For thousands of years, the main questions for homo sapiens have been who we are, where we are from and why are we here. In the early days of human history, religious figures and leaders probed these very questions by making accounts of spiritual insights and experiences and attempted to search inside themselves in order to convey the essence of their experiences to humanity. They interpreted these questions and gave out various theories that were then transformed into the religions of today.
The essence of all of these experiences combined is what humanity has come to call love; the love that lives in each of us and ineffably binds us to all living creatures. Unfortunately, humanity’s misunderstanding and misinterpretation of this oneness has led to infinite numbers of victims throughout history. Since the first civilisations appeared on the planet, people have killed and been killed with unspeakable cruelty in the name of religion. Religious extremism persists even to this day, with people believing that their religion is better and more accurate than the others. However, these beliefs are fundamentally in opposition to any true religious teaching; the essence of is love and compassion.
Unhappiness is on the rise and media are increasingly filled with terrifying statistics of depression and stories of mental disorders, suicides and drug addiction. What is the reason for this? Never in the history of mankind have we lived so well. There has never before been such an abundance of goods, food, water, resources and technology. Of course, this is not the case for everyone, but what excuse we have for not living up to our full potential? So the question is ‘what’s wrong with us and why are we so unhappy?’
Our modern lifestyles and technological developments give us a lot of opportunities, advantages and freedoms but at the same time we don’t appreciate them. Instead, most of us hide from reality in the digital world and drown in the mundanity of social media, rather than harnessing the internet’s power to improve the world we live in.
We must learn to be happy by focussing on our personal health and mental well-being, rather than trying to satisfy our needs with commodities. In the western world we waste food and water and produce more clothing, equipment and other commodities than we actually need. We all have to learn to love ourselves, take care of our bodies and minds and learn how to be happy.
We have to take care of the natural needs, which we all too often forget about. Do we really need more shoes, new smartphones every year or a slice of cake at midnight just to fill an empty void? What the body needs are activities such as walking, training, yoga, running, and dancing. Our bodies mustn’t be neglected. The brain does not need negative or repetitive thoughts; it needs peace. It must be balanced by taking walks, meditating, talking to people and being genuinely happy. Before you can cleanse your soul and mind, first you must learn to love yourself.
Today, people have forgotten how to love themselves! They eat junk food filled with chemicals and feed their children with it too. Deaths from obesity are far more common than deaths from hunger. Did you know that about 30% of world’s the population suffers from depression? The health system is bursting at the seams. For example, when you last went to the doctor? How long did you have to wait in line before getting an appointment?
I hope by now it is clear why I started this blog with religion. The answer to all of the questions posed above is love. You need to start small by first of all loving yourself and try to improve a little bit each day by thinking about your body’s needs and your emotional needs. Start by doing 5 minutes of meditation in the morning and see what it feels like to be truly relaxed. Earth is a living, breathing ecosystem and we are all a part of it and all connected by invisible threads. We are all one and by improving our lives we improve the lives of those around us. Think big and start small.
