There are 4200 religions in the world and active practitioners of each hold theirs equally dear and true. But the thing is it doesn’t really matter at all. The random names and the patchwork of stories all offer the same thing – a psychological system, a safety net, a way out of a lonely existence and a stabile vantage point in a world that pretty much consists of tendencies towards entropy and active tries to find meaning in it. What they offer in any of their multiple forms is an explanation and a meaning to justify the unavoidable suffering. Suffering without meaning is hell, suffering with it is seen as a noble sacrifice.

What you believe in the metaphysical sphere or your complete lack of belief in its existence (which might become a road to creating your own personal morality where you’re only guided by your internal responsibilities without exporting them to any kind of divine – a form of anthropocentrism, to nihilism or totalitarianism to replace the missing structure) was never the issue. It doesn’t matter in the long run. It’s a system you choose (or are born into) to make yourself understand and have something to cling to while you try and figure out the world and life, who you choose to blame, thank, and confess to, to see as an authority, absolute, role model or to fear punishment from. This is the fundamental substitution of the childhood need to be watched over and for someone to always be the one who knows better and structures your values. Your particular perceived Rosetta stone is irrelevant – some can be more wrong and farfetched – believing in the lizard overlord, flying spaghetti monster (yes, this is real) is obviously more wrong than some others but is an expression of the same search for meaning.

What matters fundamentally is only how you act in the world. What matters is if your system as a final product creates and supports a person that acts in compassion, kindness and a responsible manner to oneself, others and the world. How you call your “God”, entity or energy you aligned yourself with, how you worship or pray, be it words, fogging yourself or spinning around until you fall into trance carries no weight. To paraphrase Shakespeare – roses do not care or become less fragrant by you calling them “ardwargs” or any other name, their essence stays the same.