Life Without Religion
*More specifically, Christianity, which was my background once upon a time. For some people, it's hard to imagine living a life without religion. Some people even claim that is where all morals and reasons to be "good" come from. I believe this is from a lifetime of hearing we are broken, sinful people without the grace of God, which I absolutely do not believe. Living a life of thinking I needed to look outside myself at a patriarchal entity in order to be a good person, especially as a woman, was exhausting. To think at any moment you could backslide into oblivion at the hands of Satan. Fear. Staying in good graces in order to live by "His will" for my life. I have chosen to raise my children completely religion free. I acknowledge that they are good because they exist and that indoctrination of any idea is not in their best interest. They have thoughts and ideas and they ARE God. As are all of us. Here is what a life without religion looks like and requires.
-We have to take responsibility for our lives. Knowing that there is no God knowing what is best for us makes us follow our own path and use our own intuition instead of saying "God has a plan for me." You have to have a plan for yourself. Instead of waiting for signs, praying for signs, begging for a sign, waiting for your mate, waiting for your kids, waiting, waiting, waiting, You have to create your own life. You make your own way and it's only up to you to work it out, to build signs.
-You have to claim your own power. When you realize there is nobody guiding your ship but yourself, you are forced to wake from your below deck cabin and take your place at the helm. You can no longer cower and hide when storms come, you have to take charge and face it. You steer your ship into calm or wild waters, you are not at the mercy of any other captain but yourself.
-There is nothing to shift blame on. You cannot blame "bad" situations on an "evil" entity that is constantly trying to trick you, you don't have to wonder why God is putting you in these less than ideal situations BECAUSE HE'S NOT. You have to do the work and figure out why YOU brought this situation to you, it's intimidating but also empowering to know that whatever we experience in this lifetime is for our soul growth. We don't have to throw our hands in the air and claim "God's ways are higher than mine!" When we know we are God, we can actually figure out exactly why this is happening to us and move on.
-There are no wrong decisions.
Fear of making "the wrong decision" can be crippling, when you realize the above factors, you realize there are absolutely no wrong decisions, because:
- You HAVE to trust yourself. And by practicing self trust, you learn to listen and trust your own intuition and make empowered decisions rather than decisions out of fear.
2. Any decision is going to be right because you made it, it either serves as a lesson...or a lesson. You win both ways. Perhaps it's one that takes you on the scenic route to where you want to go, but there is nothing wrong with that.
-But what about morals?
What about morals? When you trust yourself, when you realize you are your own advocate, you run your own life, you live in love and spotlight your own soul growth, all you have to focus on is how YOU feel at the end of the day. And since we are not flawed, we are perfect for the lessons we intended to learn in this lifetime, we are all good.
the building blocks are not living in fear, having respect for EVERYONE, I do not believe that respect has to be earned, I believe humanity deserves basic respect because they are human, and allowing space for people to grow and explore their own way, their own preference, their own quirks and patterns. Ditching religion was one of the best things I have ever done and I look forward to being in 100% charge of my life and growing, evolving, everyday.
Live in Love,
Amethyst
