Week 2-4: Eat Pray Love is #BetterByBicycle (Part 2)

Pray

I'm not exactly a religious person but I used to be. I was born into a devout Catholic family. I grew up religiously attending mass with my family. We would pray together every night and bless the food with a prayer before eating. My siblings and I attended Catholic school and we joined church related organizations  and activities. I received a New Testament bible at age 8, and I remember reading it during my free time every day even though I couldn't comprehend the meaning of the verses. I have a nun grand aunt and a priest uncle and it was a source of pride among our clan to have kins who heed the clergy calling. When I left home for college, I started to slowly go astray of my religious upbringing. The demands of the academic life made me skip the mass every now and then. But more importantly, my mind was opened with the corruption and hypocrisy  of not just the Catholic church, but almost every organized religion in the world. But I have no plans to leave the church nor convert to atheism. I still have my faith in place. Whatever wickedness I've learned about some people in my religion, that is just a small portion and doesn't represent the whole church. I'm just not actively practicing religious activities, but at the core of my heart, I try my best to live the way of Christ. When I think about it, every ounce of love and care I have for the planet and the people, a huge part of it is rooted from what I have learned from the doctrines of the Catholic church.

Having said that, I still go to church every now and then. When I celebrate my birthdays and other milestones, or when I'm trying to avoid conflict with my mother, or when I'm looking for a quiet place to contemplate, and sometimes, when I'm having anxiety attack. No, psychology professionals are not immune to psychological issues, so yes, there are times when we do have emotional breakdowns. Ideally, we'll have somebody we can run into. But there are times when we just want to deal with whatever we are going through by ourselves. Now whatever your religion is, your place of worship can be your occasional refuge. First of all, it's quiet there. Second, if you cry all alone by yourself and someone saw you, there will be no clamor or judgement. It's not uncommon. I've seen this scene many times in the past, and the only thing I felt towards a stranger crying inside the church was sympathy (then I also felt compelled to include that person in my prayer).

So whether you are a religious person or not, it's good for the soul to go to a church every now and then (or temple, shrine, mosque, whichever that's appropriate to your faith). Of course it's better by bicycle. My church is so close to my home, I can even just walk. But sometimes when there's an ongoing service (like weddings or christenings), you'll need back up churches. And the great thing about the bicycle is that I can also go to other churches, even if they are far from my home. Or I can go to other quiet places. Praying or contemplating is not exclusive to churches.

(to be continued)