Religious Zealot?

I’ve noticed that as I shed layers of crap that has weighed me down for too long, I become more and more passionate about all kinds of things. This is exactly why we must nurture ourselves before we can do anything worth while in this life, like take care of those important to us.

Right now, for some reason, I can’t learn enough about religion. It started with an interest in Buddhism but now is reaching farther beyond just that. As I researched deeper into the religion, I became more and more interested in where all religions came from and why they are necessary for people. It seems that religion is not just some belief system but that it stems from people seeking something. Seeking salvation and direction and answers and guidance in life.

I’ve also come to realize that pretty much all religions have the same basic principle. Be a good person. Now, whether or not every person in every religion fully understands what this means, is a different story.

I used think I didn’t need religion. I used to think that I know how to be a good person and don’t need any rules written down or told to me in order to be a good person. But, now I am realizing that I do want and need religion in my life. Not to tell me how to be a good person but to help me grow more and more as a good person. To remind me on a daily basis that people are good deep down and they deserve good, too. To remind me that I am not perfect and that there is always room for improvement. To give me tools to use when I am confused, frustrated or emotional. To remind me that I am a good person and encourage me to help others in every way I can. To realize I have nothing to complain about. To keep faith in my heart that everything will be ok.

I don’t know that I will ever settle on one religion. I do have trouble entrusting and attributing my life to one ‘being’ and I do think of religion more of a philosophical and psychological thing but appreciate it as more than that. The more I learn about Buddhism, the more I feel it’s a part of me but I am going to keep my heart and mind open to anything and everything. I’ll keep you posted on what I find.

“Once we shift from seeing self to seeing openness, we become truly appreciative of life and fully become a grace for others.”

“When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.”

By the way, I am working on my own religion for me, so I’ll keep you posted on that, too :)

Stupid!

You want the truth about how to be happy? Be stupid. Think stupid. Act stupid. Create stupid. Do stupid. Something I definitely need to grasp… again. (Not that I’m ubersmart, I just haven’t done anything stupid in a long time)

Here’s what I’m talking about:

Brilliant.

Passion

I’ve been thinking lately that it is of the utmost importance to have passions in your life. As a matter of fact, I don’t know how people exist without at least one passion that keeps them going.

I think most people accomplish this by finding someone that they are passionate about. The problem with this is that this type of passion can run out and cannot sustain your life’s passions. I think it’s more important to find something that you are passionate about because it gives you something to continuously build on and love throughout your life. Something to define you and motivate you. Something that can make you feel important and whole. Something that can be forever while people are not.

That thing might just start out as a hobby or interest and then it becomes a goal until finally, you might be able to turn it into a career or something more permanent.

It’s important because when you live pursuing your passion, you act from your heart. It is what can truly make you happy and fulfill you from the inside out. People believe you when you’re passionate about something and you can make an impact in their lives. If you find and pursue your passions, then everything else will fall into place and you can do great things. That has to be what our purpose is in this life. It can’t be
to just live. Can it?

Don’t ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive.? And then go and do that because what the world needs is people who have come alive. ~Attributed to Howard Thurman