On Belief!

Believe ---or Not

Maybe 2024 will be the year that will encourage us to examine our true beliefs!

We all need some constants in life: ideas, people, and unwavering concepts. We know the value of having them. They give us a sense of being grounded, a centered feeling inside, that gives us some sort of confidence especially as we are tossed into a new variety of unknowns.

Do you feel you are being tested on what you know and who you can trust these days?

It helps to have a feeling that we can rely on someone or something which can yield a sense of security in our lives as we respond to its many challenges. Today more than ever, this aspect of who we are has become significant, and is highlighted as our world get shaken up in the midst of this great change.

Your beliefs have impact and facilitate key components to all of your decision-making processes. We will find they serve as waymarks to guide us through all of our choices, and especially those that challenge us and seem difficult. Our beliefs provide the core to how we integrate, grow and change through new experiences ---hoping most are for the better, and recognizing some may not be, hence the value of reflecting.

My Story

Over the years my beliefs didn't seem to be centered around any particular type of religious practice. At times I had felt wanting in this arena for many reasons.

I am grateful I have been open to learning more about a variety of organized religions over the years.

Connecting to one over another always seemed to provide a big struggle for me due to the dogma surrounding them. I do believe most have a common value system and one generally based in goodness. I am happy to say this is the common thread I personally embrace and that can be found in most of the religious institutions I have explored.

Maybe this makes me spiritual rather than religious in my beliefs.

In the end, concepts and people will certainly test what we believe in, and will leave us with complicated perspectives to process. Like most, my core belief in human nature is our desire to contribute positively in life and purpose. It is a constant in my core, even if sometimes, like most of us, I have found I had trusted certain situations and relationships that ended up resulting in a negative outcome and a difficult lesson or two. It certainly gave me good reason to pause, to reflect, and to refine, re-affirm, my beliefs.

Have I been disappointed?

Yes! There have been choices in my life and in some relationships, that I had trusted in what had faltered. As we know, NO one is perfect and NO religion is either.

“We are born believing. A wo-man bears beliefs as a tree bear’s apples.” --- Ralph Waldo Emerson

REFLECTIONS:

Observation 1. What are some of your core beliefs?

Observation 2. What characteristics in your beliefs make them meaningful to you?

Observation 3. Have you ever been let down by a belief? If so, how did this effect your attitude toward that belief? If not, what would it take to shake up your deeply held belief?

AFFIRMATIONS:

Commitment 1. I will be open to others’ beliefs because . . .

Commitment 2. By taking the time to better understand my beliefs, I will . . .

Commitment 3. If let down by a belief, I will . . .

_______

On Belief: Is it time to really define your own personal beliefs about life and people?

Let's define the ideas and concepts that must be embedded in the foundation of our belief system by reflecting and then affirming them. Let's apply these consciously with careful observations, and listen to life all year together.

On LIFE Book and Journal offers an opportunity to improve who we are and how we contribute. We can begin writing our own book in your On LIFE Journal today!

In Good Health,

Harvey J. White MD