Happy, I Believe

Most people don’t know what it feels like to believe, to really believe… In something, anything, even if it’s oneself. For those of you who don’t know what the sensation feels like well, how do you describe the world to a person who was born blind? Birth, it’s like the feeling that one has when they’re a baby that just exited their mother’s body. Belief is like birth for a few reasons, the first is that everyone has experienced it whether they realize it or not and most people don’t remember being born; remembering when you were born is like a justification for why you believe in something, a product of one’s imagination.

Why do I take this cynical viewpoint? Despite the countless number of dead and the countless crimes against human rights which continue to this day all in the name of a system of belief, I’m not being cynical. In fact, this is meant to be down-right inspirational. The feeling of belief I refer to is like a hum of euphoria which can be seen by the mind’s eye creating a little singularity in our brain which functions like a natural high. However, most people and I’m talking about all forms of belief don’t remember what that feels like.

I don’t mean the short-lived wishful thinking or devout worship which most people would readily cite as an example. Most believers in religion or God might be more mentally afflicted than a drug addict if they cannot offer in their own words a detailed reason as to why or how they feel the way that they do; that’s what belief is it’s a memorable life changing experience. It does take courage though because your belief could be wrong. I wrote this because I believe that I can be happy. I’ve always thought I was happy, until I’m not… Now I can see that’s not how happiness works either.