Pots of gold
I saw the most wonderful thing today, walking back from school... a rainbow!!! It was beautiful and had all the 7 colours.. red, orange, yellow, green, everything! It was a really huge one as well as I could see both ends of it! (Well, not really ends, but just u know, the whole archy thingie..)
Seeing the rainbow made me recall one particular childhood memory of mine. I remember that not too long ago, I saw this really huge rainbow near home and decided to follow it to the end, where I hoped to find a pot of leprechaun gold. (I needed new nail polish!) Unfortunately, after walking quite a distance, I realised that there was no way that I would ever reach the end of the rainbow on foot and decided to give up. Until today, everytime I see a rainbow, I wonder if anyone would follow it and find the huge pot of gold that we are so solemnly promised.
I started thinking about people and their beliefs.. ever since we were kids, we are constantly told millions of different stories - fables, fairy tales, myths etc; all to remind us ever-so-gently that it is important for us to be good and grow up well. But as we grow up, we tend to grow out of these stories (and hence, go in different directions) and develop our own set of beliefs and values which we so religiously live by, consciously or not.
This is the very basis of diversity in mankind. It is undoubtly, necessary.. after all, variety is the spice of life. But what happens when beliefs clash and disagreements ensue? Do we expect the other party/parties to shed their beliefs and accept ours just because we think that we are right? Or do we give in and compromise just to make life a little bit easier to deal with? I've seen many friends around me fight over the smallest things... but equally as many who argue about huge issues... (me included, of course!) And I always wonder.. why is it that we all find this uncontrollable need to impose our own convictions on others around us? Do people really care?
I guess it all boils down to how strong we hold on to our individual beliefs as these will affect what we do in life. We are all raised in a way to always think. To always think of what we're doing and why we're doing it. We are all educated in a way to ensure that we make right decisions in life, regardless of how major or minor they are, and to make sure that we all live well.
That in itself raises another question: Are our actions actually dictated by what we choose to do, rationally, consciously and with much thought? Or are they a mere manifestation of our beliefs, drilled into us by our surroundings as years go by? If so, why should it matter to the people around us? Does it really affect them? And vice versa, does it really affect us?
The question is, why is it that we all believe that our beliefs matter? Do they, really?
Seeing the rainbow made me recall one particular childhood memory of mine. I remember that not too long ago, I saw this really huge rainbow near home and decided to follow it to the end, where I hoped to find a pot of leprechaun gold. (I needed new nail polish!) Unfortunately, after walking quite a distance, I realised that there was no way that I would ever reach the end of the rainbow on foot and decided to give up. Until today, everytime I see a rainbow, I wonder if anyone would follow it and find the huge pot of gold that we are so solemnly promised.
I started thinking about people and their beliefs.. ever since we were kids, we are constantly told millions of different stories - fables, fairy tales, myths etc; all to remind us ever-so-gently that it is important for us to be good and grow up well. But as we grow up, we tend to grow out of these stories (and hence, go in different directions) and develop our own set of beliefs and values which we so religiously live by, consciously or not.
This is the very basis of diversity in mankind. It is undoubtly, necessary.. after all, variety is the spice of life. But what happens when beliefs clash and disagreements ensue? Do we expect the other party/parties to shed their beliefs and accept ours just because we think that we are right? Or do we give in and compromise just to make life a little bit easier to deal with? I've seen many friends around me fight over the smallest things... but equally as many who argue about huge issues... (me included, of course!) And I always wonder.. why is it that we all find this uncontrollable need to impose our own convictions on others around us? Do people really care?
I guess it all boils down to how strong we hold on to our individual beliefs as these will affect what we do in life. We are all raised in a way to always think. To always think of what we're doing and why we're doing it. We are all educated in a way to ensure that we make right decisions in life, regardless of how major or minor they are, and to make sure that we all live well.
That in itself raises another question: Are our actions actually dictated by what we choose to do, rationally, consciously and with much thought? Or are they a mere manifestation of our beliefs, drilled into us by our surroundings as years go by? If so, why should it matter to the people around us? Does it really affect them? And vice versa, does it really affect us?
The question is, why is it that we all believe that our beliefs matter? Do they, really?
posted by Jean at 10:02 PM
2 Comments:
Faith is something that people must have. It is the personal beliefs that define a person.
~~
No man is an island.
~~
But what's important is not to allow the beliefs to blind you to realities. Truth hurts when it doesn't agree with your version.
That is completely true, and I couldn't have put it better myself..
But.. how will we know that the reality in our individual perspective is viewed distortedly, because of what we believe in? What if common sense to us is uncommon sense to someone else whose values differ from ours?
Who's to say what is common?
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