Belief is a very strong thing, our history is filled with incidents where belief brought great hope and despair. Whether it lifted people up from hopelessness and brought meaning to their life, or caused wars where both sides felt they were on the side of justice; belief was behind it all.
Whether justified or not, whether it is provable or not, belief is a driving force which can be as strong as gravity itself.
So what is it about belief that drives us so much? Why do we listen to people even if we can’t prove what they say is true or not? Why are we so confident in our beliefs?
Let’s discuss that.
First off let’s look at some of the circumstances through which we find something to believe in.
Upbringing
I think one of the most common reasons people start believing in a particular thing is because of their upbringing. Their family has a certain set of beliefs and they raise their children to follow those beliefs too. And most of the time they will start following alongside their [parents and adopt those beliefs as their own.
Community
Similar to the previous point if you live within a community that follows a set of beliefs (especially if you are with that community from a very young age), then you adopt those beliefs too.
Exposure
As time passes many of us are exposed to other beliefs, ones that are different from the ones we are familiar with. Sometimes those beliefs resonate with us more than the beliefs we currently hold and so we sometimes either give up on our current beliefs completely and adopt the new ones or maybe merge the two to suit our needs.
Circumstances
Sometimes we have certain beliefs which we hold close, but then life hits us hard and everything changes. We feel lost with no idea what to believe in. Then we find out about new beliefs that act like a light in the darkness and so we adopt those beliefs and for the most part we stick with them, because they saved us.
So why do people choose to believe in something in the first place?
Because we need something to believe in. Like I said before belief is a strong driving force in our lives. Whether it is science, God, ourselves or people we hold in high regard, or anything else, all of us almost automatically find something to believe in. Sure our beliefs might change as time passes, but the necessity to believe in something, anything, doesn’t.
But no matter what you might believe in, we are all here, living one existence, living our one life together. So even if our beliefs clash let’s try to get along anyway. If nothing else we can at least find a compromise of some sort.
Well that’s it for this post, I hope you liked it and I hope you have a nice day ahead.
Alternative Yoga 