what we have in common

RichardGarfinkle said:

When you said genuinely weren't interested in religious questions, I assumed you meant atheists. My point was that many questions of meaning can be found in humanistic / non-religious philosophy.

I'm not sure how rarefied my world is. Meaning is where you find it and where others put it. Most of that is day to day art and life. A heartfelt greeting or an honest thank you can put meaning into lives by emphasizing human connection and the grace we can give each other.

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Chris P said:

Wow, I have no idea what I would draw.

But what I think all of us have in common is we are doing our best to form our beliefs based on the evidence presented to us. That evidence can be scientific, spiritual, emotional, logical, experiential, learned, and revealed in any number of ways. Where we differ, I think, is the weight we give each of these types of evidence. Some people give absolute weight to scriptures, others give no weight at all. Some people find great comfort in being a member of a community of like-minded believers with common rituals, while others find no value in such things. That's what makes us so diverse (and interesting!).

What I find ironic in myself is that although nowadays I am giving more weight to being part of a community of believers than I did as a younger person, I'm more accepting of the possibility that my entire community might be wrong. We did what we thought was best, but we might end up looking at each other, embarrassed, and say "wow, did we ever get THAT wrong."

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RichardGarfinkle said:

I certainly am interested in religious questions, but I disagree with the equivalence between that interest and seeking meaning. There are also philosophical atheists with no interest in religious questions who yet concern themselves with meaningful life.

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kkbe said:

It's so hard to understand what you guys are saying. I suspect it's profound, but it remains elusive, like trying to capture something out of reach and without substance.

In the physical sense, I mean.

If I had to draw something I would draw a line on that blank sheet from edge to edge, stretching across the page to infinitum at either side. Everything and everyone that is, was or ever will be is a point on that line, which stretches beyond anything we can imagine. Each point is part of that neverending continuum. . .

Or maybe it's a circle. We just don't know.

Regardless, we are points and therefore, part of it. Some points are as distant from us as are the stars, and some are close at hand, close enough to touch even. Each point is stitched in place, personal knowledge relative to the few points on either side. Of the rest, we can only surmise.

But we're all part of something.

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kkbe said:

Thank you for telling me that, Siri Kirpal.

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