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There is something about building faith that makes me feel safer and safer. And the more acutely aware I am of that safety, the more aware I become of my own behavior that smacks of fear or faithlessness and the more I can sense it in others. 

We are a faithless nation, and I say that in the broadest terms possible. I probably even should cast the net further and say humanity seems increasingly out of touch with faith. I don’t believe one religion can save us all, I believe faith in a basic Good will do much more for all of humankind. What we choose to do after that is up to us, but ideally we wouldn’t be using religions as cause to kill each other in the name of who is getting God most right. Especially since we all seem to need God (or Good) in our lives more and more these days. I think religions are beautiful expressions of a common, human need, I have respect for all of them, and I am overwhelmed by how many people have been harmed in the name of God. 

Humanity is a wonderful and insane expression of life on this planet. We really are incredible beings doing so much from such humble beginnings. But we are also driving ourselves absolutely BATBLEEP. There are so many people out in the world who are in pain, and they are inflicting that pain on themselves and others. I think a basic faith in Good would go a long way to calming our collective nerves, making us kinder people, and making the world a better place (kumbaaaaayaaaaa). 

I hate to say it, but I blame the media a little bit. It is the megaphone of industry, and if there’s one thing industry needs, it’s buyers. You can’t get someone to go to the store to buy something unless they feel like they need it, and the best way to do that is to make them feel like they don’t have enough of it, they need more, or their lives aren’t good enough without it. We get subjected to a lot of flash that is basically designed to make us feel either slightly or really bad about ourselves and our lives in order to motivate us to go purchase something (by some estimates, 4,000-10,000 ads a day - that’s insane!). I must stay it seems to be working, but at what cost? 

This is why I’m writing this blog, I think. To just help anyone else who needs to cut through some of the chatter and start somewhere, anywhere. In recovery, they have an expression: Keep it simple. Sometimes, it’s even Keep it simple, stupid. I like to think that my approach to faith is nearly idiot proof (no offense, y’all). All we have to do is just start believing.

We can just take a risk and decide to pretend that God (or Good) may exist and we are worthy of the best life has to offer. It really doesn’t matter if it’s real or not, if it improves our outlook, helps us feel safer, and helps us make better choices. If there can be 10 different kinds of Cheerios these days, why can’t we also have a faith that is tailor-made for each of us and helps us believe in better?