Belief

I cannot believe that God would be so cruel to create a world capable of such evil as can be seen and allow such sickness and injustice as has been suffered to permeate so much of the world while some few lucky people who do not deserve it live in health and wealth and happiness. I refuse to believe in that. I do believe that there is the possibility of good in all people, and if circumstances were right and people were good, the world would be a better place. So, my disbelief is actually a different kind of belief. I have a belief in something that I have some evidence for, but more than that, I have a need to believe it. I like to think that logic is the reason I don't believe in the traditional Christian god. But maybe it's because I have chosen to believe in something different. Does that make me better? I still like to think so. To believe in good seems better than to believe in god.

Make the Most of Today

I was eating the kind of Dove candy that has a little inspirational fortune-cookie type message on the wrapper, settling into the couch to read To Kill a Mockingbird and that's what the message said to me. I looked at it for a moment and thought perhaps I should be doing something else, but I generally don't believe in fate or whatever telling me what to do, especially through candy wrappers and whatnot. So I read a little, and absently opened a second candy.

"Make the most of Today."

That's what it said. Two candies, same message, one right after the other. I, being the sucker I am deep down for believing in fate and signs and destiny, stared at the little gold wrapper with a feeling of swelling hope. Two candies has to be a sign that I ought to be doing something else with my day. I have errands I need to run, people I ought to contact. Maybe I should do that with my day instead of reading a good book and eating chocolate.

I'm sure I wouldn't be so easily persuaded by the mystery of the candy wrapper if I could see the manufacturing process. I'm sure looking at all those little foil wrappers with the messages pre-printed and generic lined up on some assembly line would ruin the sense that when I open the candy, the message suddenly comes into being, rather than having been there the whole time.

But then the reality of it sets in as I finish the thing up and the shimmering feeling of something around the corner wears off. If I didn't have any errands to run, what would I want to be doing to feel as though I'm making the most out of my life. And the answer really is that half the time I'd rather be doing just what I was when the candy started all this: curled up on the couch, reading a good book, eating a chocolate. So why shouldn't that be the most of my today?