The Journey

I have to say that when I hear someone talk about the "journey" of their spiritual life or their "walk" with Christ, I find it a little irksome. I think it's not so much the metaphor that bothers me than the fact that the insights they claim to have gleaned from said journey/walk are invariably about themselves and this physical world. The spiritual, it would seem, reveals no information about itself. Instead, the subject understands their own reactions to self and other.

My own spiritual journey, of course, led me from the belief in some non-physical "pure mind"/life after death of the consciousness to the realization that embodied existence is all we really have good evidence for. Naturally, all we can understand from any kind of philosophical musing about the nature of what we call life can only really be about the here and now. We can try to improve ourselves, understand better that "inner voice" that may be too critical, and develop a better way of interacting with those around us.

Interestingly enough, I have heard religious people declare that atheists are close-minded and stuck in a position. It is as if for them the rejection of god claims is the end station of the subway line of inquiry. Just as for theists, acceptance of a belief in their deity does not mean that they've stopped thinking about the meaning of life, atheists continue on their life journey of investigation. For Christians, as an example, the "walk" means studying scripture alone and with others, attending services where a preacher or priest discusses the Bible, and performing rituals that offer meaning. For atheists, there isn't one way to activate the mind and examine the world. For me, science, discussions with friends, political theories, literature, and travel are some of the ways I investigate and learn.

As always, though, the random little pleasures make life more enjoyable - it can't always be about the big questions! Here are some random little pleasures for today

-the summer sky in the evening

-the chittering of birds

-the feel of a cool breeze on a warm day

-the bubbly sound of a fountain

-the hubbub of people in a restaurant or other social space