The journey to the philosophy I have constructed started
with a small panic and a spark of curiosity. Last summer’s end, I had the
privilege of meeting several people who seemed to know themselves and how to
live their life in accordance to that understanding. This scared me, seeing
these people who seemed so in touch with themselves made me question my ethics,
values, and beliefs. That summer I made it a goal of mine to use the school
year to learn more about myself and my beliefs and how I should live my life. I,
not subscribing to any religious belief in particular, researched different
religions over the summer to see what beliefs I could hand pick and make into
my own. Therefore, most of my values can be traced to some religion or a
movement. From what I have gathered and learned so far, the values that I now
adhere by are an amalgam of optimistic and compassionate thought.
A major tenant of mine is best
summarized by the quote, “animals are here with us, not for us.” I realized the
temporariness of life on this planet and, much to my mother’s chagrin, decided
to become a vegetarian. Inspired mostly by the Buddhist doctrine that advocates
the kind treatment of animals, I developed a deeper and wider appreciation for
life. I figured that the life of an animal should be valued just as much as a
life of a human, both of us are alive on this planet for a short amount of time
and deserve that time to be cherished. Sometimes an individual forgets that people
other than themselves feel pain as they do, but most understand that all humans
are capable of feeling pain. Lacking verbal expression to articulate pain,
animals are often thought to not feel pain; however research has proven that
animals certainly do feel pain. So I take that understanding of pain in other
humans and extend that to animals. When researching the meat industry I was
appalled at the treatment and conditions the animals were subject to, thus
reinforcing my beliefs and reasons to become a vegetarian. I am convinced that living
things deserve to be treated delicately and compassionately, not as a means of
profit. This belief is noticeably influenced by the fact that I do not believe
in an afterlife. This being so I regard life as something extraordinary and to
end it would be the ultimate tragedy because it would mean the final end.
I regard humans in the same
basic format. I believe we must care for each other without restrictions. Often
times I feel like we are told to only care about those who enter our closest
ties, family or friends. Borders, race, gender, and beliefs should not limit
our love for other people. Humans are deserving of compassion equally, across
the globe, not matter what. We are all equal, in the sense that we are all
entitled to living equally happy and secure lives. People shouldn’t have to
struggle for survival when supplies are ample enough to keep them secure.
Another
set of principles I have adopted are those of Non-violence. When studying the
civil rights movement what I found most appealing was the courageousness of the
civil rights activists, who without violence were able to achieve their goals. Through more observations in history I found
that violence seldom achieves the goals it sets out for. I concluded that words
are better persuaders than weapons. Beyond simply denying violence, non-violence
seeks to win friendship and understanding. I decided that I would refuse to
accept anyone as an enemy. When I did this I vacuumed up hate and replaced it
with love and compassion, giving me a sort of emotional peace once accepted.
But poverty persists along with other tragedies and violations of human rights.
And it is easy to get angry the people who allow this to happen or perpetrate these
actions. We default on looking at those people with hate and anger, coming short
of any attempts of understanding. I do not believe people are to blame, if
anything they are victims of a society that has raised them to act that way. If
we look at others with the same understanding lens, it is possible to help people
become better people.
