“I believe there’s a hero in all of us. That keeps us honest. Gives us strength. Makes us noble. And finally allows us to die with pride. Even though sometimes we have to be steady and give up the thing we want the most. Even our dreams.”  – Aunt May

Spider-Man did that for Henry. At least, that’s what Aunt May says in Spider-Man 2. The first Spider-Man 2. But here’s the thing, Spider-Man didn’t only do that for Henry, did that for me, too. Spider-Man does that for a lot of people.

When I was an eighteen-year-old, college freshmen I found religion. I am using the term loosely here, or maybe just in a way that we don’t use the term in society nowadays. See, when I talk about religion, ever since my teenage years, I don’t limit myself to Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism,  et cetera. My understanding of religion has always been so much more simple than that. The religion that I found at eighteen was something that got me out of bed in the morning and allowed me to have a positive influence on the world around me without pressuring or forcing my beliefs onto others. And that’s what I think religion should be. It doesn’t need a fancy title or written rules, it just needs to be inspiring.

Cool, that’s pretty boiled-down. This idea of religion is also what attracted me to the idea of Omnism, or the belief that all religions are true and genuine. When I called myself an Omnist, I did so with the idea that everyone was allowed to believe whatever they wanted and, as long as they did so in a way that did not force their beliefs onto another or inhibit one’s experience, then I thought that was just groovy. Bill Maher, in his movie Religulous, claims something along the lines of the fact that no human being has the ability to understand what happens after death, so his guess is as good as anyone else’s.

I always liked that idea, and I carried that with me as an Omnist as well. I understood that because I had no more clarity or surety of which religions were true or false, I had no reason to mock or belittle anyone for believing what they believed. 

Sorry, tangent. A reasonable one, though, I promise. Let’s circle back to Spider-Man. Spider-Man represents responsibility, guilt, passion, will-power, humanity, moral fiber, pride, humility, and so much more. When I was younger, from about four- to seventeen-years-old, I did go to church, and for most people that’s enough to gain these lessons. That’s why people go to church after all, to learn to be responsible and ethical human beings. What I didn’t end up getting from church, I picked up for six-dollars at the local comic shop in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

On breaks between classes every Wednesday I would hike a mile up the street and scoop up the latest issue of Ultimate Spider-Man. This started as an outlet for my social anxiety, my loneliness, and even my fear of the future, but what it turned into was a passion to be like the hero I read about. After seeing my problems reflected in someone a thousand times stronger, I began to rationalize. I began to understand that I am capable of solving the exact same problems as a Super Hero. Spider-Man more than any other because, many people may not know this, but Peter Parker doesn’t use his Spider Powers to solve all his problems. In fact, they probably cause more problems than they solve. No, he uses his brain.

Hey I have one of those.

And he uses his wit. Hmm, I have a little of that too…

Alright reader, I’d like to sum up here. When I was younger, I found a book that made me understand the true struggles of human nature and the inner workings of the human soul. I poured over volumes, made weekly donations to a good cause, i.e. the writers of these books, and I tried to be a better person because of it. Simply because my idol dresses in a red and blue onesie doesn’t make him any less valid than any other (Oh, and by the way, I know that his costume is actually comprised of several pieces, not actually qualifying it for the “onesie” category, but that kind of has less impact for my point here). And I hope that you feel the same. I hope that this encourages you to take pride in your own religion, whatever that may be.

Thank you, reader, thank you so much. I almost gave up on this blog not too long ago, but even if one of you comes by and picks up a few of my words, I will consider this a worth-while endeavor. Best of luck out there! Until next time.