The World God Created

nAY, I THINK NOT.

I have been following the writings of Buddha lately. It's easy to relate to because the things that some writers out there have written about his teachings is something I find very easy to relate to. 

When some of my  friends found out about the books I had read before, they mistook it as though I was considering converting to become a Buddhist. But wait a minute, just because I'm interested to live my life according to the ways of Buddha, should I call myself a Buddhist? 

I don't really think so, nay, I think not. 

Because I'm really without any religion really. I do believe in God, but I don't believe in religion. I believe that God has created this beautiful universe for us all to live in, and I do not  think God is that simple-minded to make a straight-cut choice between who will go to Heaven and who ends up in Hell by appointing them at pre-birth the "special religion" that can grant them the key to Heaven; when in fact, they were born with the religion to begin with as the religion of their parents are passed down to them.  

What make sense?

So, when I became more interested with the teachings of Buddha, it's more about cravings, aversions and the whole perspective on life; and I find that the more I learn to control my desires and the whole approach of minimalism, have really brought more peace into my life. 

I have also taken to heart the teachings of Christ. For example, don't commit adultery, don't go for "an eye for an eye" method and love your neighbors. 

These are the teachings that really make sense...to me. About the promise of Heaven and Hell to those whomever deserve it that is more based upon pre-birth judgement, that's just too far-fetched to me, at least. 

I'd prefer to concentrate on the deeds I'm committing now while I'm still alive. If there really is Heaven or Hell; if I am doomed to Hell for not professing the faith that's holding the key to Heaven, well, I guess I have been chosen by God to be there in the first place. 

Adventure

To me, life is adventure of love, discovering, excitement, grief, anger, learning and to leave a legacy rather than liability. 

Why wage war when all that it will bring, as history has taught us, pain and sorrow? But we do know how people have come together, nations were formed and new discoveries have been made since, as a result of the wars before. 

I am not saying waging war on one another is a good thing. I'm pointing out that we should look at the best for every thing that has happened to us. 

You and me

Ergo, whether Heaven and Hell exist, I don't dwell too long on it. It is after all, the afterlife. What we do have now, is to live this life as best as we could.  

That's the God I believe in, the One that guide us all to live as humanely as possible, and appreciate the beauty He has created for you and me. 

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Let It Be Said

Telling your friend about something you're not comfortable with can be real hard if you're always thinking about "how would they feel" or "what would they think of me" or "they'd be pissed!" or any other thing that makes you feel guilty or uncomfortable. 

To tell a stranger about something that makes you uncomfortable is easy. You're not "attached". But to a friend? Now that actually takes guts. However, if you do it slowly, one at a time, you are not only helping yourself on the long run (you'd become more firm with your principles, you're not easily shaken in your belief) but you are creating an image of a person who would not be bullied around.

It is hard to tell the truth...at first, but slowly you'll get used to it. Think of the boss you have at work; that bitch that always scolds people for delivering poorly done works. Everyone hates her, but she's there because she can get a good job done.  

Footnote:

Image credit: Stepsoversnails

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A Conversation With An Old Friend

Oh so Okay, today I spent about two hours reading what I wrote almost ten years ago. You can check it out here. It's as if I was reading about someone else's life, to be honest. 

image source

Embarrassed? Not really. I had  a pretty fucked-up childhood, sucking up to teachers in the classroom, made Prefect and was proud to abuse the power, thought I was the smartest person on the planet and basically in denial with everything that didn't go right. No, not embarrassed. Just couldn't really believe I was him before. 

I read the posts again and found one interesting line that said, i'll never do drugs. I'll never smoke cigarettes. 

Well, hate to break it to you kid, in your early twenties, you smoke two packs of cigarettes a day. That's 40 sticks. There's an old wise man that would be telling me now to make peace with my past. Hey, I don't have a problem with that past anymore. If I hadn't been that naive and arrogant, I would not have experienced "epic failures" and fallen into the dark periods of my life for the past couple of years before, and I'm thankful for that because those dark moments have really taught me a lot about humility, acceptance, failure, relationships, and God. 

I read the rest of the posts and I'm actually quite sad that I am not able to maintain a strong relationship with a few people I was really really close back then. I grew up, they did too. But that's sad, you know?  

Then again, people come and go. But I'm glad I started writing back then, it's nice to read a piece of my old life again. Perhaps I need some of that, to remind me I shouldn't make the same mistakes I did before. 

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The greatest fan of your life

Alright, I have been pretty honest with how I feel at the moment. I had just completed two long articles for my site today, and upon completing them, I had the sudden urge to listen to something. 

I guess I do posses some of traits that most artist love: listening to music for inspiration. I really do enjoy being in love with someone because that powerful feeling gives me the extra juice of creativity to help me with my works. 

Sometimes, by watching movies. And other times it's reading. But today I guess listening to music makes the best catalyst for my work. And this song never gets old. Time to do some soul-searching.  

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A Student Again!

Well, great news! I'm going to be a student again soon. I have thought a lot about this and I think the time is ripe for me to make this move now. My ill fate with the working world has affected me in some ways, and I couldn't let it get over me, thinking everything's over. 

So, after my unfortunate brief spell with my former company, I've made the decision to enroll at my former university. Going to pursue my Master, Master in Computer Science - how geeky does that sounds! 

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