The Rights and Wrongs of Lines and Religion
Waiting on line makes me nervous. You stand there and stand there, taking tiny measured steps in some direction. Yet, there’s always that chance that the food shop or the ticket merchant will close or sell out before it’s even your turn. No one around you has any valid input; they all know just as much as you do – nothing. All you can do is wait if you want whatever it is you’re waiting for bad enough, or give up and leave.
Religion makes me nervous in entirely the same way. You’re born into some religion and you believe or you don’t believe, but either way you’re waiting in some kind of line, following some kind of religious path.
Everyone always says that as long as you live your life in a good way that specifically what religion you are won’t matter. They say that the different details are irrelevant. But haven’t you ever wondered if they’re wrong?
What if there genuinely is only one right religion? What if, in the afterlife, you are left organ and possession-less because you were not buried with these items as the ancient Egyptians believed? What if, by taking the Lord’s name in vain, you are actually breaking a sacred commandment and will then be barred from heaven?
What if, by the time you get to the end of the line, they’re out of Bon Jovi tickets and you’re left screwed?
It’s a scary thing to remember that we have no idea what the rules are, who is right, and who is utterly incorrect. Does heaven exist or should we be searching for Buddha’s enlightenment?
Even scarier, is everyone wrong and there is nothing there at all to wait for?
My rhetorical questions have no answers; they only leave me with a philosophy for living my life. Don’t wait in a line when you don’t know where it ends. Live. And live without considering it. Because, in the end, there is no point. We have no idea what’s around the bend.
Religion makes me nervous in entirely the same way. You’re born into some religion and you believe or you don’t believe, but either way you’re waiting in some kind of line, following some kind of religious path.
Everyone always says that as long as you live your life in a good way that specifically what religion you are won’t matter. They say that the different details are irrelevant. But haven’t you ever wondered if they’re wrong?
What if there genuinely is only one right religion? What if, in the afterlife, you are left organ and possession-less because you were not buried with these items as the ancient Egyptians believed? What if, by taking the Lord’s name in vain, you are actually breaking a sacred commandment and will then be barred from heaven?
What if, by the time you get to the end of the line, they’re out of Bon Jovi tickets and you’re left screwed?
It’s a scary thing to remember that we have no idea what the rules are, who is right, and who is utterly incorrect. Does heaven exist or should we be searching for Buddha’s enlightenment?
Even scarier, is everyone wrong and there is nothing there at all to wait for?
My rhetorical questions have no answers; they only leave me with a philosophy for living my life. Don’t wait in a line when you don’t know where it ends. Live. And live without considering it. Because, in the end, there is no point. We have no idea what’s around the bend.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home