There was a time when I believed I would never die. I literally thought that contrary to the experience of every human in history, I would never have to experience a physical death. That’s not the same as dying and then waking up in Heaven. It truly meant that my human body would never die and I would live forever. That belief affected every decision I made and every course I took in life.
Why did I believe that? How could I possibly accept such an outlandish proposition? Because that’s what I was told was “the Truth” from the time I was a small child and then well into my adult years. That’s the power of information control. It convinced me that something so clearly illogical and unrealistic was absolutely true.
When I look at examples in today’s world of how information is spread and what people believe, I see that my experience (although more extreme) is not that uncommon. We all are bombarded every day with news that is designed to convince us what to believe.
It now seems that the days of “unbiased media” are over. We have to be more selective about what we choose to take in, digest, and accept as “truth.” We will eventually become what we believe and who we are.
This bed of belief is crucial. It determines how our decisions in life are made and what we choose to pursue, fight for and even die for. Does that mean there is an “absolute truth” that we are meant to find? Is there really just one path that everyone must follow?
Personally, I don’t think so. “Absolute truth” is something that can be verified without question. “Gravity” and “time” are absolute truths, even though they can’t be adequately explained. Outside of science, our world is a blank canvas and we are free to paint it with whatever colors we choose. We each select our relative truths.
If we find that a “relative truth” doesn’t work for us anymore, we have the power to change it. That’s what many of us chose to do when we left the Jehovah’s Witness organization. The “painting” we were creating made no sense to us anymore and so, we started a new project. Instead of using only the colors that were being handed to us by others, we found the “shades of truth” that appealed to us and started using them.
Now, we begin our own “masterpiece.” We keep an eye on our own canvas, without feeling the need to tell our fellow artists how they need to work on their creations. We create and live our lives as we choose. What a great pursuit!
Every day I get to see the artistic works of life that the rest of humankind creates. I can see beauty in what others share and am moved. I’ve met and learned from some truly great “life-artists” and look forward to seeing what others choose to do with their life-canvases.
Yes, I used to believe I would never die. But now I believe that I won’t be here forever – and yet I have a chance to leave something behind for others to build on. In that way, maybe I’ll exist in some form beyond my death. Even if the memories of me die once I’m gone, I still had a chance to be here and contribute to this great collection of life. That freedom is something that I cherish and appreciate each day I am alive.
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