Belief

I believe that belief is self delusion. Not belief in the laws of gravity or that the sun will rise. But belief in exactly what exists beyond this shared physical existence. And consequently, by extension, how that relates to us and visa-versa. (Although, the nature of physical existence is still very much open for debate among scientists and philosophers, alike.)

Many comfortable and/or convenient notions sat in the throne of belief, until being dispelled by science, revelation or cultural imposition. Personally, you may have believed in the tooth fairy or that you could never love anyone besides your first love or that you'd always be friends with someone whose now long estranged. A belief is just an idea, even if it's communally agreed upon. And as reassuring as it may feel to hold on to an idea; ultimately, ideas are transient and insubstantial.

Having some sort of belief structure to guide actions and priorities, and around which to form one's life, can be useful. So, this isn't to say that one needs to discard or alter any and/or all beliefs; but rather, that there should be a perpetual “scientific” openness, even seeking, to discover a larger perspective and more accurate truth, and to become wiser and gain ever clearer vision. If belief closes one's mind to the nature of what is or to the possibility of what could be, it becomes a load stone that hampers personal evolution.

The notion of belief is often presumed as being mandatorily inflexible, I believe it should be held as malleable.

We are in and of a process that is beyond anyone's comprehension. Words can't help but to fall short in their attempts to describe glimpses of what's beyond. We, therefore, need to accept that anyone's best attempt to explain the grand scheme is intrinsically language challenged, a partial truth, and at best, a rough facsimile of what it's trying to express.

If this is all sounding negative to you, it's really not. The mystery is what keeps the quest for greater understanding active and alive within us. It coaxes us into seeking something beyond our grasp. It drives art and science and philosophy. Embracing the unknowableness of it all, is our conduit to, at least a sense of, a timeless and enduring presence beyond our beliefs and roles and habits and experiences. So, it's good and healthy and truthful for us to embrace our unavoidable ignorance.

Believe what you will. It matters not. In the long run, the truth, whatever it may be, will always win.