It's Friday night!!!
I've not been motivated to do Friday night posts lately. For that you can blame JW. Or more precisely, the absence of same. Mrs Snowy and I have been on a health kick for a couple of months now. We've been replacing two meals a day with shakes. I've been using these because my private health fund provided them free to diabetics, and Mrs Snowy has been on the Tony Ferguson diet. And I'm pleased to say that both are working. We've both lost around 9kg. In addition to the dieting, we walk every day. We're up to 3/4 hour a day.
I have to say that I am enjoying the walking. I like to look at the sky, clouds, flowers, birds, and anything else that takes my fancy. It reminds me how marvelous it all is. Somehow, all the petty worries seem to fall into their rightful place in the grand scheme of things. I am alive. And that's the wonder of it all.
Lately, there's been quite a few bloggers asking the questions we all ask about religion at some time in our lives. So, I've been thinking about it while I walk. I've been an atheist for quite some years now. I see no need to defend, or to proselytise, that belief. I may well be wrong. So be it. That's just the way I see it.
I think it all began with the concept of the soul. There may be such a thing, but if I am to believe evolution, and I do, then every living thing must have a soul. Or not have a soul. I see no reason why humans should be special in this universe. Who knows? We may very well be seen as having a dog's intelligence by some being elsewhere in the universe who has progressed further along the evolutionary tree than we have. So, if belief in a soul that is judged by a supreme being is a prerequisite to eternal life, then count me out! I can't believe what I don't.
So, having rejected religion, what am I left with? Well, a glorious sense of freedom for a start. I do not have to conform to the teachings of someone else who is but a human as I am. I can determine my own moral code, and try to live by it without the fear of eternal damnation if I fail. And I can embrace the wonderful words of Albert Einstein that adorn the side bar of my blog. Yes, I think that will do nicely.
Comments
I have rejected the Catholic church of my childhood. I now believe I God but not in any church. Churches only work to control people and take away the free will God gave us.
I admire people who walk everyday. When I do walk I like to walk alone. My husband and I tried to go for a walk together once. Before we even got out of the house we were arguing about which route to take. I walk alone.
So, having rejected religion, what am I left with? Well, a glorious sense of freedom for a start. I do not have to conform to the teachings of someone else who is but a human as I am. I can determine my own moral code, and try to live by it without the fear of eternal damnation if I fail.
Excellent...I agree completely. I also agree about not feeling any need to defend your beliefs. Good for you, Snowy. And keep walking! Keep posting about walking, too. It's lovely to read.
I think you and I grew up under the same oppressive religious times and interpretations of the Bible, that book of gibberish that can be interpreted in whatever way suits you. I was raised believing that God was quite a nasty, petty, demanding, and self-centered SOB. One wrong step and, boy, where you ever in for it--bolts of lightening, locust, the death of a loved one. Who needs that kind of thing. Things seem to be changing these days, and more and more "preachers" are actually preaching against religion. They do it in blue jeans and with a whole new interpretation of the Bible that is unrecognizable to me. Actually, they seem to be preaching Einstein's thoughts, as well as leaning more towards Eastern belief systems that weave all that is into one cloth. I absolutely reject the religion I was taught in childhood, and there is no deity with enough goodies in their pocket for the righteous to tempt me back into that fold. I now call myself a Christian and say I believe in God, but that's only because I'm lazy and it's easy to communicate. I believe there is something stronger, more powerful, more intelligent, and more loving within me, and that it's something I have in common with all living things, whether they be dust mites in the mattress or the Queen of England. It's just hard to connect with that Higher Power with all the dirty laundry of life using me as a hamper. Actually, I think I'm simply American, and deep under the covers in bed with Thoreau, Emerson, and Melville. Emerson talked about the oversoul, and how we're each an expression of the one breath blown through a flute.
Different language, same destination. I hope you keep enjoying your walks and rejecting anything and everything that bullies you, or tries to make you believe there's one life more precious than another. It doesn't matter what label you might fall under, you'll still be gentle and compassionate and curious about your world. It doesn't get much better than that.
I believe we have an energy which is integral to our existence. It's what makes us self-aware. We think, therefore we are. Are we alone in this? Certainly not. I believe there are a myriad of intelligences and states of awareness we'll likely never evolve to. It's a shame, but in every existence, there are those who only stand and serve, so to speak.
I've always found it strange though, that a mind as powerful, logical and rational as that of Carl Sagan, believed that when the physical body expired, the mind went with it. At death, there is nothing. End, Finito, Kaput. I can't countenance that. I have an energy, a sense of will, a spirit which makes me individually who/what I am. Science says that energy is neither created, nor destroyed. Energy transmutes but persists. If so, then at death, what happens to my energy? Where does it go? Where do I go? When do I go? So many questions which we'll never discover answers to on this side of the next life.