“An unexamined faith is not worth having” – Elton Trueblood
With the advent of baseball season upon us, I am reminded of two well-known scenes in the popular baseball movie, “Bull Durham.” You know, the one where Annie Savoy admits her belief in the “Church of Baseball” and the one where Crash Davis professes his belief in the hanging curve ball, as well as good scotch, opening presents on Christmas morning, and a number of romantically erotic sexual acts.
I find the introspectively authentic nature of Annie and Crash’s declarations to be inspiringly ideal examples of a faith filled with personal loyalty and sincerity. Sadly, unlike Annie and Crash, many of us approach our own personal credos with an unexamined, uninspired, and lackluster faithlessness that masquerades under the guise “faith” or “belief.”
Life is busy, messy, confusing, inconsistent, and unpredictable – filled monotonous daily activities, minor calamities, and seemingly unremarkable pleasures – which makes it all the more liberating and cathartic to develop a personal credo to guide us and keep us on course. It is not enough to follow the beliefs dictated to us by society, our parents, teachers, friends, ministers, and political leaders. We must develop our own authentic personal doctrines based on our life experiences, personal beliefs, and priorities. After all, “an unexamined faith is not worth having.”
So in the spirit of Annie and Crash, below are some of the things that I believe; do you know what you believe?
Like Crash Davis, I do not believe in quantum physics when it comes to matters of the heart.
I believe in the healing power of cookie dough and a good long nap, preferably with the former followed by the latter.
I believe in reincarnation.
I believe that it is much easier to forgive than forget, but that true forgiveness requires that we force ourselves to forget – or at least forget the hurt.
I believe that food and drinks consumed on birthdays are calorie-free. The same is true for spoonfuls of cookie dough and leftover food eaten from my kids’ unfinished dinner plates.
I believe in a god that connects us all by strings of human kindness, love, and compassion, and not by rules and doctrine.
I believe that dogs read our minds, not just our body language.
I believe that sometimes doing the right thing is just not enough; we must take a more affirmative stand by not only pointing out where our society has gone wrong, but by holding ourselves and others accountable for our errors and missteps.
I believe that there should be a Constitutional amendment outlawing reality TV.
I believe that we should never let a positive thought or emotion go unshared, no matter how difficult it is to express it or how scared we are about how that expression will be received.
I believe that empathy is the most underrated and underused human emotion.
I believe in cheap wine, good shoes, loud music, laughing until you cry, crying until you laugh, and wearing yoga pants regardless of whether one actually practices yoga.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBfdl6hNZ9k]
36 Comments
“I believe that there should be a Constitutional amendment outlawing reality TV”…….AMEN to that!
Love them all, but TV and last one are just sheer brilliance. You are a smashing writer! Love reading your post.
Oh my! You have no idea how much your comment just made my day. Thank you so, so, so much for reading and commenting. I’m glad you enjoyed it. I hope you keep reading.
Count me in!
—I believe in cheap wine, good shoes, loud music, laughing until you cry, crying until you laugh, and wearing yoga pants regardless of whether one actually practices yoga.–
Looooove it! I love my yoga pants :))) xx
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Speaking of yoga pants- I have lots of pairs. But now I am taking a yoga class and I feel that I need to go get a NEW pair to actually do yoga in. Ah, irony. Loved this post, the last line especially 🙂
one of my favorite movies & i had that poster on the wall in my room for years. Outlawing reality tv? I am all over it!
Great post!
I’m going to start wearing yoga pants every day and no pants to yoga 😉
Ha! Thanks for making me smile.
Beautiful. I’m with you on this.. “I believe that empathy is the most underrated and underused human emotion.” And that cookie dough is an answer to almost any ailment.
Here’s to cookie dough. I find that if it doesn’t immediately lift my spirits, it at least distracts me with the stomachache I always get after eating too much. Either way, I’ve stopped dwelling on my stress for a while. 🙂
I just can’t imagine a world with no reality TV. Watching trash tv makes me feel so much better about my life, my house and my parenting. Without that, I might be lost. And I agree with Heidi, cookie dough is the answer to everything.
I have never thought to do anything like this, but I am with you on the reality TV—After reading Hunger Games, I know it will be the downfall of civilization. Your comment about forgiving and forgetting is powerful and true. Great job, Erin
Thank you. Forgetting can be so damn hard though!
Oh honey. . .you’re speaking my language! Not only do I have a Pinterest board called The Church of Baseball, but I drive everyone in my life crazy with my baseball mania, and I am beyond excited about this season’s opening. Lovely post, and I especially like the yoga pants manifesto.
So glad you enjoyed it.
Very nice! I believe in wine.
i could eat cookie dough from now until the end of time and be the happiest woman alive. great!
That is a great list! You and I have a lot in common!
Amen to yoga pants.
I wouldn’t outlaw reality shows though – how would I get my Hoarders fix?
Awesome list! I agree with you on the healing power of cookie dough and naps. Of course, as someone who is an emotional eater, chocolate, pie, or cake can also substitute. Also, yoga pants may be one of the best fashion developments in history.
Dogs can totally read our minds. I belief enlightenment can be achieved by consuming a pound of bacon.
AMEN! I always vaguely resented baseball because it never got me the nookie that Bull Durham characters got.
Really well written, and spot on!
Thanks a bunch!
Beautiful, Christine. Loved it. Great balance of the serious with humor. The approach of Easter is bringing out the “religion” in some of us, myself included. Absolutely agree on the reality TV – I do not understand the attraction! Dogs can definitely read our minds. I believe in a collective consciousness, large and small, and that the large is a bit out of whack right now. I am fascinated by all religions, and though I may not believe that the big, “organized” ones do us any favors, none should be maligned. And, yes to the yoga pants, but I go to a lot of classes… Great post!
Thank you! Thank you for reading and thank you for taking the time to comment. And you are right – things are very out of whack with the collective consciousness right now.
“I believe that there should be a Constitutional amendment outlawing reality TV.”–Yes.
Also, I just plain believe in Crash Davis. What a great movie. I like that you have tied it with cookie dough and naps in my mind forever.
I hope that attaching Crash Davis to cookie dough and naps is a good thing for you 😉
oh, I found myself emphatically agreeing with your list. Life time non-yoga/ pants wearer here 🙂
Hooray for baseball!
Oh, and:
“I believe in a god that connects us all by strings of human kindness, love, and compassion, and not by rules and doctrine.”
Boom. Couldn’t have said it better myself.
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