This I believe - a list

 my heart in the clouds

May 30th 2009

Encouraged by the ever curious and lovely Lisa to bring May to a close by participating in this amazing project, I had intended to try to craft a coherent and perhaps even elegant essay around a central belief or beliefs. The project requests that one explain not only what the beliefs are but how one came by them, and relate them to a personal story... I had such good intentions. 

In fact all I've managed is to throw down a list of ideas that came to me over the month to use as starting points, neither elegant, nor particularly coherent. However, they do represent core beliefs and values, each one grounded in my own experience and which I hold central to my personal ideology. It's not an exhaustive list. And it might not be the same list I will offer in years to come. My beliefs, although strong, are not all carved in stone. They have evolved over time and I hope will continue to do so. But as a snapshot, I offer a Baker's dozen of them anyway:

• I believe in unconditional love - not that it's easy, or commonplace, but that it is possible.

• I believe that ordinary people often show extraordinary courage - I don't have to look beyond my own family and friends for evidence of this bravery, and it inspires me to be braver myself.

• I believe that distance, time, and even death do not diminish love - and that my heart can expand to accommodate new love without having to let go of loves I already hold there.

• I believe that friendship is akin to love and that depth of friendship has little to do with how long I've known a person - and more to do with how much of a kindred spirit I have encountered.

• I believe in kindness and courtesy - that they require relatively little effort and that they're what make it possible for me to co-exist even vaguely pleasantly with six billion others on this little planet.
  

• I believe that there is enough of just about everything to go around and so my bounty does not need to come at the expense of another's, and vice versa - this means I don't have to subscribe to societal norms that pit one against the other in a winner or loser style format.

• I believe that sometimes it is easier to give up or to give in than to go on - but that easier isn't always the best route to take.

• I believe that there is little point in comparing myself to others to establish my worth because there will always be people who have more or fewer skills, more or less honed, or who are better or worse off than I am - I need to be my own yardstick.
  

• I believe it's important to at least strive for integrity in all things - to me this means that what I think and say and do should all reflect the same stance.

• I believe that with rights come responsibilities - to exercise them, and to protect them and those of others who are not able to protect their own. This includes guardianship of the planet.
  

• I believe that I am capable of consciousness and if I manage to exercise it consistently, my life will be enriched - this means that I have to accept it might also entail exposure to hurtful things that I would sometimes prefer to be unconscious of.

• I believe that variety is the spice of my life - and I embrace new experiences, other ideas, and other people for their differences and even eccentricities. This does not mean I'm always comfortable with change, that I'm an absolute relativist, or that I believe all behaviours can be excused.

• I believe that my experiences have shaped me but that I'm not bound to be defined forever by those experiences - I can choose to learn from them, and even choose just to let them go.
  

All of this, today, I believe.

An extended list might include these things too:

• I believe in the power and use of chocolate as a mood enhancer.
  
• I believe that it's time for something pink to live in my wardrobe.
  
• I believe that food tastes better eaten outdoors or in the company of loved ones.
  
• I believe that someone should declare a standard three day weekend.
  
• I believe that I need more sleep and that I have time now for a nap...

Happy Sunday!

♥