Over my Seventy years, there are many things I once believed which I came to no longer believe.  For example, I now know not all girls have cooties.  Happiness is a personal decision, not at all about attaining wealth or position.  If you’re alive to wonder, your life has been blessed by having had enough. 

Believing is a personal choice. Reality does not have to be a criteria in what you believe.   Santa is real. Ignore the laws of physics as it relates to the delivery of a billion or so toys in one night. My advice is to never even hint, even silently to yourself, that you’re a non-believer.  Also don’t forget to thank Santa for the presents. Like I said, Santa is real.  Thanks Santa for all of the presents over the years.  

Beliefs are powerful things.  People put themselves in harm’s way for what they believe in.  From schoolyard fights to wars. Families and other relationships get torn apart by disagreements over beliefs. My dad and I did not agree about the Vietnam War.  

Technically belief means: to accept (something) as true or hold (something) as an opinion.  It’s easy to believe in things which are accepted as facts.  The earth is a sphere. The MN Vikings will never win a Super Bowl. The sun will come out tomorrow.  Harder to actually believe when the odds are stacked against you.  Could the Vikings actually win the Super Bowl?

The basic plot line of every Christmas movie I’ve ever watched comes down to the questioning of the validity of a strongly held belief. The plot is always basically the same.  The main character’s beliefs are in danger of being let go. Then a series of experiences, some unpredictable, happen which teaches the main characters to believe once again. 

Our beliefs are very fluid. Our beliefs can change for any or no reason. Sometimes we believe something just because it would be great if it were true.  Did you ever buy a lottery ticket?  Did you ever choose not to buy a lottery ticket one week and a week later feel lucky so you bought one?

You might believe sunny days are wonderful but does that mean rainy days are not wonderful.   Not all sunny days are wonderful. Beliefs are not cast in stone. Ask any one with a newborn baby. Raising a newborn is a humbling experience which changes nearly every belief you once held dear.  Pacifiers can save your sanity. 

We humans change our opinions on things all of the time.  We learn new information, or otherwise decide to change our opinion.  For example, when we commit to a relationship, quite often each person in the relationship modifies some previously held beliefs. It’s part of the deal of being in a new relationship. 

Previous to our marriage, I thought museums were boring. Linda always liked museums.  Now, I believe most museums are very interesting.  I will travel a great distance to see a good museum.  Linda convinced me to come with her to museums but it was the museums themselves that taught they are not boring.  

Almost every day there are stories about natural catastrophes directly or indirectly caused by global warming.  Drought, flooding, wildfires, sea rise and the like are very real evidence. Then there are the recorded measurements of the temperature over time which is irrefutable.

Over the past couple decades, many people believed global warming was not real. Others believed global warming was real even before the evidence was overwhelming that it was real. However, the funny thing about facts, they are true whether or not you believe them to be true. 

Too many times I’ve known someone was so sick they would die within a month or so. Hope against hope, Believe in miracles because there have been folks who survived with similar circumstances.  Yet reality happens and the sadness comes.  Yet, I will continue to believe in miracles and hope against hope.  

The funny thing about believing is that it does not have to be based on hard evidence or reality or the words of an authority figure.  Believing is a personal thing. Believing is sometimes more about hope than an expression of truth.  Yet, there are limits to what we believe. 

Go ahead and believe the MN Vikings will win the Super Bowl this year. However, don’t bet your house and the kids’ college fund on it.   There is a difference between belief and delusion.  The line between belief and delusion is often not clear but it is real. 

How many teams succeeded because, at least in part, they believed deeply they could succeed.  At the heart of most amazing business successes was someone who believed and acted on what they believed. Read business books and sports books and they are filled with stories of believing in the face of lots of reasons not to believe.  

How far should a person go to act on what they believe? While the stories of successful people are full of stories of believing they are also filled with stories of divorces, estranged children, and so many other negative results. Believing to succeed is often at a cost. There is often collateral damage.  

What you believe or not believe is, of course, up to you.  Obviously, not everyone believes in the same things. Never forget reality is what it is, no matter what you believe.  

Some people do not, for example, believe in Santa.  They point to the fact that they personally pretended to be Santa or some such. I’ve worn a Santa suit several times in my life. I’ve assembled toys in the middle of the night so they can be found the next morning. Yet, as I think about it, this is all powerful evidence that the essence of Santa is actually very real.  I believe.  

The closer you look the more you see.