My Beliefs
Belief is actually quite a strong word for me, I don't have many spiritual or religious beliefs at this time. However, as we move through the historical holiday review and meanings behind rituals, I am surprisingly relating to a lot of it. It's weird that this is such a revelation for me.I always seemed to think people of a certain faith had the exact same beliefs, meaning they were all idiots together. That is sounding ignorant now that I repeat it to myself, but it's the truth! It's one of the reasons I did not want to associate with anything. I didn't want to be grouped together with a bunch of religious wackos, I want to be me and make my own decisions. I never practiced any faith so I have no frame of reference. Although my boyfriend is not what he calls "religious"; he says he keeps tradition and I can see how engrained his Jewish identity is.
Holiday Review
Today we reviewed the holidays and discussed Shabbat in more detail. I'm feeling like I'm in a much deeper exploration phase now, and now the feelings of uncertainty about my beliefs are awakening again. I'm also thinking about how I'll assimilate into the religion.
I can easily relate to Rosh Hashanah as the New Year, as everyone else can because Americans are used to making New Year's resolutions. I realize it is definitely met with more seriousness about the quality of your life rather than making a resolution to quit smoking and giving up after a week. Resolutions aren't successful, but an obligation is. A resolution is defined as firm determination, or a course of action determined. An obligation is defined as a binding promise or sense of duty.
What's the difference here? The difference is between a want and a need. People try to commit to changes all the time, but the fail when they don't feel a psychological obligation to the commitment. Resolutions are not what define you, but obligations do; maybe that's why people are more prone to follow through with changes/choices in their lives when they are committed to their religious obligations.
