A New Ten Commandments

The list below is a basic set of guidelines by which I try to live my life. I haven't always thought this way, but I refuse to keep the status quo just because it's "the way it's always been," or "how I was taught growing up," or any number of other excuses for not letting go of things that don't make sense anymore, and likely never did.

Just a little disclaimer: I did not come up with this list on my own. I've made a compilation of lists from various sources including Richard Dawkins: The God Delusion, patheos.com and my own interpretation of life.

1. Form independent opinions based on facts and reason. Do not blindly follow or hold beliefs, no matter how cherished, that defy reason.
2. In all things, strive to cause no harm.
3. Love. In other words: Do not discriminate on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or race.
4. Do not overlook evil or shrink from administering justice, but always be ready and willing to forgive wrongdoing when it is freely admitted and honestly regretted.
5. Live life with a sense of joy and wonder.
6. Always seek to be learning and expanding your mind.
7. Value the future on a timeline longer than your own.
8. Never seek to censor or cut yourself off from dissent; always respect the right of others to disagree with you.
9. Do not indoctrinate children. Teach them to think for themselves, evaluate evidence, and disagree respectfully.
10. Question everything.

Again, I realize there are people who have known me longer than I've been this version of me. To those people, many of the things I've listed here may seem hypocritical when compared to the me they once knew. The biggest difference between the me I use to be and the me I am now is #1 on the list above. Letting go of ideologies, thoughts, beliefs, and actions that defy reason. When you allow yourself to do this a whole world opens to you that is so full of possibility, but with so much less worry.

This list is also the base set of guidelines for anyone who would like to be a contributor to this blog. Even if you hold a differing view than my own, see #8, but your view is otherwise in line with the list above.  

Tags: #tencommandments #10commandments #life #love