This I Believe - Take One

From the point of view of my granddad and other forebears of mine, the most important question was, “What do you believe?” The answer was a credo, a list of undeniable truths or conclusions that no sensible person would ever disagree with. By this point in my life I believe it doesn’t matter so much what you think you believe as what you do about it. Nonetheless, over the decades of my life I’ve developed a credo of my own that grew out of the fundamentalist teachings of my childhood but leads me to different conclusions.

I believe everyone should win a bowling trophy once in awhile, and it is advisable to forget where you put your trophies. I believe we are all the children of God, and therefore a divine spark exists in every single human being, and when you think about it probably also in all of the turtles, sparrows, raccoons, lions, tigers and fish, bears and elephants, ostriches, alpacas and crustaceans, and now that you mention it probably all of the rocks, sticks and mudpies too. I believe way too much time has been wasted by way too many people arguing about whether or not God exists.

I believe a wooden boat is a thing of beauty, no matter how much paint or varnish is needed by the boat. I believe that it is important to be born again every day. I believe it saves time if you acknowledge you are a fool before it becomes apparent to others. I believe it’s a good idea to read as many books as you can get away with, and to keep them around on bookshelves as a way of reminding yourself who and where you used to be at the time in your life when you read that particular book.

I believe it is impossible to write a good poem unless you are trying to tell the deepest truth you know. I believe storytelling can save humanity. I believe the most important kind of learning involves putting yourself inside somebody else’s skull and looking out through their eyeholes. I believe it is important to sit up straight and have good posture so that you won’t get shorter as you get older. My grandmother successfully demonstrated how it is possible to pray without ceasing, and I am working to learn how to do that, though I believe public prayer has little to do with actual prayer.

I believe it is impossible to know what a cat is thinking. I believe it is generally better to have raisins on your cereal, and fresh fruit for breakfast if you can help it. I believe if you eat a meal of black eyed peas, collard greens, and cornbread on New Year’s Day that you are likely to have good luck at some point during the following year. I believe it is possible to notice the presence of God in snow banks and sandstorms, in supermarket checkout lines and carpet fibers, in sunrises and ping pong balls. I believe it is possible to eat too many pistachios. I believe it is helpful to have a piano in the living room.

I believe wars create trauma in those who are engaged in them or witness them and survive them, and that unhealed trauma leads to future wars and conflict, which then create further trauma, which leads to cycles of violence and despair, pain and agony, depression and suicide, sadness and terror, and so on, all of which means that it is a pretty good idea for us to try to understand how to heal trauma.

I believe the most important tactical question you can ever ask is:

“What is the wise action that lasts?”

And I believe the most important strategic question you can ever ask is:

“How can we heal the world?”

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