I’ve contemplated sharing this for many years. This is the truth about my personal journey.
As many of you may know, I come from a Christian background and upbringing. I’ve spent a lot of time pondering various questions that have led me to adopt a different viewpoint that I hope you can respect even if you don’t agree. Simply stated, I no longer identify with Christianity or any other organized religion. I’m a freethinker. With regards to belief in God, my past and present experiences do not allow me to be convinced, and my understanding of life and humanity is no longer rooted in a religious tradition.
At one point in my life, my desire was to believe in God and understand the meaning of life as traditionally taught. However, at this point, I have found a way of life that works better for me, gives me peace of mind, a clear conscience and a new perspective.
I still carry the values of service, love, compassion and a desire to succeed. I am completely at peace with where I am mentally and spiritually. I have no reservations concerning what I believe. And just for the record, there was never any tragic event that led me to this conclusion.
It is important for you to know that at the core, I’m the same person that I’ve always been. I believe in Love, Honesty and Truth. I believe in good things. I believe humans are born with a natural desire to be loved, embraced and accepted by others. I believe it’s more natural for a human to desire to do good rather than bad and if I must be labeled, an “optimist” with a desire to pay it forward as much as possible will suffice. My desire as a human being is to accept and embrace who I am, walk in love, be a positive influence on others, enjoy life and help others do the same in their lives; wherever their journey may take them.
Reflecting back on my life when I proclaimed Christianity, I realized I wasn’t walking in love to the best of my ability. I was more focused on just trying to be right. Ironically, I in a sense have become one of the people that I used to look down upon. I have not been a member of a church in years and attend for special events only. I finally got a glimpse of who I was from the other side and I was ashamed. I’ve apologized to several friends for the way I behaved towards them in the past. It’s about the best I can do besides showing them my objective is to love and not condemn.
Although I speak for myself, I hope my voice will help others to articulate their feelings in a way that won’t leave them feeling ostracized. I know that loneliness all too well.
My love for those in my life hasn’t changed. My thoughts are very clear. I’ve spent the last 5 years coming to terms with my new perspective.
I no longer bash people that are LGBT, atheist, of another faith or just finding their way in life. We are all simply finding our way and although we may not always agree, it is my hope that we can disagree respectfully and with love.
With that being said, I hope you have a much clearer understanding of who I am and where I stand on the topic of religion and spirituality. I hope that what I’ve shared can be respected if not accepted as I desire pleasant and peaceful relationships with friends, family and all who I encounter. And for those of you who can relate to how I feel and need someone to talk to, feel free to contact me. I’ve been honest and shared my reality and truth, not only for my own peace of mind, but to allow others with similar thoughts and feelings to know that they are not alone.
“When I reached intellectual maturity, and began to ask myself whether I was an atheist, a theist, or a pantheist; a materialist or an idealist; a Christian or a freethinker, I found that the more I learned and reflected, the less ready was the answer; until at last I came to the conclusion that I had neither art nor part with any of these denominations, except the last.”- Thomas Henry Huxley
