Weekly Insights: This Unpredictable Life...

Born with no real direction except from those who came before us, we trust that the things we have learned to do and the ways we have learned to help will help make our lives and the world a better place than when we got here. Some people follow their hearts, and other people follow their mind. Some people choose to focus on what other people are doing, while others keep their their sights inward on the self. Many people look to their religion for guidance, following a book of spiritual rules and laws that keep them on "a path" toward the Light. All of these different types of people have one thing in common - they are all searching for the "right" or "best" way to live. It is a human thing to want to be better. Since religion is man-made, I was interested to read more about what advice different belief systems could offer on this topic. Here is what I found...

In a very overly-simplistic way,

here is a short summary of what I found...

Christianity tells us to "Love God and Love our neighbor". It reminds us to have faith, practice Loving service, forgive the self and others, have humility, and hold onto hope. Judaism teaches to "Live faithfully and repair the world". It reminds us that we can't fix the entire universe, but we can take responsibility for our piece of the puzzle, and to do good with what we have control over. Islam teaches to "Trust God, and do our part". It reminds us to do what is right, try hard, accept the things we don't have control of, trust the Light, and remain accountable for all of the choices we make. Hinduism teaches to "Do your duty without attachment". It reminds us that we control our actions, but not the consequences of them. We just have to work hard without worrying about the outcome of our efforts. Buddhism teaches to "Accept impermanence and cultivate the mind". It reminds us that everything is always changing, and that it is our job to learn how to live wisely in this world. With awareness, compassion, detachment, and wisdom, we get to decide how we choose to perceive this reality. Sikhism teaches to "Remember Creator, work honestly, and share what you have". It reminds us that there is one Creator who is the ultimate Light, and that our job is to be honest, service-ful, and to always advocate for those in need. Taoism teaches to "Stop trying to fight or force the nature of reality". It reminds us that adaptability is important, and by living more flexibly, we will be less rigid, more humble, more moderate, and be more able to accept change as it comes. Confucianism teaches to "Be a good person, work to improve the self, and contribute positively to society". By being responsible, honest, respectful, and good, we can help be the positive change that society needs to function best. We can never ask anyone else to do what we, ourselves, are not willing to do. As each of us betters ourselves, we will treat others well, cultivate strong relationships with others, and contribute positively to society overall. Most indigenous cultures also believe in caring for the self, the family, the tribe, the ancestors, the land, the animals, and all forms of life for 7 generations into the future. They remind us to maintain peaceful and healing relationships with everyone and everything, and to think about the future and how our actions and behaviors affect our children and the future.

In all of these different belief systems, there is a general statement that we can make to sum everything up. We cannot control what happens, but we can control how we respond to it all, how we treat ourselves and others, what we put our energy into, and how we choose to give back and contribute to something greater than ourselves. Our realities all come back to us. We create them and we have the power to change them.

As we continue on this life path from birth to death, we have a specific amount of breaths, days, months, and years to make this experience what we want it to be. We can choose family, career, friendship, playfulness, responsibility, leadership, solitude, community, or a combination of it all and so much more. There is no wrong or right way to do it, just valuable lessons and experiences that our souls will carry into the afterlife. When you start to judge yourself for not being where you thought you might be at this phase of life, or for doing too much and not slowing down enough to smell the roses, stop and remember that you are exactly where you need to be to learn what you need to learn. There is only this present moment to create something new or create positive change. It is never too late to do something different. There is no rule book on how to be human and how to live life. All we have is who we are and where we have chosen to plant our seeds and lay down our roots. The rest of life manifests one choice at a time - so choose wisely!