Be free!

I have encountered and met people who have walked many kinds of faith. There are those who'd kiss the ground, worship the nature and get philosophical expressing their own faith. There are those who believe in things (money, fame,power) too.

I, for one, believe in God. And as a human being, there were times, I questioned myself of the depth of what I truly believe in. There were times I have researched on others about what they believe in. I did a lot of comparisons, reasoning and analysis. I also learned the lesson that the more you encourage people to believe in God, the more they say "NO!". It didn't encourage me to stop though. But I just share my own experiences without any intention of addressing any invite. Most of the time, I just pray for them to be touched by God. And then I end up there. If they are willing to ask me about more, or are willing to share their own experiences, very well then.

I searched for people who have the same belief with mine. I joined groups which I found "almost" matching only to discover that I've learned enough and that I have to put it hands on. Theories are meant to be applied and lived. I started believing in that now.

From time to time, I still ask around because I am curious of who have the same faith. I was not astounded nor shaken up by any answer except for one. When I asked one friend, "Do you believe in God?". She answered, "I don't believe in anything, I am free." I just acknowledged her answer without her knowing that something had built up in me at that very moment. I am not sure if it's further curiosity, discovery of what I may be ignorant of and the scariest of 'em all, why I felt "envious", not being able to say the same thing.

"I am free." What does that mean?

Does it mean faith has the tendency to have you imprisoned? Does it mean it sets limits to your full potential? I am not in prison but I realized that some of my actions may have been decided on due to a set of instructions, commandments, "beliefs", that was instilled in me from the beginning. I have been accustomed to these so familiarly that anything against it is considered wrong.

And then I sat back and pondered on how free I am in believing in God. I asked myself what drives me to be me?

I grew up learning the 10 commandments by heart. Whenever I find myself giving in to something, or needing to decide on something,

I always check on the values my parents have endowed on me. And it matters so much if people around me will be pleased by the outcome or not. Being mindful of this in relating to my friend's answer to reassessing why I feel envious, it made me realize that I am clueless whether what I grew up believing, hinders me from being at my ultimate supremacy or not. It is almost a cliche when they say it is alright to make mistakes. But society seems to contradict this when you have to deal with the consequences of your mistakes in real life. It's not at all alright, is it? So much so, you may also get judged with what religion you practice or which cult you belong to.

I believe in God, this I know very well about myself.

I believe also that we were given free will.

I believe that we were made in the image and likeness of God and that we are bound to exist to experience the beauty of Thy creation in its abundance.

I have always known that there is something greater than me, that there are things or circumstances that may have happened, are happening or will happen that is beyond my control.

I also believe in the philosophy that experience is the best teacher and in line with my beliefs, I never would want to step on other people just to gain that much experience for my own self-achievement.

Countless rules are imposed by different religions. As a Roman Catholic, I am a witness to my own. Undeniably, some do make you feel bottled up and somehow, it makes believing in God so complicated but if you feel secure with what you believe in, you pretty much know how you can liberate yourself from it all.

It's quite too complex what exactly you should or should not do. Comparisons could go as far as: 

Catholic priests need to be celibate while other pastors or religious leaders need not; in masses, the Holy Eucharist is served to the people dipped in wine, while other religions forbid consumption of it, LOVE is the core of every teaching in every church yet gays aren't entitled to it nor aren't allowed to be united in LOVE.

In this case, I believe that being an open vessel and not being too proud (that you are the all knowing and/or that because you go to church more than anybody else, you are better,) could help you accept these arising changes. Things happen every time that challenges your faith. And sustaining your core values is very important.

Establish securely what you believe in. And then you will be free.