World Religions Essay 1

Shereen Khatibloo
March 8th, 2015

World Religions/Pd. 7
Mr. Prufer
My FOMO
I have recently learned of a new texting acronym, called FOMO. This
stands for Fear Of Missing Out, and is often used when teenagers are
stressing about how much fun their friends are having without them. I,
however, have a FOMO about religion.
Before this class, I never felt any desire to be religious. My parents are
both atheists, and even though we celebrate Christmas, they never treated
the idea of a god as a possibility. I was living without the presence of a god in
my life, and I was okay with that, until I started developing some unsettling
feelings in this class. The more I heard from my peers, the more I felt like by
living without religion, Im missing out on a powerful connection with god,
and the comfort and guidance that religion provides.
My story begins in class when we were talking about the goals of
religions, and Bri mentioned that a big goal in her religion is to go to heaven
so that she can be with her god, and I realized, I have absolutely no idea
what she means. Im usually pretty good about empathizing with people and
understanding what they are feeling, but for some reason, I just could not
relate to how much joy and passion she found in being with god. It was really
unsettling to realize that so many people had this personal relationship with
a higher power that I just didnt get. To me, God felt like the most popular kid
in school, and everyone who was friends with him got someone to watch
their back and help keep them happy and give them a whole bunch of really
cool experiences, but I hadnt even met him yet.
What makes everyone so excited to meet god? Do they feel close to
him, like a father, or like a friend, or a grandfather? What does it mean to be
with him in heaven? Is he intimidating? Even in the NACs ceremonies, the
members report that they felt the presence of their creator when they had
taken Peyote. So I decided to interview Bri, to see if I could get a better
understanding of this relationship that I was missing. Her story was that
when she was younger, she wasnt very religious, and was a hardcore
dancer. When she was 12, she began to feel a pain in her back, and
discovered that there were 4 bones missing in her spine, and that she could
never dance again. At first she was angry, and believed that god didnt really
care about her, but as time went on, she says that god felt like the only one
really there for her when she was going through this difficult time. She said
that she began to feel his presence everywhere, kinda like the NAC, and feels
the most connected with god when she writes music, which she believes was
a skill she would never have discovered, if god hadnt helped her end her
dance career. She believes God loves her, and watches over her. I started to
understand the amount of safety and security a connection with a god
provides, especially in times of crisis, but still couldnt wrap my head around
the abstract connection of god through music, so I decided to talk to some
other people. My friend Sydney Kamuda had a really interesting relationship
with god, and told me that when she prays, she feels like she is talking to her
dad who passed away five years ago. Another friend tried to help me
understand what a connection to god would be like, by comparing it to a
kids relationship with Santa Clause. It seems like everyone has a different
relationship with god, but all have someone out there who always has their
back.
Another topic that came up in class about religion, that fueled my
curiosity about the benefits of religion that I was missing, was the idea that
religion gives people guidance by teaching them morals. Because I grew up
with a pretty strong idea of my morals, I didnt feel like I was missing much
until I began talking to Aneesa. She said that ever since she joined the UU
church, and began to really focus on their 7 fundamental teachings, she felt
a strong difference in the strength and significance of morals in her life. She
said that before, she wasnt really sure about her stance on certain topics
like abortion and gun control, but because she trusted the ideas in the UU
church to give her guidance about right and wrong, she felt more confident
in making choices and forming ideas and opinions about current and moral
issues.
In talking to some other friends about the benefits religion in peoples
lives, I was told to watch a show called Long Island Medium. This is a reality
show about a very lively woman who says she can connect to spirits who
have passed on and are now with god. She goes to peoples houses and
basically updates them on the status of their departed loved ones. When I
first started watching it, I started to feel a little bit angry. Regardless of if I
believe in god or not, I did not believe that she could actually connect to
spirits, and almost felt like she was tricking and lying to the people she met
with for attention. However, the more I watched, the more I realized that she
is doing the exact opposite. She goes to peoples houses to tell them that
their departed family members are okay, and love them, and arent upset
with them, or that they want the families to move on, or forgive themselves.
What I realized she is doing is through religion, she is giving comfort and
guidance to people in times of need and crisis, to help them heal and get
over the pain. I then felt a bit of jealousy, because I realized that being non
religious, I did not have this same kind of powerful faith that can guide me
through hard times and that thought scared me.
I dont know yet what I want to do with unsettling feeling of missing
out on the beauty of faith, but Im beginning to truly grasp how powerful
religion is, and gain a new appreciation for the direction and security that
religion brings to peoples lives. I feel like I need to explore religion more
before I can make a decision, but I am starting to see myself joining a
religion sometime in my life, which I had honestly never considered before
this class. I no longer want to miss out on the presence of something in my
life that can help me heal from difficult times, or teach me right and wrong,
or give me an unconditional friend that I can turn to in times of need, which
is a huge change in my attitude towards religion. Religion is pretty cool, and
Im excited to explore this part of my life that Ive never given any attention
to.

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Shereen Khatibloo

March 8th, 2015

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