“At some point, you gotta stop looking up at the sky, or one of these days you'll look back down and see that you floated away, too.” ― John Green, Paper Towns I can't really explain the way I was feeling when I was 19 and trying to see the world, for the first time, as it really was. A huge puzzle. Something interesting happens when you leave a long-term religion. It's a mind-altering experience. All of the sudden I wanted to learn everything and anything about the world. ...
"We're all traveling through time, together, everyday of our lives... All we can do is do our best to relish this remarkable life... I just try to live everyday as if I have deliberately come back to this one day, to enjoy it. As if it was the full, final day of my extraordinary, ordinary life." - Tim Lake, About Time There are countless days and seconds and moments I wish I could go back in time. I think about how much happier I would be if only I had done something differently, how much more ...
I absolutely love Christmas. Let me tell you why. When I think about Christmastime as a little kid, all I can remember are happy things. My family starts watching Christmas movies and listening to Christmas music before Thanksgiving. My mom and I feel like it's just not a long enough holiday, so we celebrate as early as possible. The feeling of Christmas is just magical. You see people ...
I've been overwhelmed with the spirit lately. A near-perfect feeling of being content, peaceful, and well. A feeling so strong that I just want to do good. A feeling of complete and utter beauty. My heart feels warm, and my mind feels clear. What I just described sounds familiar to a Christian describing the spirit they feel, right? The spirit I feel is different. I don't even like to call it "the spirit", but I looked up word after word trying to find something different and there's just nothing. ...
As a human, I expect a lot. As a human, I take things for granted. I don't realize what it is that I really want until it has disappeared. I forget about the beauty of things just as they are. As a human, I depend on other humans. I try to change unchangeable things. I try to fix unfixable things. I focus too hard on things that shouldn't be focused on. Things that find their way into my brain that I never invited in. As a human, I don't instantly kick them out of my brain. I let ...
"Being tender and open is beautiful. As a woman, I feel continually shhh'ed. Too sensitive. Too mushy. Too wishy washy. Blah blah. Don't let someone steal your tenderness. Don't allow the coldness and fear of others to tarnish your perfectly vulnerable beating heart. Nothing is more powerful than allowing yourself to truly be affected by things. Whether it's a a song, a stranger, a mountain, a raindrop, a tea kettle, an article, a sentence, a footstep, feel it all - look around you. All of this ...
One of the most common questions I get asked, being an atheist, is: How do you find meaning and purpose in life? I decided to dedicate a whole post to this question, seeing as it's a pretty big deal. The words "meaning" and "purpose" can make or break somebody. So let me lay it down in the best way I can. I enjoy life. I love being able to wake up every day and make it whatever I want. The very fact that I am able to think and walk and talk is incredible. I think, as humans, we sometimes ...
