There was a time, when I was all careless, carefree. Never did I care about philosophy or life. I accepted things, as they came, did what I wanted ( which was usually what people around me did ).
And then, I met a few people. These people were different, their thoughts, beliefs, customs, traditions & language. Never before had I met people with such beliefs. Their beliefs were strong. I was in no way uncomfortable, because there wasn’t a time when I was strongly attached to any belief system. It was a new learning experience.
And then there was a time, I wanted to classify myself, chose a philosophy, a theist or an atheist or something else. With no proof, I couldn’t choose. So, I had to be agnostic. But, I was not satisfied. I wanted to have an opinion,a strong one. I wanted to stick to something. And then, I watched ‘The Big Lebowski‘ and ‘The Fight Club‘ . A new word got into my vocabulary: ‘Nihilism‘.
That was the time, I needed a pillar, to cling. And looking at people and events around me, Nihilism was the way to go. “Screw the world!”, I said without giving it a deep thought.
But then, I thought a little. Nihilism sounded cool but that wasn’t the practical way to live. I chucked it out. I wanted to go back to my old ways of carefree living.
There is so much to learn about life that one life isn’t enough. There have been thousands of philosophers, scientists who have dedicated their lives to find answers to mystery of life. And I don’t think anybody has found an answer yet.
So, now… Do I stick to one belief system and criticize every other? May be I won’t. I will try to accept things as they come. I will try to be open to other people’s belief. There will be times when real life experiences will force me to think one belief system is much closer to truth than the other. Life’s going to be a nice learning experience. I will choose good things, things that suit me and make my own philosophy, my own belief system, one that will grow with me.
Anyway,I like this dialogue very much…
Mere man ko bhaya, mein kuththa kaat ke khaya.
So, what do you believe in?
I used to be the same way, wanted to have a strong opinion on everything. I have slowly stopped identifying with things. If you identify strongly with something, you automatically become an enemy of something else. Life is like a garden which is full of trees with different kinds of fruits, we might like certain fruits but we should not settle down near the tree just because we liked the fruit. Move on, there are more trees with more fruits. Explore
Also, you might like an essay from Paul Graham which talks about Having less Identities.
http://www.paulgraham.com/identity.html
Posted by Azhar on March 15th, 2009.
Mine here…
There is so much to learn about life that one life isn’t enough. Very true.
I like the dialogue too.
As to belief, I always believe what my heart says…
And nice to see this alive after a long time
!!
Posted by Life Mysterious on March 15th, 2009.
Hi!
Today I wrote a message in your blog about design. I can’t do the rainbow, could you please help me?
By the way, your blogs are great =)
Posted by ale on March 16th, 2009.
.
Posted by W on March 16th, 2009.
nice blog….
Theres times when people believe in Ayn Rands Objectivism…
Theres time when one wants to become Howard Roark in all his glory..
sadly,mostly those are the times when you are drunk
personally.. belief in something shouldn’t mean the rejection of things … rather the understanding and acceptance of theories opposed to you will surely make one a better individual..
Posted by narayan kamath on April 18th, 2009.