When I tell people about my lack of beliefs, they might consider me a fool or a liar. It could even sound incredibly arrogant. Am I suggesting that rather than having beliefs, I know what is true? That would be an outrageous claim.
What Are Beliefs?
When I talk about beliefs, I mean conceptual claims about what is true. I don’t know what is true in that way. When I examine my reality, I find myself unable to say anything certain about it. This thing that I experience directly just can’t be put into words. Rather than finding truth, I find wonder. Things do appear to work a certain way, and I can entertain ideas about why this is so, but I don’t claim that these ideas are ultimately true.
I am also not claiming that we can’t know what is true. That would be a belief. I am merely describing my own inability to say anything certain about this thing called life. It is all too wonderful and mysterious to be captured by my ideas. It feels like hubris to believe that I could. Maybe you do know what is true. Cool. Just don’t expect me to believe you!
Honestly, beliefs kind of scare the shit out of me. I also find the way they divide people a bit repulsive. I recognize how incredibly powerful beliefs can be (they alter the way we interpret reality) and how vulnerable we are to deception. Just because a belief appears to be true doesn’t mean it is true. Haven’t we all felt certain about things in the past only to later realize we had been deluded?
Instead of beliefs, I choose wonder. This is a state of wise innocence that has liberated me from fear and struggle. Life is bursting with peace, joy, and beauty. Beliefs have nothing to offer me.