Thursday, March 6, 2014
Finding A Religion
I have definitely strayed from my upbringing when it comes to my religion.
My parents are Irish Roman Catholics, actually immigrated in the 60s to Canada, and with that brought their deep faith, traditions and beliefs with them to raise their young family.
I was raised in a strict catholic home.
No regrets, it definitely has been and is more of a positive influence than a negative.
however, thinking back, As I grew up, religion seemed like it was more of a punishment at the time .
As a kid, church was boring, giving candy up for Lent seemed pointless, doing the rosary as a family on Sunday nights was torture to us kids and I cant count how many times we were pinched in the church pews by my mother to stop goofing around a pay attention to the Fathers sermon.
Confession was the worst! ...especially when the same priest was coming over for Dinner to the house next Sunday!
As a teenager and young adult I justified not going to Church anymore because of the bad press/reputation the Catholic church was gaining. I could craftily argue with my Mother how it lacked logic and it was nothing more than political platform. Maybe I was right...but...
I missed the point
You need faith, faith in something, faith in anything, you don't even have to put a name to it or call it a religion.
At some point in our lives we may find ourselves feeling completely alone. Parents pass away, spouses may not always understand and sometimes friendships can feel conditional or you may be the type that finds it incredibly uncomfortable to reach out for help.
Whatever the case, the sense of being completely alone especially during crisis can bring the strongest-willed person to their knees.
I think there is a human gravity and natural attraction to believe in something spiritual that we can source from when our inner strength is tested and tapped out. Something to gives us purpose for, something to set our lives to a higher standard with, to hold all that is virtuous in the forefront. Something to relieve the fear and anguish of morality.
...so where do you turn? What religion is right? what philosophies to follow? Is all religion misleading? Why do we get caught up and argue about the details and miss the bigger message. Why do we fight about our religions?....These are the questions that Centuries have left unanswered, or answered in the individual 's own Faith.
What happens when you don't believe in anything or lost your faith in everything?
I suppose , the answer is despair waits at the end of that road or maybe complete self-indulgence, which usually doesn't end well either.
As my son gets older, I realize, I need to find my "religion"...for his sake.
He needs that source of strength and faith when I cant be there to save the day, or help him make the right decisions.
As I spend more time in the Martial Arts, it has become more concrete to me, how the three aspects of body, mind and soul contribute to a well rounded life long pursuit of becoming a Martial Artist and above all at peace as a human being.
What is my religion??...still searching, but I have faith in something...
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1 comment:
Insightful post Sifu.
It's made a big difference for me to have faith. Knowing you are not alone and that death isn't the end of things can be a comfort when the chips are down.
I hope you find what you are looking for and if you ever need a church buddy (and you don't mind Lutheran:), let me know!
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