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Researchers have shown that religious people have happier lives than those without religion—all around the globe, regardless of what their religion is—compared with those without one.
[Within the religious group, there are noticeably different levels of happiness which will be addressed in a subsequent post.]
The first group of researchers observed that religion provided a story of life. It gave their followers a Life Narrative lens through which they could view and interpret the happenings in their life.
Life had meaning, and each religion answered the big questions:
- Why am I here?
- Where did I come from?
- Where am I going after I die?
Again, of those religions, some provided answers that others did not. For example, one may believe in a soul that survives death while another rejects the concept. The former offers substance, while the other presents a dark hole of nothingness.
Everyone is different, and what may fill the Life Narrative for one person may be insufficient for someone else. While for some, their momentary ignorance is bliss, for others, they need answers, and whichever religion provides the most information on any subject is the one they choose.
There is an old saying:
When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.
What that means is, a teacher was there all along in most cases, but because of cognitive dissonance, they could not see or appreciate a teacher standing nearby.
In other cases, through the law of attraction (serendipitously), the student with the question found the teacher with the answer. It seems the Universe knows what a person needs and can provide it. But not to those not seeking for answers; knowledge is not forced upon a person and indeed can’t be, for humans can ignore, disengage, or just dislike any topic at will.
New Life Narrative
I offer here a new Life Narrative that may help many find meaning for living. It’s the 30,000 foot view, if you will. We must step way back and call life what it is, which goes like this:
- We’re all stuck on planet Earth.
- Everything on this planet withers and dies.
- Life is a reality game; we’re the players, and our task is to figure a way off Earth (e.g., movies like Maze, Lost, others, etc.)
- We’ll concede there is a soul (too much evidence), and the game continues after death.
- Upon death, Earth continues to hold souls; either on the surface (ghosts) or within itself (Hell).
- There’s only one way off.
- There are many theories, traps, and distractions.
- Only the smartest will make it off Earth.
- Reward – winners inherit their own planet (example scenario: Willie Wonka And The Chocolate Factory).
Victory
Of all Life Narratives being offered, which claims to have a solution for getting off-planet?