All Pinocchios Can Turn To Flesh

Why should we feel scared to talk about religion, when religion is not scared to talk about itself? I do not honestly think that we are scared. Rather, we are indifferent towards people who are religious. Because there is a difference between a man who was born without religion and the man who has lost it. And I dare to also say that the word 'lost' does not fit in this sentence.

For a man does not lose his religion, but willingly neglects it or pushes it away from him. Some neglect religion due to their lack of passion for life. A passion for being active in society or the passion to think about the world and wonder about what there is or might not be in the universe. But others neglect religion for they have come full circle and realized its insignificance.

These people become indifferent towards religious people and their fear mongering because they had previously been part of it, and have now been liberated from its shackles. They are not afraid of speaking out against religion but still do not do so because they know that it is futile to release a tiger that has been caged for its life expecting it to go back into the wild and reclaim its lost splendour. What we can do is to help those who are puppets to religion to realize what they are; toys controlled with strings. Eventually, all Pinocchios can turn to flesh.

To all religious people I ask, what is it in your sacrifice that has value for yourself or the soul that you tirelessly work to save from damnation? Is not eating chocolate preventing you from going to hell? What about the cigarette you smoke every day that is slowly killing your lungs? What about the words you have said that shuddered someone the other day to the point to make them cry?

Do not sacrifice material objects, your body or your time for show or recognition. You do not need to prove to your god that you are worthy by going to church every Sunday. No perfect god would request such a travesty, for you to donate for more buildings to be built in his name. No perfect god would ever ask material things. A true god would ask you to love and live and nothing else. Anything else which is beyond living a happy life is a travesty. A lie created by the religious to control you.

And if you come to the point that you ask whether god actually exists or not, do not succumb to fear or to doubt of yourself. Whether a god exists or not, what is important is for you to be good to yourself and others. Praying for a person will not heal him. Talking to that person and visiting him on his death bed will do much more than prayers.

Miracles do not happen because life itself is a miracle. A very small chance has befallen us. Such small is this chance, that you may call it a miracle. Anything that is tragic in life is incomprehensibly small in value compared to the small chance of being alive, so do not pretend to have a miracle happen when you are grieving for a beloved one. Do not ask your god for a miracle for anything you would wish, for why should you be asking anything more than you already have? Isn't the possibility that has befallen you to live, for 80 years or 20 years or two weeks, enough to attest to this beautiful miracle of nature?

There are many fallacies associated with religion that you can only comprehend when you are released from its shackles. There are also very few people who exit these shackles with the help of other people, because most of the people who neglect the religion with which they were born, do it on their own.

And they do not fear religion, nor do they have to. They only look with indifference as the puppets march in costume in front of statues built from the money, sweat and time sacrificed to their god.

Fishing for Salmon

I remember fishing for salmon in the frigid valleys of the Howling Fjord. The blistering cold battered the dragon which I rode, soaring high up into the sky, scoping for schools of fish. The coniferous trees and northern lights kept me company, but what really captivated my imagination was a melody that emanated in the background.

I might have not fished icy waters in skin and bone, but I have done so in an open world game. I did so, sometimes for hours on end, because it was the way I had devised to gain in game currency. And although there was a multitude of other means to gain my virtual living, I found myself coming back to this imaginary place to fish for salmon. over and over again.

Almost five years have passed since I set foot in that wondrous realm and most of what I had done there has no real value to what I am doing now. Yet, I reminisce of the Fjord and other places. I do not remember specific details of events or in game goals which I achieved. Rather, I remember the friends I made and most importantly, the experience of living in a fantasy world. I had the chance to be a child again, and the music which surrounded this world made it even more special.

What I remember are not the exact reasons for which I fished for salmon, but the feeling of wonder I got while doing so. The eagles and trees, and the rivers of Grizzly Hills are reborn in my mind as I am taken back by the flute of the music masterpiece that I heard everyday I ventured into that area of that virtual world. It is rather like seeing a familiar face long forgotten, or to smell the scent of flowers that once grew in your garden.

We usually strive to experience and remember too much of the world, even of our own, that we forget about the sea of smells, sounds and feelings that drench our minds. Sometimes we try to describe these experiences but fail to realise that we are only searching for one facet of that memory.

Experiences; be it new places we visit or people we meet, events we are part of or a chance encounter with something extraordinary must be, in the true sense of the word, experienced by all our senses. It is much more pleasing to recall the emotions I felt in the Howling Fjord than to look back at a picture of that place.

So next time you go to a concert or are talking to a friend, stop trying to take pictures or looking at your devices. Look at the eyes of your friend and hear the beautiful tones that dance in front you. Start watching a movie expecting nothing and having read nothing about it and it will become a part of you.

To live in awe does not come easily. Mastering the art of truly becoming part of your experiences and actually living the moment is an ongoing struggle.

A struggle which is worth pursuing.