There is no second opinion on religion except for other people, whose views are inherently biased. How does it work?
I start with an assumption.
I have free will.
Thus, I can believe in what I want to believe.
There are several religions all around the world that gather around the basis that there is a god in this world, whereas some others believe there are none and that once life is over there is nothing beyond it.
Every single story that was ever told tells of earthly struggles. The concept of there being a god relieves people of sadness towards questions like “why do I not see justice”, “who do I toll for, and why just to live”, with answers such as “there is a day of vengeance”, and “you work for gods glory”.
Aside from that, there are supposedly thought processes of people that would be writing from the past to now, such as “men are superior to women”, or “different sexual orientations are socially acceptable”(I am straight, so don’t even think about it.)
These thought processes will and have shaped the way people tell stories, whether they be fictional or real life stories. Some may view conquerors as cruel beasts that only know gain and ignore the suffering of the people, or generous philanthropists that aim to reshape the broken world.
It all depends on the perspective of who you talk to.
At the end of the day, there is no second opinion, and people that will not let you think will clearly influence you towards the thinking that they have in their heads. Thus the biased view that you pick up is not really yours, but that of another person should you be forced into it, like how children from strict religions are forced to learn from young, either in fear of a god/s punishing them and their children for not worshiping him, or fear of the child being lead astray into the unknown that they fear. Of course, having it so that the unknown is bad is clearly not good thinking, unless it is a way of survival. And even then, eventually you have to overcome all sorts of obstacles, such as events within your life, and you have to grasp the concept of death when you die. There are always variations of these concepts and thoughts, but they aren’t your experience. People listen to testimonies and stories when they lose hope because they do not have any other personal stories of help to rely on for what happens next.
Most people have mixed interpretations of what happens next. They could be thinking far future, the next day, hour, minute, second, as well as if they fear it or welcome it with open arms. The fact that they do not and will not know until the time comes is upsetting, and is yet part of human life.
It is interesting how humans make ways to cope with their sadness, for it is the only way to not get broken.
They can place their faith and hope in something greater, or a construct of their imagination.
They can use supposedly unhealthy coping habits and forget it for a time.
They can do something positive to remember better days, which would still be forgetting for a time.
They will still have to face challenges ahead, which makes the future very bleak and dead for those who have been born. Their life will simply be an up and down, and outside stimuli guarantee that their world view is shaped simply because they had any interaction. Constantly believing anything, from truths to lies is always troubling, for there is no way to discern more other than hearing other people’s experiences.
To overcome some challenges in your life, you will have to be like someone because the problems are caused by wide varieties of concepts such as societal issues, born out of human survival, other peoples influence.
They will say it is easy, but is it really? It is when you get used to it, but it sucks really bad the first time around. So much so that, would it be better if everything was gone, and no one knew anything? It was good that there was life, but it is pain. The goodness always is less than the pain, because we emphasise it. I am jealous of people that can live better lives than me, that have more positive mindsets, and yet because I am stubborn, I simply refuse to change anything. It is shocking how much I can do and can’t do.
We are a species that carry down information learnt from the past peoples experiences, and we will only know because they told us or that we feel the impact of their choices. Wars that are fought over leave lasting scars on countries that try but can never fully recover from it, knowing that there was a moment of trouble. It is never our experience on our own, and that’s what infuriates me. It can never be my own thoughts. It is and always will be someone else’s. What a world. Even if I have influences that tell me to think for myself instead of leading me elsewhere, I would not know what to do. Self pity is such a friend at this point. There is no logical explanation on why we are here. We are self tasked with survival, but the other animals on the earth also have such a task. It is not a strongest will survive situation, it is more of a who stays hidden longer, given that there is always something better than you. If I stay hidden for a long time such that no one notices me, I will have won the battle of being alone. However, humans are social creatures and simply cannot live without connection. Is it better to wish death on everyone who has ever lived, or get along with them? It is confusing to say the least.
There are always people that will create advantages and disadvantages for you, and sometimes they will happen to be the same person. It hurts to know that one day, someone I love and have had meaningful connections with will die, whether it be a peaceful passing or a brutal accident. It is the price we pay for connecting to people, but we can never choose to live alone. Our minds will not allow that. Even in a place where the world is unconnected, there cannot be any current humans that are born on its own, without people to care for them and influence their actions because it is simply not accepted by people.
Some people say that religion is a joke. They may have had bad experiences, they may shun people for things they do not understand, or they may “see the truth” for what it is. The core benefit of it is that you are a helpful member of society, and that benefits only others and not you. You will not gain any money, you will have the lowest standing and only be known as the lowest servant of whoever it is. Even if they are great, to be a servant is to submit, to lose to someone else willingly, to be an insignificant spec compared to someone. Although pride helps when carrying yourself, it does not when overestimating yourself and your skills, which I have a problem with. I hate that people are better than me and that they can point out the fact that I self pity and never get better. They tell me to get better, or to adopt a healthier mindset, but I don’t want to. What works for them might not work for me, and I’m inclined to believe that they do not mean well. I am nothing to them, which is why they cannot think they are better than me. To be better than me is to not exist to me. To be anything worse is to be a concept I can never get rid of in my head, or simply never there. They all say I am crazy, that I have issues, that I need to solve them, but I am tired of solving problems, both my own, and others. I don’t want to be here anymore, and yet I cannot because I have gotten so used to this life that I cannot leave its comfort.
I have become helpless, I cannot help myself, and I cannot help others come to a meaningful conclusion about life, other than that it has joy and pain. I rely on my parents to be my help, and thus I have become their burden, who they only take care of because they love me. I can never stop being a burden, a stain on this world because they have birthed me. I am grateful, and ungrateful for why I have been born. This gives no comfort, and I have been reduced to the most pitiful person I am. Being able to strike out and be the best I can be is hard work that I am not willing to do. I suffer to gain joy. Does that even make sense?
I do work, which will give me money, so I can live, and I can get things I want with the tiny leftovers that I have.
Is this joy? Is to live joy? I can hardly think so. This has to be a joke.
What is better than to live? It is not to live for anything but yourself.
You will never have to pay anyone anything, owe anything to anyone, feel bad about anyone’s situation.
It’s so hard not to care, I see myself when I see them. Or someone better, or someone with an opportunity should it be granted.
In general, it sucks. I want better.