Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Why I don't rely on religion for my inner goodness (#2223)

I have too many acquaintances who think that without some form of religion in their lives that they would be horrible people. They feel a need to be grounded in something outside of who they are. I know this feeling as I was the same way for many years. I used to think that without some God in my life I would do and act on my ancient animal instincts and live as a cruel and barbaric being. It is strange to me now to think that my life was going to be either good or bad and I needed to choose which one was going to be my future. By choosing a God and relying on the principles of religion would I save myself from myself. That mindset back then was how I imagined life to be. What I didn't know well enough is that good and bad are controlled by how I think, not by some ancient or mystical approach to life. I am good or bad by my own reckoning. I don't need a moral sovereign to lead me to being a better person, I just need to do what is best about we humans, that is being curious and caring. I am my own sovereign and how I dictate to myself is how I think and react in life. Am I a benevolent sovereign to me? Or am I a hard taskmaster to me? What comes out in the course of my life is often a mixture of everything. Both good and bad. I am human and although I am an enlightened being with a thirst for knowledge and a desire to care against all harms, I still make mistakes based upon the residue of greedy selfishness I battle against within myself. Again, I am not perfect, but I strive to reach that ideal and although I fail enough, I also succeed at times. Why I don't rely on a God is my strength because it makes me accountable for me and not a God to be used as a crutch. I know the difference between right and wrong. As such, I have it within me to do what is right and good in my life simply by recognizing that I want to be good and applying that to everything, everything I do.

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