Believe is a word from childhood that might strike fear or give hope. “Please, believe me” and “I believe you” are two of the strongest statements a child can share with a parent. “I know it’s hard to believe, but…” will always make a listener lean a bit closer and “If you believe that, I have a bridge to sell you…” gives one person an arrogant power over another.
THIS I BELIEVE is an NPR program of essays written by over 70,000 believers, a series started by Edward R. Murrow in the 1960’s that has spawned some of the most inspiring words ever written.
Believe is tied very closely to hope and faith, but it is more than both of these concepts. “If I do not believe, I will lose hope.” “I must have faith in what I believe in.”
What we believe is what we are indoctrinated with, what we experience from birth to death and what we find in the search and discovery process of life. What we believe is our very own truth: convoluted, perfect, perverse, ideal, twisted, principled, dark…completely individual and personalized.
Believe, used in political campaigns and sermons from pulpits, or as a message to those in peril or in preparation for battle is a very potent word, standing alone.
We begin early in life to believe in fairies, elves, bunnies who hide eggs and a fat bearded man who delivers gifts, which we believe have been carted down chimneys, while a group of flying reindeer paw the roof. We are instructed to believe in virgin mothers and men living for hundreds of years. We are expected to believe in a holy supreme being, given a variety of names and further projected to be the only one of his/her/its kind. And we better believe it.
Some of us believe in miracles. Others believe in coincidence, or science. You may believe in ghosts, good and evil, reincarnation, the 5th Dimension. Some cannot bring themselves to believe in love.
I believe in myself. I have been tested over time enough to realize that the most important concept in my entire life is that I believe. I believe in a manner that is positive, willing and optimistic. I believe in can and do and have and be. I will believe. I must believe. I can believe. I believe.
THIS I BELIEVE is an NPR program of essays written by over 70,000 believers, a series started by Edward R. Murrow in the 1960’s that has spawned some of the most inspiring words ever written.
Believe is tied very closely to hope and faith, but it is more than both of these concepts. “If I do not believe, I will lose hope.” “I must have faith in what I believe in.”
What we believe is what we are indoctrinated with, what we experience from birth to death and what we find in the search and discovery process of life. What we believe is our very own truth: convoluted, perfect, perverse, ideal, twisted, principled, dark…completely individual and personalized.
Believe, used in political campaigns and sermons from pulpits, or as a message to those in peril or in preparation for battle is a very potent word, standing alone.
We begin early in life to believe in fairies, elves, bunnies who hide eggs and a fat bearded man who delivers gifts, which we believe have been carted down chimneys, while a group of flying reindeer paw the roof. We are instructed to believe in virgin mothers and men living for hundreds of years. We are expected to believe in a holy supreme being, given a variety of names and further projected to be the only one of his/her/its kind. And we better believe it.
Some of us believe in miracles. Others believe in coincidence, or science. You may believe in ghosts, good and evil, reincarnation, the 5th Dimension. Some cannot bring themselves to believe in love.
I believe in myself. I have been tested over time enough to realize that the most important concept in my entire life is that I believe. I believe in a manner that is positive, willing and optimistic. I believe in can and do and have and be. I will believe. I must believe. I can believe. I believe.
Thank you for reading.
I believe that that was an awesome post. :-)
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