The "Mystery" of Life
Religion seems to be the most stress-inducing socio-cultural phenomenon of all time.
Religion is funny to me in the way its effects on people swing like a pendulum. For some it grounds, for others it ruins.
To begin, from what I've observed, there are two types of people who instinctively begin to explore religion on their own: the type of person who has nothing tangible left to worry about, leading them to philosophical thought, and those who have an overflowing plate of worry which they must justify. I believe this because I have been under both circumstances.
However, the conclusion I draw in the end is always the same. This stresses me out.
I explored Christianity for a solid 2 seconds before I realized how open to hypocrisy it is (no offense, I love my Christian friends). Christianity, I would say, is the most dangerous because of this. Christianity itself isn't a problem, misunderstanding is. I admire the true teachings of Christianity. Christianity, however, is too complex of a religion for many people to handle. That's why a lot of the most dangerous people on this planet use its scripture as a shield to justify wrongdoing and on a deeper note, self-hatred.
There are three "religious" categories I personally bounce around in: atheism, agnosticism, and Buddhism. I turn to Buddhism when I wanna feel a bit whimsy and need some grounding. I claim atheism when other people's perceptions of their "god" piss me off. Finally, I resort to the term agnostic when I simply don't have the energy nor care to explain what the hell this is all for.
The human race created religion as a pillow to rest their heads on when they feel overwhelmed with the unknown. This is perfectly natural and healthy… until now.
Our world is incredibly interconnected with the advancement of AI and social media, so now our brains are being overloaded with information on not only other religions, but the cruelty that exists on earth. My mother (an atheist) has stated: the human race is evil and deserves to perish. My best friend (also an atheist) has said hell exists because we are living in it. My brother (my last atheist example) has said there is nothing we can do, we have no power, and must just give up and wait for things to get bad enough to fight back.
I laugh at all of these statements. How depressing do you all sound? By now you're probably wondering, "Ok then wtf are you saying?" Here's what has helped me: stop worrying about what the afterlife holds. Stop fixating on the shitty parts of life, because that is when you tend to miss all the good ones.
Finally, research suggest babies first show signs of empathetic concern around 18–24 months, so if you're an adult and you still need a book to teach you right from wrong, there is a deeper issue worth addressing.
The “Mystery” of Life is that there is no mystery. Life is just life and resisting the urge to justify or understand everything is what brings true peace. Besides, if there is a mystery, just leave it. Isn’t mystery a bit sexy?
