Trust & Belief
Belief is an incredible thing. It’s something that those of us who are deeply committed hold on to regardless of what life can through in our direction. Most with strong beliefs will say they are on a journey and with that comes a loyalty that is tested by many a temptation.
Now when I speak of temptations and beliefs I don’t speak of them in the religious sense, mainly because my religious beliefs are probably not as strong as those who are reading this now.
In my opinion I think there is a void in many people that is constantly struggling to be filled. 15-20 years ago religion may have been able to provide what was missing in people’s lives, strengthening values and instilling morals into families for many generations.
In more recent times the working day, anywhere between 10-18 hours, has meant that families are the whole unit they once were. So from once being close, and having the real sense of belonging, now we have distance and a failure to understand why the gap between generations has increased.
The phrase ‘in my day’ is very much overused. We are constantly told by our parents, grandparents and authorities that we have never had it so good. Is this the case or has the last couple of decades helped to tear away the paper that was covering the cracks that existed but were never dealt with?
Children look to their parents for guidance and inspiration, or at least they should do. When they don’t find it there they look elsewhere and maybe that is why you have more and more people unsure of what they want from life. No longer is it a case of finishing School and/or College and saying “I’m going to be the best (Insert profession) in my field.”
Now there’s the gap years, the time we spend to ‘find ourselves’. This can either be traveling to seek enlightenment in various parts of the world or simply sampling as many forms of recreation as possible until the money runs dry.
The world is an uncertain place and so are it’s inhabitants. In America, particularly New York where I am right now, there is a fear of the unknown. On September 11th 2001 the country was caught napping and since then there’s been the determination to show that that will never happen again. How else can you explain the number of different security checks that you have to go through in order to see certain places?
The lack of uncertainty also brings about a lack of trust. If someone tries to help us we question their motive. If a man, or woman for that matter, walks in the same direction as we do late at night in a low lit street we fear for our safety. More and more in newspapers, in every country , you can read of murders resulting from a simple instance where one person glances at another and it’s taken as a hostile threat.
I come back to beliefs because I have many of them. One of which being that once you reach adult status that a person cannot be forced to change just because you want them to. You cannot make someone have the same reasoning and feelings as you do. They have to want to do of their own free will.
At the same time there are those who are willing to take advantage of generosity. There are those who are willing to capitalize on naivety. I, like many, have my naïve moments but I have a desire to put my trust in people.
To quote Osho, an Indian Spirtual Leader:
Belief is like plastic flowers, which look like flowers from far away.
Trust is a real rose. It has roots, and roots go deep into your heart and into your being.
Without trust and a belief in something are we really being honest with ourselves?
Thursday, June 28th, 2007 and is filed under Views on News.
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