So there you have it, I’ve laid out what I believe. Though, really, it’s not what I believe, it’s what I know. I know the things I’ve talked about here happened, I can prove it to myself and to others. I don’t know what exactly triggered the start of the universe, but I do know that it’s not something described in any of the religious texts that exist today. Regardless of what religion you are, it’s not my cup of tea. And yeah, some people may be worried for my “soul” or my mental well-being. But I’m not.

No religion out there can really claim to be absolutely sure they’re right. They all try to, of course, but when you consider how many religions there are out there and how many variations there are you start to wonder just what exactly would be the deciding factor in not blowing it. After all, look at the schism in just Christianity.

And most of the times its a matter of wording and translation. So most of what people believe in is not based in an actual infallible word because…why would they argue about it? But you can’t really convince people otherwise because, well, the book tells them it’s telling the truth.

And in the end, regardless of what your belief system is, there’s really only one sure-fire way to live a good life: Don’t be a douche-bag. Whether you think you’ll get an eternal reward or that it’ll make life a lot easier during this one beautiful moment of time, your best bet for a good life is to not make other people miserable. And, if you’re not an asshole, you can’t go wrong regardless of whether your opinions and beliefs are right or wrong.

I know that people may mistrust me for what I’ve said here, but I’m not worried about it. It’s not my job to make up other people’s minds for them. It’s my job to be the best person I know how to be. And I know some of those people may be thinking that I’m somehow innately unable to decide for myself just what the “best person” is. But we all know what a good person is, you’d have to be damaged to be unable to tell the difference between right and wrong. It’s not completely objective, no, very much subjective really. But does that make me evil?

No more or less than you.

And then there’s the worry that I may be depressed, that I somehow lack meaning to my life. But that’s quite the contrary. If my life is all I get, then it is to be lived to the fullest possible despite my neurotic moments and fears. Sadly, for all the effort that my family friend put into trying to convert me (and failing miserably) she taught me one thing without trying. She died in her early 50s and made me really realize that every moment could be my last. In trying to make me feel fatalistic, she gave me something else: agency.

Yeah, that’s the stuff…sort of. Though it is a great symbol.

Agency is the ability to control one’s actions and fate. Agency is to take life into your own hands and act according to your own will. No higher power controls my fate or what I do, only I can control what I do. I can survive and make the most of my life because I’m capable of trying something new if I fail. Sure, it hurts to fail, but I know that if I did fail it wasn’t preordained, it was just unpleasant. The universe wasn’t out to get me (at least by anything smaller than a comet, but that’s another topic of discussion). It just so happened to be there when something went sour for me. And, you know what? I can fix it.

And what about the idea that I might somehow be spiritually stagnant? Maybe I’m unwilling to think about things greater than myself. Obviously, from these last few posts, I would hope that this is clearly untrue. I would hope that you would have the impression of the exact opposite by now. But just to put it all to rest, a final thought.

Some time back, scientists trying to figure out the beginning of the universe and a unifying field theory (also a lengthy topic for another time) came across the realization that there were 11 dimensions (at least, that’s what the math is saying right now) and that the universe was way stranger than we’d ever previously believed it to be. Now, there’s a lot that goes on in that topic and a lot of questions without a whole lot of answers. But along the way several of them came to the realization that some of the numbers suggested our universe could exist within another universe and that we, in turn, could create one ourselves. Kind of like Men in Black where the alien’s playing with marbles and a galaxy can fit on a cat’s collar. Crazy, huh?

But something occurred to me at the time: Who’s to say that the creator of the universe, if there is one, wasn’t a scientist?

If someone could create a universe within a universe, the size of a marble or something along those lines, why would they do it? Well, that’s simple really. We’ve already established in the previous posts that scientists are constantly searching for answers to all sorts of questions, that’s really all they ever do. Even when they build something like a car there’s still a question like, “how fast you think this thing can go?”

So, going so far as to create a universe is a means of answering some of the greatest questions ever asked. What’s the meaning of life? Well, for us, if there were a creator like the one I’m describing, the answer to that would be clear. The meaning of our life and our universe would be to answer all of the questions of that creator’s life…not the other way around.

But, let’s say that person doesn’t exist, or that they do and we just can’t see them. More over, we really only have each other to rely on regardless of whether they do or not. God, if he or she exists, doesn’t “intervene” whether they exist or not, we all know that. We control our own fate regardless of who or what is out there and we always will. Prayer may make you feel better, but it wont do as much to help someone as unclasping your hands and reaching out to them. Because in the end, if they were to exist…which, I admit, I don’t think they do… we know they follow a pretty hands off philosophy.

Of this, I am 99.99% sure.