Unbelief

For most of my life I was an agnostic. I was raised Lutheran but that system of belief and faith never really penetrated beyond the superficial. As I've gotten older, through the course of living and some specific experiences, I've come to believe in something greater, something beyond the physical explainable world. Although I don't practice any religion or believe in any of their major systems of belief I now have a spiritual dimension to my life that I didn't have previously.

What I've come to discover after actively believing in nothing then actively believing in something is that unbelief requires just as much effort as belief. That faith demands the same attention as doubt. The practice of spirituality requires some sort of action be it prayer, meditation, what have you, so does skepticism and that can look like declarations of unbelief i.e. "I don't believe in anything" "I don't know" "I don't believe or disbelieve" or the more nebulous energy it takes to maintain a worldview that is unsupported by any spiritual dimension i.e. nothing happens for a reason, man is the only arbiter of circumstance and is only effected by external(economic, social, political) forces.

Not to say one is right or wrong simply that both are choices and necessitate similar levels of energy to maintain. Certainly belief in something and some kind of spiritual practice appears to demand more because you are, most likely, engaging in some kind of routine or ritual. But the more vague unbelief also requires thought, time, and consideration relating, justifying, explaining, and rationalizing the physical world.

For me belief has been much more productive and enlightening than unbelief. I can now move through life with some assurance and grace, can handle aggravating or overwhelming experiences or situations with some level of patience, have recourse and action I can take when I feel irritable or unbalanced. When I believed in nothing I was frequently at the whim of outside forces, my mood and my happiness dependent upon external validation and affirmation, because of that I was frequently prey to fear and anger. The world can be cruel and isolating when you rely solely on it for comfort and growth.

Spirituality and worship do not have to follow one of the prescribed religions. It can take any form, be totally personal, defined and outlined only by your personal conception. Regardless of what it is I suggest belief is more beneficial than unbelief, allows for not only contentment but transformation.