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Originally Posted by braindamage351
The problem with atheist arguments is that they always come out as malicious unless you put a ridiculous amount of care into being delicate...
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Heh, well braindamage, I think ANY argument can come out sounding malicious (atheist, Christian, or Buddhist, etc) unless one puts
some care into being considerate.
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Originally Posted by zen_tom
All I know is I just get a feeling (it feels a little like being in love) that I treasure. I think it's important, and I think many people miss out by disregarding that sense of wonder. If that's spirituality, then I'm all for it.
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This is about what it boils down to for me, zen_tom. I think spirituality is pretty hard to define... but like being in love, you know it when you experience it. Now, people might disagree with me, which is fine, but I think life isn't worth much without a sense of wonder... for me, the skies especially make me stand in awe... sunset, sunrise, stars, Northern Lights, massive thunderstorm... it is all so much greater than me, and makes me realize how much goes on without me.
Or being in a forest, or near a stream, or even just in the presence of a loving person... all of these things give me a sense of wonder, and for that I am grateful. For me, if I wasn't semi-spiritual, I would just walk down the street and miss out on everything that is breathing, growing,
being around me... and on the days that I do just ignore it all, I find myself getting so caught up in my own head, there's no room to wonder and be grateful for life.
On the other hand, when I do take time to look at flowers, see the trees, smile at a squirrel (even if I am very sad), it makes me feel just a tiny bit better... it is "spiritual" to me, to see something greater than the human self. Is that a form of "comfort," then, in the same way that religion offers comfort? I don't know.
Edit: also interesting, zen_tom, about the church thing... I hadn't thought of it that way, since I tend to be cynical about churches (after having attended them for a long time). But that sense of community... of people who agree to constantly be in wonder... I do miss it, very much, even if I don't miss the doctrine and such. I miss people standing in wonder together, no matter what banner they walk under (or none at all)... and I miss standing among them and sharing that appreciation, that... "worship," if I may use a loaded word? (by this I do not imply a god or even a being, but at least that there is something greater than ourselves to be shared in a communal wonder, and that if we do not pay attention to it we risk denying/neglecting a crucial part of our spirit).