Forever Pondering

I've spent much of my life pondering the truths of existence, a fairly large domain of thought to say the least. Several early mornings, and far too many late nights have seen me restlessly tumble down rabbit holes for hours on end. That said, I must admit I can't wholeheartedly say that the self prescribed wisdom I plan to share today is unknown by others; it's simply an assumption I've made based on the fact that there are an innumerable amount of people who don't know the answer to such questions as "what's the meaning of life?" (42), "what is my purpose?" "where did life come from?" and "who am I?" and "what are we?" Furthermore, to say that what I have to say is a fact is simply for the sake of me being able to share it to this prompt. I don't truly know if this is fact or fiction, but I do know that it is the accumulation of all my thoughts on the subject. Thoughts formed by an upbringing in the Christian faith, having friends and family of other beliefs, research on multiple religions (albeit brief research), an unknown amount of time scouring through the internet and listening to the opinions of learned and "enlightened" individuals, and most of all through a life of contemplation.

I won't say that one religion or belief is right or wrong, a choice that I've made because as a human I simply have no way of knowing until the end. However, I will say that even the fragment of knowledge on multiple religions that I have (merely the tip of the iceberg) has shown me that most of them are fundamentally the same. And that with a bit of imagination and flexibility, as well as some general knowledge of the history, cultures, and environments of the world, you can come to understand that they all preach a similar thing. Like with most religions (even Atheism), what I have to say can be grouped into three questions: 1. What are we? 2. What should we do? 3. What's next?

1. What are we? Monotheistic religions believe that there is one god and we are (in spirit) a part of that god as well as that god's creations. Polytheistic religions believe the same thing, except that there are multiple gods, and that each god was responsible for some aspect of existence. Atheistic religions believe that there is no god, however, they share fundamentally that we are products of or pieces of a larger whole (whether it be the universe, a spiritual essence, or the physical Earth).

2. What should we do? All beliefs and religions say that while you exist and live you should try your very hardest to be a good person, not bring emotional, physical, or spiritual harm to others, be successful in what you pursue, be aware of and believe in the "truth of existence," and share your knowledge and beliefs with those who need them. So fundamentally, the only differences are the ways that they say that should be done, and even those aren't even all that different.

3. What's next? Whether it be an afterlife in Heaven or a spiritual domain like that with its god, becoming one with "the universe," or simply rejoining the natural earth, most religions say that upon death you will return to the single essence that you came from. For spirit-based religions that is dependant on whether you "lived properly," and if not you either go to some type of underworld domain that is lesser than the heavenly one, or you are forced to try again until you get it right. For non-spirit-based religions, it's just too bad you didn't live well. Nonetheless, if you live "properly" then your death will be joyous, if not then it won't be.

I've said all that to say, that fundamentally all beliefs are the same, it's simply a matter of perspective and word choice. If that's not enough to convince you a general knowledge of history and cultural progression will tell you that much of what we believe of religions opposite our own is false. Such as, if someone wasn't studied even moderately, they would believe that Christianity, Islam, and Judaism are all opposed to each other, and have different gods. But the truth is, that they share one god, and the differences are in interpretation of that "god's word." Polytheistic religions, such as Hinduism actually didn't start off as polytheistic. It was only when Europeans conquered India and didn't bother to understand this new culture they were invading, that multiple tribes (and thus multiple religions) were defined as one (in fact, many Hindus still only venerate one god. Many of the original beliefs and instructions within all religious texts have been lost or changed, whether it be by accident or intentional.

So to summarize, I believe that the concept of different religions is just that, a concept. An inevitable structure created by the conditions of many societies. So to say that one is wrong and one is right is a great injustice. Furthermore, I believe that in the broadest sense existence is coming from one thing, understanding that thing and treating it well, then returning to that thing. I am in no way posing that this fact, it is simply my answer to an unanswerable question; my answer that could possibly change. I hope to see one day, whether it's in my own lifetime or from beyond the grave, that the technologies that bridge the world will lead to a bridge in understanding and acceptance of one another. This was just a brief divulgence into a topic that will forever be contemplated. A short exposé on thoughts that would take just as long to explain as they did to develop (21 years for me). And if this doesn't fit the prompt then here is my fact: we are intended to think, both together and individually, and so I will continue to do so.

Forever pondering,

JD Wingard