There has to be passion behind your beliefs. You should be able to state the things you believe with conviction. No posting something someone else said does not constitute conviction and it’s barely even a statement. I’m not talking about opinions, I’m talking about what you believe in. What makes you who you are. What you carry with you every single day.
Your belief system however strong it may be (and it should be powerful) should be loosely held. Believing should not close your mind to anything. You must be willing to adapt when provided with better information. If everything you ‘know’ is what you believe then you are limiting your capacity to learn, to survive.
That means not writing off anything you hear or see as fake news simply because it contradicts what you believe. It means doing actual research to determine your thoughts. It does not mean believing everything your parents believe or what you were raised to think. It means having sources, data, experience, quotes, knowledge, and forming your own theories. You have to do actual work. Read, write, think, discuss, create, formulate, and change it all.
Strong views, loosely held. It is a thesis statement, not only for this piece of writing but for my life as a whole. It’s the theory that you can adapt to new information and absorb knowledge while holding your beliefs. Really it is the ability to learn about something you already know, to expand upon your knowledge in every direction. Strong views, loosely held… I strongly urge all of you to hold on loose.
Verbose Musings 