I read a great interview today on Yes and Yes (such a great site, I highly recommend you give it a read) with a woman who discovered true happiness through the questioning of her faith in Christianity.
Unfortunately, searching for one's own spiritual truth isn't a lesson that is exactly taught in high school or college. Why not? We are encouraged to be self-motivated, eager to learn, and independent, but if this does not include self-reflection then we are still just sitting idly by believing exactly what our parents taught us to believe and never contributing new ideas or growing beyond our adolescent selves. Having been brought up in Christian churches, I am familiar with the idea of not being complacent, of passionately reaching for God. What I want to understand is why no one is encouraged to passionately reach for themselves? To hungrily search for their own beliefs and ideas. A meaning that will make them complete. Although I have been comfortable with my own particular spiritual beliefs for several years, it is only recently that I have been actively trying to understand myself and what my own "meaning" in this world is. Without a spiritual imperative, it's easy to become lost in the daily grind and live a life without purpose.
Maybe the trick is that we have to create a purpose. Find that thing to live for. It could be God, family, or work, but whatever we do should be done with vigor and abandon.
Great passion does not have to be restricted to religious zeal! I may still be searching for my own meaning, but what I do know is that I want to live a life of great passion, wherever that passion may be directed.
I agree with this so much. I am a Christian by upbringing but I've definitely questioned my faith and beliefs on my own and come to my own conclusions about religion and self purpose. It's something I've wrestled with through my teenage years and into my adult life because I *was* brought up believing in God- so it was almost like faith/prayer/church was equal to eating or breathing- making it less of a passion and more of "this is just what I do". I didn't drastically change my beliefs by any means, but I made them my own vs. my parent's.
ReplyDeleteI'm also looking for my "meaning" in this world. I guess we all are!
I know that I felt like such a disappointment to my parents when I started realizing that my true beliefs didn't line up with what they taught me as a child. However, I know that I am so much happier now than I would have been had I tried to stick it out just because they would have wanted me to. Oh, the joys of adulthood. :)
ReplyDeleteI think finding what your meaning is (and being distraught about not knowing what it is), is a typical activity of people in their twenties. It's not so great :(
ReplyDeleteExactly. I find it unfortunate that so many of us are not actively encouraged by either our parents or educators to see this as a positive and normal thing. I'm 25, still clueless about my life, but finally able to forgive myself for NOT knowing at 18 who I was or what I wanted to do with my life.
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