CREATE.

My name is Amy. I like to make art and stories, and I attend Kutztown University. This is my life in words and pictures.

“I Believe”

“Disclaimer: The following essay is based on my own personal beliefs. There is nothing here that has been shaped or formed by my friends or family. Proceed with caution.

 

I do not believe what others believe. I do not believe in a higher power. I do not believe in the big-bang theory. I do not believe in heaven or hell. I do not believe everything happens for a reason. I do not believe in karma. My beliefs are something out of the ordinary. Until you read this, there is only one person other than myself who knows what I believe in, and that is because he is the only person who will not judge me. After I write this, I will feel judged. But maybe it is time I started putting my thoughts out there for the world to see.

I believe that every person is entitled to his own beliefs. I will not shove my “religion” down someone’s throat just because I believe I am right. People have their opinions on everything, and I accept and embrace that fact. There is a reason there is not one set religion in the world – the fact that we live in such a diverse universe is such a beautiful thing.

I believe the world is going to end on December 21st, 2012. I think that through new technology the human population has actually dumbed itself down, that all we really need to know is what nature tells us. You may think the Mayans were crazy, but I strongly believe that they had more knowledge than we ever will. I may very well be proved wrong when that fateful day comes, but for now I don’t feel I have much time left on this earth, nor does anyone else. The Mayan calendar ends on December 21st, 2012. I don’t think this was an accident. This date is extremely significant. I do hope I am wrong. I don’t want the world to end. But I am ready for it. I am prepared to leave this life behind knowing that this has been meant to happen for thousands of years.

I believe in reincarnation. But I do not believe that karma chooses your next life. I believe that when every living organism dies, another is being formed. I believe we become these new organisms when our own body gives out. For example: let’s say I was going to die tomorrow at 11:13AM and 26 seconds. Let’s also say that a new baby giraffe is conceived at 11:13AM and 26 seconds. I will start my life as that giraffe. I find this to be true also because as species become endangered or extinct, other populations, such as the human population, seem to expand. It’s the only thing that makes sense to me.

I believe in evolution. It all makes perfect sense, when you read books on Darwin or take a look at genetic studies. I believe every organism on this planet started off as something else many billions of years ago. It just seems to be the most logical answer to life. I will, however, admit that I do not know how the world began. I could ponder the thought for hours – I have pondered the thought for hours – and never come up with an answer. It is a mystery to me, and I love that fact. I don’t think we will ever know how it started.

I believe that when it comes to the afterlife whatever someone believes in will happen to them and the people around them. It’s confusing to explain, but let’s just say I’m a philosophic person. I know that I am typing on a computer right now because I believe I am. I know that there are people surrounding me because I believe there are. Everything we sense we sense because we believe it. If someone believes enough that a god will save him and send him to heaven the day that he dies, it will happen. Because that is what he believes will happen. He will be surrounded by what he believes are his friends or people he knew when he was living, because that is how he perceives the afterlife. If someone doesn’t believe in any gods or any afterlife, he will sit in a grave and rot away, never again having another thought. I personally will be reincarnated into whatever organism is being conceived at the time of my death, whether it be another human being, an animal, or a plant. I think that everything in our life is just a belief. Children have imaginary friends that no one else can see, but they are sure there is someone there. Why? Because they believe they have someone there to talk to, but no one else around them does. The same logic applies to my theory on the afterlife. My theory can’t be proven, because no matter how hard someone tries he will never be able to believe something is there that he knew wasn’t before. I can’t say, “I believe I have an apple in my hand,” and have it appear. That’s not the way it works.

I believe the natural world has been broken up into pieces. The pieces can be people, they can be animals, plants, or bugs, they can be the ground, they can be rocks or dirt. I believe that the world will end when these pieces have been brought together, kind of like a puzzle. These pieces need to be put back together before the world has completed its cycle. In my own opinion, yes, I do believe the cycle will be complete in 2012, but if I am proven wrong I will accept that fact and move on.

I believe that nature connects everything. I believe that the roots of trees and grass and flowers all connect together, forming a natural network. All animals eat the plants, and are therefore connected as well. The natural world is sacred. When I see trees get torn down I see pieces of this network being broken. I will not sit here and say that I am not grateful to be able to go to school and have access to infinite amounts of new-found knowledge, because the human body is also its own sacred network, and our progress does amaze me. But I will say that the world was better off before human existence, or at least before human knowledge. There is a reason that people find things in common with other people no matter what part of the world they come from: the network flowing through all of nature brings the world together.

I believe each of us is born into this world believing in what we will believe in and knowing everything we will know on the day that we die. I believe that the purpose of life is to use this network of nature - the trees, the animals, the people in our lives, our culture - to help uncover those beliefs. We are born into this world knowing everything we will ever need to know. It’s accessing the part of our brains that knows all of this that is the tricky part. Going through life is the only way to uncover it. I also believe this theory explains the phenomenon known as deja-vu. I believe that we die when the whole of our knowledge has been excavated - when we remember what we already knew.

My beliefs have been private until this point, and from this point on I will be judged by anyone who reads even a sentence from this essay. I know this because people judge - it’s human nature. But while you judge, remember that I can just as easily judge your beliefs - I simply choose not to. I do have a reason behind every thought and theory, just like you. Call me crazy. Call me different. Call me weird, insane, or confusing. But whatever you wish to call me, call me me.”

I wrote that a little over a year ago. So much has changed since then, and I can’t explain why. All I know is that I don’t believe most of those things anymore, and other things are beginning to make a lot more sense to me. The problem is that no one in my family will agree with what I’m trying to do. This is a predicament.

  1. amyrocha posted this