For many people, an attractive and comforting aspect of organized religion is the certainty it brings. Most religions have an answer to the age old questions that are notoriously difficult to answer.
“Why do bad things happen to good people?”
“How can there be an all loving God when there is such evil in the world?”
“What happens when we die?”
These are all really valid questions. In my years moving through different sects of Christianity, (as well as the New Age ideas at my yoga studios) I’ve encountered quite a spectrum of answers. I’ve heard from people trying their best to answer those questions within what is considered orthodox in their belief system. I’ve also heard people say that asking such questions means you are lacking in faith.
That’s bullshit.
It’s totally reasonable to ask those questions and want answers. Life is complex and sometimes downright confusing. Life can even be blatantly unfair. As someone who is deeply committed to spirituality, it bothers me too. I want those answers as much as the next person!
But here’s the truth. My answer to every last one of the above questions is: I don’t know. And you know what? I’m okay with that.
I’ve been asked many times, “How do you reconcile your spiritual beliefs with your sense of logic?” I don’t. That's usually surprising to people, but I don’t think spirituality needs to "make sense" in the way that engineering does, for example. Spirituality is real to me because I experience it firsthand every day of my life. It's all around me and inside me. The scientific method has not been able to, and will very likely not be able to, prove or disprove it.
On the other side of the coin, I think it’s really unfortunate that most religions are so narrow in their scope that they do not allow that sense of uncertainty. It used to stress me out. I used to feel like if I couldn’t come up with the answers to those hard questions, or if I didn’t believe the ones given to me, that my faith was weak or that my belief system wasn’t completely legitimate. It was such a relief when I finally realized for myself that it’s okay to not know. I don’t have to come up with any answers just to be credible, and my own faith doesn’t hinge on that information. Giving myself permission to sit with that uncertainty has been extremely powerful.
We live in a time where people are looking for spirituality that feels honest, and are increasingly less satisfied with answers that have been passed down for thousands of years just because tradition says so. Even if you are someone who is happily participating in a structured religion, I encourage you to make sure that your beliefs feel honest to you, all the way down. If something doesn’t ring true, don’t be afraid to ask why, and then be open to the answer. It will come to you.
This is why uncertainty is such a powerful thing. If you ask a question and let yourself be unattached to the answer, then truth can reach you. You can receive truth for what it is, even if it isn’t what you expected it to be. If you trust the divine in any capacity, then you can trust that it will lead you to the truth if you just ask without fear or limitations.
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