people make hard decisions about another person’s worth or character solely because they don’t agree with them. I don’t like taking sides and I know I have been judged for that but I’m ok with it. It’s just what I believe.
It’s good to take your core beliefs out every once in a while for a thorough examination. At the end of the day, beliefs are thoughts we have chosen to repeatedly think, and you always have the option to think something else.
Do your current thoughts and beliefs still serve you? Do they still feel valid and worthy? Yay if they do. Change them if they do not.
It’s normal as a human to want to fit it and belong. In our early caveman days, it was vital to our survival to not get kicked out of the tribe. But I think too many people still get wrapped up in what other people think. In what the group thinks. (another belief) Maybe even what celebrities think. Um…because celebrities are somehow capable of having a deeper understanding than we can? (sarcasm) Really? (more sarcasm)
Humanity is filled with all kinds of people with all kinds of different experiences. If there was a clear and singular right and wrong way to think, why wouldn’t we all be designed to think the same way and have the same thoughts?
The Sanskrit word Namaste literally means I bow to you. I have embraced the word and the accompanying ritual of palms together at the heart and a slight bow to mean – the spirit in me honors the spirit in you. (thank you Stefan Storace)
And I choose to live my life in the spirit of Namaste. It is part of my belief system and I feel strongly aligned to. And it works for me.
I share this with you, not to try to influence you. (I am not a celebrity after all lol)
I honor that you get to be and believe whatever you want.
