Brilliant mind. Terrible loss.
I wanted to contribute to this thread because sobriety has changed my general outlook on religion/spirituality. Alcohol was my god. And everything that came with it. In sobriety I struggle with a belief system because I just took on my family’s religion as a child and as I became an adult, booze became my god. Now I realize the foolishness of that choice, but I still don’t see how any god particular fits into my sobriety. I am thankful to be sober and someone besides myself deserves the credit. Most of the treatment programs I have been to were rooted in religion, but I only went out of necessity. I was a burden to my society in my active use stages. So anything was better than that. Now in dealing with people and making a living, I have dabbled in a few different belief systems. And settled with a couple that make sense to me and where I’m at, but I don’t go to any church or do any type of worship really. I study up on what I believe, and try to apply it to my daily life. But for me diving deep into spiritual things leads me right back to drinking. The idea of some magical god controlling things is enough to make me want to drink. I’m reasonable enough to believe there is more to dying than a void, so I try not to be disrespectful to people grieving. But the whole reason I stopped drinking is to have a better quality of life, and ideally live longer. I guess if I continue to try to better myself through recovery, god will find me because I have yet to find a higher power although I have been looking. I hope this helps someone.
I thank you for your contribution, as it made me think about the meaning -for me- of the word ‘spirituality’ in earnest for the first time really. Never felt at ease with the word, as the atheist and materialist I grew up as. And certainly didn’t feel at ease with it after becoming sober, seeing the word misused as another word for religious, a belief in a deity, a soul, a spirit, all stuff I saw and see no reason to believe in.
But now you made me think. And I just started reading around about how spirituality can be a meaningful word for atheists as well. And I’m finding some interesting stuff. It’s too early to form myself a well grounded and rounded opinion about it, but I am interested now. Here’s an article that really speaks to me:
From the conclusion of the article:
Spirituality for atheists, then, can be about connection, continuity, and contemplation without chafing against reason or requiring belief in souls, destiny, “energy,” or other dubious concepts. You can also see why we shouldn’t discard spirituality as supernatural absurdity, as unessential or unimportant. Belonging and mortality are existential concerns, and most atheists are already persuaded of the vitalness of truth and analytic inquiry. Skeptics shouldn’t dismiss spirituality as nonsense, for it needn’t be irrational nor religious. Instead, spirituality may be the most natural thing about us, the thing that truly does connect us to the cosmos, to the world, and to each other.
I like that a lot and feel this is an opening for me to expand my thinking. Thanks again for helping me open up this pathway in my mind.
Could not help myself
bell hooks. Amazing human. Her words have guided me and I’m so grateful for her voice.
