So, you go with the flow. You have no opinion about an afterlife. You believe that one does not exist. You cannot explain why you think that way but you just do. You are just like the other sheep in the fold. You say you are not and that anyone who believes that nonsense in an afterlife is in fact under an illusion and it is they who are the sheep. You need proof before you believe but you have no faith to believe what you cannot see. So you carry on in the belief that there is no afterlife. Maybe you believe in something else. If asked about that belief you cannot explain why you believe but say that it is just as viable a belief as any other. That means you hope it is the right one else your belief is founded upon nothing. So why believe in one thing and not the other? If asked whether your beliefs have grounding in fact, you cannot answer. What benefits are there in believing in anything? You might as well believe in anything if in fact there is no benefit from it. So what benefits could there be and are they worth pursuing? In this life a benefit may enable a better lifestyle but that would mean that your present circumstances were not good enough. That again would mean that you are ambitious to improve your situation and why not? What benefit would that be to you? Perhaps you like the idea of being better off than all your neighbours. If so then that means you don’t care much about them. Well if you do care then what are you doing about it? Probably nothing. So why bother with that sort of ambition? At the end of your life you will have achieved basically nothing. Those you leave behind will surpass you. All you have gained will be lost to you and others will reap the benefits. Why then don’t you see that they are satisfied whilst you are still alive? That would make your existence something to be proud of, wouldn’t it? But then that would mean you would be proud. If you don’t mind being proud then that’s alright but others will not see it that way. Do you want to be remembered for being a good person or one that is proud and self-seeking? If all of this is nonsense then what is it that makes sense to you? On what thesis is that based upon? As we grow we form opinions about those things we encounter and either accept them or reject them. We may not know the truth about them sometimes but that often does not prevent us from rejecting them. We can be very irrational in this sphere. We reject things we know nothing about and often accept things in the same way. We resist anyone who tries to tell us otherwise. We can be letting ourselves down by doing this. Somebody somewhere actually knows the truth but are we ready to believe it? No. Why? Because we don’t have the faith to believe. Maybe the sheep description is wrong. Perhaps a more apt description would be an ostrich. Open your heart to faith, then follow your heart when you realise that the truth has been revealed. What truth is that? That is for you to discover. But don’t delude yourself, don’t kid yourself that what you believe is the truth if in fact you know it isn’t. You will know when it is.

Shirley Anne