HAPPY NEW YEAR!
It is a fresh and newer year, one at this point filled with
only hope, and nothing else to contaminate it. But hold on, we DO have a
presidential election coming in November, which should be contamination enough.
The older I get the more convinced I am that opinions mean
nothing unless they come with experience. For years I believed in things with
no basis other than others opinions, and what sounded logical to me, I seemed
to buy into things based on upbringing and being told what to believe, OR after
sometimes selective reading. Then a funny thing happened, I discovered if I put
something under the microscope enough times, I started to see that thing
differently. Things got so different that I heard the echoes of those that once
didn’t agree with me. Then I admitted to myself that I was the fool for not
listening to what others were saying.
Be it personalities, religious beliefs or politics, everything is
undergoing change for me.
One of the things that happened was in my retirement, I started
reading more and in more debt. I have my son Michael to thank for that, I felt
that if he felt something, as my son I wanted to know about it, and I think it
is a life changer. He left behind books that he read that shaped his opinion
and for the better part, honestly. I’m proud of that. He even has me leaning
toward a vegetarian diet! I hope it doesn’t go that far!
It occurred to me also that voting a straight ticket was not
to the best of my interest. My views on birth control, the death penalty and
capitalism all conflicted with the prescribed following. If I voted for a
straight Democratic or Republican ticket, either a Liberal or Conservative one,
I was also voting against my beliefs, and how can that make any sense. It gets
like a Chinese menu of one from column A and one from column B! So I sought out
the important issues and vote for the woman or man that most represents my
opinions. This is a wonderful feeling, I’m not anyone’s lackey and I am in
control, not the zealots of the world of politics.
Although my belief in God is strong, I don’t believe in organized
religion anymore. Too many times religion has been the cause of the world’s
ills, wars and distrust, misunderstanding and even hatred come from that. I see
people who pretend they are holy and righteous, yet break many of the
commandments they so preach. Religion is a breeder of hypocrisy, easy to preach
and hard if at all existent to practice, in reality. Just ask the bishops who
hide the pedophiles and the pedophiles:
preaching to us what we should be doing. It sickens me that I followed
for so long. I do what I can, I pray everyday, I try to be helpful and kind, I
work with all kinds, to make the world better and safer, and to give to the
world what I can. I don’t need a preacher to tell me how to live my life, what
I should say when I pray and who to pray to other than God. I believe in women
being just as capable as men to lead, either in politics and religion, although
women would probably lead the world in a more peaceful way. Maybe not with the
corruption of power.
I feel good about myself for these changes, because I came
upon them based on a long and hard road of blind acceptance and the need to
examine my beliefs periodically, without influences.
If I could influence anything, it would be for you all to
have a wonderful 2016, healthy and happy, that is all we will ever need.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
No comments:
Post a Comment