Matters of Faith

“Not everyone believes what you do, Morpheus!” 

“My beliefs do not require them to.”

~ Commander Lock and Morpheus, The Matrix Reloaded

 

It wasn’t until I found myself drawn into a series of discussions about the deeper issues of life and the universe that I realized this about myself.  I don’t know when the seed was first planted or when it began to grow, and I don’t know how much more growth it has before it’s fully mature and whole.  Perhaps it never will be, and perhaps that’s the point. 

 

What I’m talking about is the understanding that I do not need others – nor necessarily even want others – to believe as I do.  Regardless of my beliefs, no matter how strong my conviction or deep my faith, I see it as a good and healthy thing that others do not hold to the same beliefs as I.

 

In the search for Truth, who can say that they ever find it?  Truth, or the Way Things Are, is as eternal as we are mortal, as infinite as we are finite, as magical as we are mundane.  I don’t think we can ever fully grasp it.  So how can I, a mere mortal, say whose beliefs – including my own – are right?  If we all believe the same thing, who can say with certainty that simply because it is popular means that it must be true?  Is it not just as likely that we may all be wrong?

 

It is our differences in belief that matter, because it is through our differences and the discussions that arise from them that we may all come to see life differently, that our worldviews might shift and be changed in subtle ways.  It is through openness and humility that we can open ourselves to the possibility of learning from those around us.  I do not want you to believe as I do, because it is the differences in our beliefs that encourage the kind of discourse that precedes spiritual growth.

 

Simply put, my journey on the path to enlightenment is made swifter by your disbelief.  As I embrace our differences and we continue to speak of those deep, dark ways of the cosmos, I grow closer to understanding the whole.

 

So you see, regardless of who you are and what you believe, I want to hear from you.  If you believe as I do, I find a companion for the journey; if you do not, I find new insights that will enrich my journey in a different way.  Either way, I will honor and respect your beliefs; either way, you are a part of the road that leads to my enlightenment.

 

You do not need to believe as I do.  My beliefs do not require you to.