This is easy: my deepest belief is that God made me, loves me, and has saved me.
When it feels like life has dropped me off a cliff, and I am falling, falling, falling, that’s what I land on.
It might feel like I am falling into an endless abyss, but this belief is at the bottom to catch me; I can’t fall forever.
This prompt made me think about other, smaller things I believe, such as:
- hard work almost always pays off in some way
- people are one of the most important things you can invest in
- consistency is extremely useful (more useful than natural talent, often)
- smiling at people is a great way to spread cheer in the world
- I can do hard things
- I can figure things out
- being ordinary (as most people are!) does not equate to being not-valuable
- what I look like is not very important. Who I am inside and how I treat others is much, much more important. No matter how my looks change as I age, I can still be a blessing to the people around me, and that is way more valuable than smooth skin.
I could make this list very long, but I’ll stop there!
I guess you and I are in that deep place together 🙂
I have longed for, wished for, prayed for the kind of belief you have. It continues to elude me and I envy those who have it. I just cannot make myself believe there is a God or an afterlife. I was raised Catholic but as an adult have tried other denominations to find belief but nothing…
I agree that effort and consistency are often more important than talent.
One of my deepest beliefs is that people who are mean or evil have somehow been badly wounded as children. While this does not give them a pass, it does make it easier to be more compassionate. I think this was why we ended up doing foster care for male teenaged sex offenders when the state could find no one else and I was approached by a friend who worked in juvenile corrections. I had worked in child protection and had seen some of the ways children get damaged, not the usual hitting or screaming but parents who literally maim their children or sell them to friends for sex to fund their own habits. When you see that, it is easier to give grace when these kids who go on to prey on other children. Again, they need to be held to account but you can do that while still being compassionate.
I’m lucky enough to have devoted that faith you talk about, although separate from any religion. For me, “organized religion” sort of kept me from that faith. For others, it enhances it. Now I enjoy the rituals and community I see in churches that I occasionally attend. But it took me thirty or forty years to arrive here with total faith in God.
The part about being “ordinary” really hit home for me. I think social media often makes us feel that ordinary isn’t good enough. I need to remind myself that it is, because a truly believe that. “Ordinary people” and be extraordinary is less noticeable ways. I tend to agree with you on all the things your mentioned.
I have come to realize that I often find ordinary people more interesting than famous peoples/celebrities. Everybody has a story to tell and most ordinary people are more interesting than they think (e.g. Kristen’s Frugal Girl readers, I loved to read through their interviews!).