taykair
Member
First, let's get the definition out of the way, so we can get to the point.
I'm going to be using the word "soul" a lot in this post. To be clear about what I mean by "soul" in the context of this post, it is this:
A soul is an eternal (or damn-near so) entity which is believed to exist both within, and external to, the human mind.
There's a lot more I could say about the soul: what exactly it is, and what it does, and where it came from, and whether or not having one is exclusively a human thing, and other matters. Maybe I will talk about those things in another post. For now, though, the simple sentence above will serve as my definition of a soul. It may not be yours. You're not writing this, though. I am. So there.
There are many of you out there who do not believe that the soul exists. This is to say, you have looked within yourself - have examined and contemplated yourself - and have found no shred of evidence whatsoever that you possess a soul. You are convinced of this. You are without doubt.
[Or you may just be a poser. You just say that you believe it - because that's what the "smart people" around you say they believe. (Of course, for all you know, some of your like-minded friends are taking their cue from you - telling you that they believe certain things because they think it's what you want to hear. Relationships are curious things, aren't they?)
Anyway, if you are a poser, then this post isn't really for you. In fact, none of my posts are. Just move along. There's nothing for you to see here.]
Back to the point. If you are one of the millions of people in the world today who sincerely believes - or, better yet, knows - that you do not have a soul, then I have something to tell you:
I believe you.
No. I'm not trying to be funny. No. I am not trying to be unkind. I am totally serious and, as far as I am concerned, there's nothing to be unkind about.
For myself, I believe that there is a living part of me whose lifespan is eternal (or damn-near so) but, if you don't, then that is fine. It may even be true - for you, that is. After all, humans are sometimes born deaf, or blind, or missing a limb. Why not without a soul? I can see where that could happen.
But know this: Even if you don't have a soul, I'm still going to treat you as if you did. In other words, I will treat you in precisely the same way as I would a person who does possess a soul.
This isn't being condescending on my part, because I don't think there's anything to be condescending about. I do not consider those of us who have souls to be some kind of elite group of "more evolved" humans. I didn't do anything to "earn" my soul. I've just got one, that's all. If you don't, then so what?
Also, your lack of a soul is of no consequence as regards your humanity, in my opinion. You can be just as good (or as evil) with a soul as you can without one. Your ethics and your moral code are not dependent upon having a soul. You are not any less human for not having a soul, and are no less deserving of respect. So, to those of you who maintain that you do not have a soul, I believe you - but don't expect me to treat you any differently than I would any other human because of that.
[Also, a soul may not be all that great a thing to have anyway. What if the soul is nothing more than some kind of alien parasite - an invader of sentient beings like us, which feeds upon our mental energies? (Sorry about using the e-word, Harte.) What if these parasitic souls prevent us humans from developing a soul-like entity of our own? The thought would be rather disturbing to me, if I really believed that. I don't, though.]
I do have one little problem with some of you soul-less people out there, though. I'm talking to those of you who don't believe that there is such a thing as a soul. Not just in your case, but in general. That's just not right, folks.
Don't get me wrong. If you're one of those folks who do not have a soul, then you are totally free to believe that I don't have one either. (In fact, you're free to believe whatever-the-hell you want to believe - it's your life.) If you take that position, though - if you believe that there's no such thing as a soul just because you don't happen to have one, then how is your reasoning all that different from someone who maintains that, just because he has a soul, then everyone else must have one as well?
Then too, it may be that one day you may receive a soul. Or discover that you had one all along. Who knows?
I'm going to be using the word "soul" a lot in this post. To be clear about what I mean by "soul" in the context of this post, it is this:
A soul is an eternal (or damn-near so) entity which is believed to exist both within, and external to, the human mind.
There's a lot more I could say about the soul: what exactly it is, and what it does, and where it came from, and whether or not having one is exclusively a human thing, and other matters. Maybe I will talk about those things in another post. For now, though, the simple sentence above will serve as my definition of a soul. It may not be yours. You're not writing this, though. I am. So there.
There are many of you out there who do not believe that the soul exists. This is to say, you have looked within yourself - have examined and contemplated yourself - and have found no shred of evidence whatsoever that you possess a soul. You are convinced of this. You are without doubt.
[Or you may just be a poser. You just say that you believe it - because that's what the "smart people" around you say they believe. (Of course, for all you know, some of your like-minded friends are taking their cue from you - telling you that they believe certain things because they think it's what you want to hear. Relationships are curious things, aren't they?)
Anyway, if you are a poser, then this post isn't really for you. In fact, none of my posts are. Just move along. There's nothing for you to see here.]
Back to the point. If you are one of the millions of people in the world today who sincerely believes - or, better yet, knows - that you do not have a soul, then I have something to tell you:
I believe you.
No. I'm not trying to be funny. No. I am not trying to be unkind. I am totally serious and, as far as I am concerned, there's nothing to be unkind about.
For myself, I believe that there is a living part of me whose lifespan is eternal (or damn-near so) but, if you don't, then that is fine. It may even be true - for you, that is. After all, humans are sometimes born deaf, or blind, or missing a limb. Why not without a soul? I can see where that could happen.
But know this: Even if you don't have a soul, I'm still going to treat you as if you did. In other words, I will treat you in precisely the same way as I would a person who does possess a soul.
This isn't being condescending on my part, because I don't think there's anything to be condescending about. I do not consider those of us who have souls to be some kind of elite group of "more evolved" humans. I didn't do anything to "earn" my soul. I've just got one, that's all. If you don't, then so what?
Also, your lack of a soul is of no consequence as regards your humanity, in my opinion. You can be just as good (or as evil) with a soul as you can without one. Your ethics and your moral code are not dependent upon having a soul. You are not any less human for not having a soul, and are no less deserving of respect. So, to those of you who maintain that you do not have a soul, I believe you - but don't expect me to treat you any differently than I would any other human because of that.
[Also, a soul may not be all that great a thing to have anyway. What if the soul is nothing more than some kind of alien parasite - an invader of sentient beings like us, which feeds upon our mental energies? (Sorry about using the e-word, Harte.) What if these parasitic souls prevent us humans from developing a soul-like entity of our own? The thought would be rather disturbing to me, if I really believed that. I don't, though.]
I do have one little problem with some of you soul-less people out there, though. I'm talking to those of you who don't believe that there is such a thing as a soul. Not just in your case, but in general. That's just not right, folks.
Don't get me wrong. If you're one of those folks who do not have a soul, then you are totally free to believe that I don't have one either. (In fact, you're free to believe whatever-the-hell you want to believe - it's your life.) If you take that position, though - if you believe that there's no such thing as a soul just because you don't happen to have one, then how is your reasoning all that different from someone who maintains that, just because he has a soul, then everyone else must have one as well?
Then too, it may be that one day you may receive a soul. Or discover that you had one all along. Who knows?
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