Humanism is an outlook or system of thought attaching prime importance to humans rather than divine or supernatural matters. Humanist beliefs stress the potential value and goodness of human beings. They emphasize common human needs and seek solely rational ways of solving human problems. Now that we know what it is, how do we utilize it to our benefit? We tend to run to the divine or supernatural as soon as we feel overwhelmed in life. Our threshold for issues becomes lower and lower as we continue this practice. We will get to the point of being a pass-through vessel for every hardship that comes our way as we hand it off to a higher power in hopes of a solution. We earn no experience in dealing with issues. We become weak individuals. We also lose faith in the people around us. We’ll feel the only hope for solving anything comes from those we cannot see, touch, smell, or hear.
We pass off our issues for multiple reasons. It can be because of a religious upbringing, our self-confidence, or our fear of failing. One can easily carry this into life as an adult because of what has been ingrained into our psyche. Have you ever caught yourself behaving a certain way and not understanding exactly why? It is most likely a behavior you have practiced throughout life without being questioned about it. Self-confidence is a double edge sword here because, as mentioned, our threshold for issues we can solve diminishes as we continue to pass them off. In this scenario, we have no shot in building our self-confidence as we choose the route that will ultimately reduce it.
The fear of failing is a popular reason to hand off problems. Passing off issues to the divine is a regular method for those who fear failure. When we do this, we believe we can’t lose. If our prayers get answered, we win because we receive a resolution. If our prayers are unanswered, we still win because it is the divine who failed us, and not us who failed. Hopefully, reading that past sentence showed the holes in that outlook. The problem is still there in the latter. The thought that it is okay because it didn’t work itself out is irresponsible. We need to embrace the positives of Humanism.
Thinking as a humanist will put the onus on us. The next step will be others. The belief that the answer is within us will improve our lives and our trust in humans. Believing in yourself will come naturally when you immediately look within for issues that come your way. Upon successfully resolving an issue, we’ll build on our self-confidence. This progress is the opposite of what passing our problems off accomplished. Your belief in yourself will transfer to others, also. We will begin to trust and value those who can do things we cannot.
This approach will create community and respect. Everyone will have a piece to contribute to the betterment of all. We don’t currently live with this outlook and, it shows. We create the majority of our issues on this planet and look to the sky for solutions. We believe the problems we created are too big for us to solve. Non-Humanist thinking can cause false thoughts like if I can’t do it, neither can anyone else. One person thinking like this may not be a big deal, but there are just under 8 billion of us on earth and, many of us pass off our issues to non humans.
In closing, we can do a lot more than we believe we can. Adopting humanist beliefs doesn’t have to mean becoming an atheist. It can and will mean taking more responsibility for what occurs in your life. If something happens out of your control, it can and will mean taking more responsibility for how you address that occurrence. Believe in yourself and look around for assistance from people who can do what you cannot. They may need to do the same in the future. Let what the higher powers provide for us be in addition to what we do for ourselves.
Food for Thought…You do the Dishes!
