Carnal Zen

I happened upon this page on some website, some link.  The words “beyond belief” just appeared, and when it did, something clicked.  We use the phrase in common ways to talk about uncommon happenings but we seldom sit down and define what we believe in.

Maybe you know the big answers…do you believe in God?  Evolution?  Reincarnation?  Some things get muddy…when life begins or what circumstances make abortions justifiable?  Why is it taboo in our culture to debate beliefs and justify them?  Is logic the enemy of faith?  

Although the words “belief” and “faith” are closely linked to religion, life does not limit them in that way.  Every day reveals some leap, some hope, some assumption that we don’t even know we’ve chosen.  I also believe, that beliefs are a choice.  Thinking, and googling (because I tend to do the two in unison) I found a poem by Esther Iverem that says it better than I could.  It’s long, but here are excerpts:

What do you believe in?
Do you believe in your next breath?
That it will be there?
Do you believe in chance or fate, that you
Were born to be here in this time, this moment, this place?
Do you believe that you were born to go gently into this night?
Or do you believe that you were born to fight?

What do you believe in?
In antibiotics?
In AZT?
In Ritalin
In ADT?
In your rottweiler named Lucius?
Do you believe in your Tech-9? Your AK?
Your 16 millimeter?

Do you believe in your SUV? Does it make you feel
Safer, or better or bigger in the arms race on the roads?
Do you believe that its puffs of air poison doesn’t matter?
That there is an endless supply of oil
That we can pump and steal and pipe and ship and spill
Until we all die?

Where do we place our hope?
Why do we place it anywhere outside our selves?
Is it because we believe the hype that we are small
And separate and weak and powerless and stupid.
Connie Chung leans forward and asks,
You don’t believe President Bush?
You don’t believe President Bush is telling the truth?

And is it possible that though I am Black and broke
That I am not trying to carjack you, hustle you,
Take your job or your pride
Could it be that I am not trapped in this dog-eat-dog rat race,
This trick mirror, that makes us stab and shoot and hate each other?
Could it be that I love you?

What do you believe in?
Do you believe in your next breath?
That it will be there?
Do you believe in chance or fate, that you
Were born to be here in this time, this moment, this place?
Do you believe that we were all born to go gently into this night?
Or do you believe that you were born to fight?

This entry was posted on Friday, June 13th, 2008 at 9:12 pm and is filed under Being Present, Quotes, Religion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.