Why I Don't Believe What I Don't Believe
I'm often known for saying randomly, and without warning or provocation, that I don't believe in whatever random thing. There's a few different things I say a lot, and while normally I do it just because it's funny and I enjoy being an ass sometimes, there is an actual basis, belief, and utility behind what I say. At its core, my disbeliefs are what constitute my beliefs and my motivations, and also the way I perceive and understand things. I thought I'd explain the statements I make and why I make them, that way the people who aren't reading this can gain greater insight into the possibly arrogant and self-absorbed mind that I call mine.
Statement #1: "I don't believe in time."
This is a big one in the sense that I say this all the time, usually just for the effect of disturbing people. But there's a real belief present here. I do believe in time as a measurement, because it is a useful means to organize and prioritize our day and our lives. What I don't believe in is treating time like a resource that's more valuable than people or other things. I can't stand the borderline-psychotic obsession with time that moves too many people in this country (and perhaps in a lot of Western cultures as well). People pretend to be busier than they really are (or think they're busier than they really are), and in truth, they're not. We're only as busy as we pretend to be. When I say I don't believe in time, I mean that I don't believe that time and schedules are what we should order our lives around. Instead, schedules should be an aid, and should be ordered by lives; never vice-versa.
I wear a watch, I keep my two alarm clocks on different times, and my car clock hasn't had the right time in years. The more that time is perceived as an organizational device and less as an element and object we have to obtain, the better. As it stands, we (I'm guilty of this too) use time as an excuse to prioritize random and often insignificant things over people. Time does not exist anymore than feet or inches do; they're a human-constructed concept. The moment time becomes a priority over people is the moment time ceases to be useful and instead becomes a punishment or pain. Here is where time should be abandoned, for nothing should be more valuable to people than other people.
Statement #2: "My non-existent soul," or, "I don't believe in my soul."
Don't misunderstand me please, because I think you're welcome to have a soul. While I don't believe in mine, I don't disbelieve in souls in general. In fact, I do believe in souls, although my definition changes almost daily. It's a bit to fluid to be pinned down I guess. With regards to my own soul though, I consider myself soulless. In the last couple of years, I lost the perceived need of an eternal self. The basic motivation for this was that I stopped personally believing in the Christian concept of heaven and hell that I was brought up on and moved onto a different view that was self-created. I don't really believe that I will ever die. Don't get me wrong, this body and mind are going to die in the next 50 years. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, so it has been, so it will be. The same will be true for me.
The difference here is that I don't identify my eternality with any internal being. I tend to identify my existence with the human race in general and with reality, so the termination of my body is just that - the termination of my body. While I don't have a precisely defined notion of what happens to me after death, I believe that with a continual and eternal reality, I will be present no matter what because I cannot simply cease to be. I may die, but what I'm part of will not, and as such, I will live on forever, undying though dead. My body and consciousness may fade (or it may not, I don't know and I'm not that concerned), but my core, the essence of which I am will always exist. So while I don't believe in my internalized soul, I believe in my externalized eternality. In my belief set, any belief will work, so please feel free to have souls. As for me, I'm content to not, simply because it saves me the hassle of having to worry about it. Makes for interesting if not obnoxious conversations too.
I'll go over more of these later, but for now, I need to go do other things.
Statement #1: "I don't believe in time."
This is a big one in the sense that I say this all the time, usually just for the effect of disturbing people. But there's a real belief present here. I do believe in time as a measurement, because it is a useful means to organize and prioritize our day and our lives. What I don't believe in is treating time like a resource that's more valuable than people or other things. I can't stand the borderline-psychotic obsession with time that moves too many people in this country (and perhaps in a lot of Western cultures as well). People pretend to be busier than they really are (or think they're busier than they really are), and in truth, they're not. We're only as busy as we pretend to be. When I say I don't believe in time, I mean that I don't believe that time and schedules are what we should order our lives around. Instead, schedules should be an aid, and should be ordered by lives; never vice-versa.
I wear a watch, I keep my two alarm clocks on different times, and my car clock hasn't had the right time in years. The more that time is perceived as an organizational device and less as an element and object we have to obtain, the better. As it stands, we (I'm guilty of this too) use time as an excuse to prioritize random and often insignificant things over people. Time does not exist anymore than feet or inches do; they're a human-constructed concept. The moment time becomes a priority over people is the moment time ceases to be useful and instead becomes a punishment or pain. Here is where time should be abandoned, for nothing should be more valuable to people than other people.
Statement #2: "My non-existent soul," or, "I don't believe in my soul."
Don't misunderstand me please, because I think you're welcome to have a soul. While I don't believe in mine, I don't disbelieve in souls in general. In fact, I do believe in souls, although my definition changes almost daily. It's a bit to fluid to be pinned down I guess. With regards to my own soul though, I consider myself soulless. In the last couple of years, I lost the perceived need of an eternal self. The basic motivation for this was that I stopped personally believing in the Christian concept of heaven and hell that I was brought up on and moved onto a different view that was self-created. I don't really believe that I will ever die. Don't get me wrong, this body and mind are going to die in the next 50 years. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, so it has been, so it will be. The same will be true for me.
The difference here is that I don't identify my eternality with any internal being. I tend to identify my existence with the human race in general and with reality, so the termination of my body is just that - the termination of my body. While I don't have a precisely defined notion of what happens to me after death, I believe that with a continual and eternal reality, I will be present no matter what because I cannot simply cease to be. I may die, but what I'm part of will not, and as such, I will live on forever, undying though dead. My body and consciousness may fade (or it may not, I don't know and I'm not that concerned), but my core, the essence of which I am will always exist. So while I don't believe in my internalized soul, I believe in my externalized eternality. In my belief set, any belief will work, so please feel free to have souls. As for me, I'm content to not, simply because it saves me the hassle of having to worry about it. Makes for interesting if not obnoxious conversations too.
I'll go over more of these later, but for now, I need to go do other things.
posted by Andrew McKenna at 4:00 PM
1 Comments:
I don't like wearing a watch. I find myself always checking the time - it makes you crazy.
So, you believe that something in you will continue, but you will not call it a soul? What is a soul? Do you continue in thought? And what of ghosts? Spirits?
I suppose I believe in a "soul" or simply the me inside my body. It is my own, and no one elses, it feels rather than thinks (for my mind does the thinking) and what it feels shapes what I am. When my body returns to the dust I believe my soul, spirit, heart, or whatever name you give it, will continue. Does it need saving to continue? Perhaps. Perhaps not. I think it continues regardless. What it continues for I cannot say.
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