Religion, spirituality, believing, not beliefing. These topics are strong subjects with wtrong opionions. Recently I have started reading the sequel to A Million Little Pieces by James Frey, My Friend Leonard. I was going to begin this book a while back when I first finished A Million Little Pieces but I was distracted. Though now that I have started, it is hard to put it down. The rugidness of the language and the story leaves you with chills. While James is continuing his journey with sobriety, religion enters his life. Everybody trying to get him to believe in God. "It will help you get through, this journey, believe me son. Nobody can give you what God can." (183) People pushed him towards religion more and more. He wasn't having it, one bit. He was not going to have people force him to believe, if he was going to believe he wanted to discover it on his own. Can somebody make you believe? Can you truly believe if its forced? The question comes to my mind from time to time while reading. The thought of having religion pushed on you, believe this, believe that. I don't think it could work, at least not on me. As James went on with his journey, he discovered God in his own way. Not forced, not pushed, but on his own terms. he discovered it slowly, but it helped him learn about himself. When I think about this in comparison to my life, I remember when I was little I had a nanny, her name was Laura. She was a very nice girl, who had recently transformed her life and become a strong student at the University of Minnesota. I was 6 years old at the time, and she sat me down one day, telling me about religion and God. "You have to believe Gabbie, your life won't be the same without God looking down on you." Once again, I was only 6 years old. At 6 years old, the information overwhelmed me, confusing me and making me think. I went to my mom and asked, "Mom do I have to believe in God?" She looked at me confused, my family is Catholic but they would never force it on me. I told her about Laura telling me I had to believe, she look at me concerned, than she talked to Laura to next week and said that she wouldn't need her anymore. I felt bad, but at the same time I was only 6, and I didn't need anybody pushing God on me. As I connect this to my life, I find myself relating to Jame's situation and i understand where he is coming from. Don't push religion on somebody, let them discover it on their own terms.
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