Toward the home stretch of my week-long Atheist Experiment, I received an email from a Christian member of my family and the text in the subject line of the email stated, "I Believe!". The email contained a link to a video about the beauty of our planet and our life as its inhabitants. The video was accompanied by a lovely piece of music throughout and the intention of the lyrics was to correlate the wonder and majesty of our world to the existence of God. I watched the piece through to the end and found myself quite moved by it but not because it had convinced me that God was responsible for any of the extraordinary natural and human occurrences that the video had highlighted.
I was moved because the darling lady who sent me this link also included the following note:
"Hi --thought this was extra special--maybe it will shed a glimmer of hope on your search!!--Blessings..."
She had obviously been reading this blog about my decision to explore a life without God/Spirit/The Universe and had wanted to share something with me that brings a tremendous sense of comfort and strength to her. And the gesture meant the world to me. You see, I know this lovely lady to be a deeply religious person who has an entirely opposing perspective on faith than I do. And yet, I also know that this message was not coming from a place of "believe what I believe or you're an idiot." It was coming from a place of genuinely wanting for me the kind of inner peace that Christianity brings to her. And that is why I was so appreciative of it. Because she sent it to me with the very kindest and the most genuine of intentions for my happiness.
And that is why I love people. I really do. I have received so much support from folks who have read this blog - atheist, religious and spiritual alike. Not a single one of them has judged me or indicated to me that I was going to hell in a hand basket as a result of questioning God's existence. Nor have the atheists suggested that it was about time I came to the conclusions that are more in keeping with their view of things. There has only been a profoundly moving gesture of camaraderie, a reaching out and a show of support for my experiment.
It is also my opinion that those of my religious and/or spiritual family and friends who have not yet commented on this blog series (the ones that I hold dear to my heart and who hold me in the same stead), are likely praying for me right now to find the kind of relationship with God that they have. And I could not be more grateful for their prayers as well. Because although I am questioning if there is even a God on the other end who is listening to these prayers, the act of consulting with this higher power on my behalf moves me to my core. And that is also why I love people.
I am approaching the end of this brief experiment and I am leaning towards an understanding of my world that I have never previously considered. I will be wrapping up this week-long sojourn in the morning and I will be posting my findings in tomorrow's blog. However, what I have found in Day 6 is the desire to say a simple thank you.
Thank you to the lovely people who are reading this blog and who are wishing for my happiness, regardless of where we might stand on the issue at hand.
Community, family and love. I feel it in spades. And for that, I could not be more grateful.
Thank you so much for joining me on this journey of discovery and in my quest for bliss.
Your Pal,
The Happiness Detective
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