"I've escaped it, a life wasted/And I'm never going back again." - Pearl Jam, "Life Wasted"

Monday, November 14, 2005

Carry On Wayward Son

- Some wise old man once told me: "I don't believe in no religion. It's too much of a gamble. But I am a spiritual man."

Amen, Keith Richards. It's the tenet that has guided me through most of my adult life.

Some colleagues, friends and strangers have asked me why I don't have a religion. I ask them, how do you know I need one?

Not a single preacher has convinced me.

I do believe, however, in the power of human creation. The songs, buildings, inventions and movies that are in this world, they are the ones that needed our reverence.

My mother, who is not a staunch Buddhist, says don't place your faith in something you cannot see and feel. It's better to trust yourself. Amen.

My father, who is not a staunch Christian, says it's up to me. Amen.

I believe in the biblical stories and mores, and I think that will suffice.

- I always love the deserts. Just the desolation of it. Hope I get to feel it in my next few days in Doha.