song for theme #2A: The True Believer

                                                   “Something I Truly Believe” by Stephen P. Cook

to be sung to the tune of  “Something” by George Harrison / The Beatles

Somehow some words inspire me

In a dark moment like no other

Somehow they energize and lift me

I’ll follow where they lead

I’ll suffer, I will bleed

Something I truly believe

Now fills my heart¹ like no other

Something in this cause I’d die for²

Away from this I won’t bend

Put objections away my friend

I’m telling you my faith³ is strong

That I belong, I belong⁴

This logic⁵ you’ve been sold

Leaves me cold, leaves me cold

Somewhere this righteous path heads

Through darkness and I think toward home⁶

Somewhere the guiding light leads

Away from that I’m not bound

I’m not seeking⁷, I have found

Each day my commitment grows

That I know, that I know

In this battle we’ll win out

Have no doubt, have no doubt

Someday we’ll have set things right⁸

That feeling is what keeps me going

Someday we’ll bask in the sun’s light⁹

I can feel it now my friend

We’ll triumph in the end!

SONG—NOTES / COMMENTS

1—“This fills my heart!” really mean something like “I feel this very deeply!” And the simple notion that thinking is done by the

      brain and feelings are from the heart is, of course, wrong!  While the frontal lobes of the brain are where thinking,

      conceptualizing and planning are centered, the brain’s limbic system and cortex, and their nervous system/neurotransmitter

     (brain chemical) connections throughout the body all have a role in emotions.  Humans are supposedly rational creatures, but

     few doubt emotion often trumps reason!

2—Hundreds of millions of people have fought and died over differences in what they believe!

3—Faith refers to firm belief with complete confidence and trust in something for which there is no proof.

4— A feeling of belonging is critical to our devotion to some cause. Being part of a crowd of others who believe what we believe

      (a “band of brothers”) gives us confidence. Given all the wars fought over beliefs, strength in numbers has more than

       psychological value: one’s very survival can depend on it!

5— Logically justifying beliefs that depend on many facts (indisputably true information) involves 1) establishing and scrutinizing

      the standards or criteria by which the statement is true, 2) having evidence or data to support the above conclusion, and 3)

      evaluating the certainty with which the belief is established.

6—For some, dying may be a way of coming full circle or coming home.

7—Seekers vs. Believers–in The Seekers Daniel Boorstin writes, "We are all Seekers. We all want to know why. Man is the asking

     animal. And while the finding, the belief that we have found the Answer can separate us and make us forget our humanity, it is

     the seeking that continues to bring us together..."    

8—“Set things right” = “the way things oughta be” —these are words used to identify what we value.

9—The reward envisioned varies. For the 9/11 perpetrators, it was those virgins they’d find in Heaven!

Comment: this theme has value as emotional armor.  Losing yourself in idealistically fighting for a noble cause is a way to put off reckoning with unpleasant grim realities about yourself and your situation. Depend-ing upon the fights you engage in (if any) and the extent to which they are emotionally charged, as a true believer you potentially risk suffering disappointments, personal attacks, or outright assault by those trying to shake your worldview / emotionally disarm you. This can result in your acquiring emotional baggage. More emotionally positive: what you strongly believe can give wonderful purpose and meaning to your life.