So true. This is why I stay. Atheism does not make any demands. It doesn’t demand that I leave my husband, kids and grandkids. Nobody ever asks me if I believe in the religious things that I do, and I feel no need to tell. Some say I’m living a lie. But it’s no different than not mentioning to someone that they’re fat. I don’t need to go around telling everyone what I really think, and that goes for frum, OTD, secular Jewish and non Jews. Because there are very few if any people in the world with whom I agree about all the important things, like religion, politics, geopolitics etc…..
I really appreciate how raw you are, but what’s not brave about what you’re describing?
Looking at reality as it is without burying your head in the sand is the definition to me of courage.
You say you’re cold, but are you not still in between two worlds? Is your journey finished? Maybe you’re cold because you’ve left one house and are finding the next. Transitions can often be hard but they’re not final.
Not to sound like the cliche OTD circle jerk you just criticized (which certainly has some truth) but I think you’re brave
Thanks friend. I never felt like a hero. Though despite it almost killing me, I am happier in the cold and deafening silence knowing the warmth was conditional, performative, and had no interest in how I thought or felt. It was fake through and through.
I try to approach religion in terms of how the mythology and stories have relevance for our own stories known as "life". Ritual becomes a way of internalizing these lessons, of enacting a sacred drama for contemplation, with an eye towards insight and improving ourselves and our surroundings. Ethics that are directly applicable to interpersonal relationships. I don't know if this will work for everyone, but there must be a middle ground between gilded cages and cold comfort.
So true. This is why I stay. Atheism does not make any demands. It doesn’t demand that I leave my husband, kids and grandkids. Nobody ever asks me if I believe in the religious things that I do, and I feel no need to tell. Some say I’m living a lie. But it’s no different than not mentioning to someone that they’re fat. I don’t need to go around telling everyone what I really think, and that goes for frum, OTD, secular Jewish and non Jews. Because there are very few if any people in the world with whom I agree about all the important things, like religion, politics, geopolitics etc…..
This was brutally honest. Thanks for sharing it.
I really appreciate how raw you are, but what’s not brave about what you’re describing?
Looking at reality as it is without burying your head in the sand is the definition to me of courage.
You say you’re cold, but are you not still in between two worlds? Is your journey finished? Maybe you’re cold because you’ve left one house and are finding the next. Transitions can often be hard but they’re not final.
Not to sound like the cliche OTD circle jerk you just criticized (which certainly has some truth) but I think you’re brave
Thanks friend. I never felt like a hero. Though despite it almost killing me, I am happier in the cold and deafening silence knowing the warmth was conditional, performative, and had no interest in how I thought or felt. It was fake through and through.
I try to approach religion in terms of how the mythology and stories have relevance for our own stories known as "life". Ritual becomes a way of internalizing these lessons, of enacting a sacred drama for contemplation, with an eye towards insight and improving ourselves and our surroundings. Ethics that are directly applicable to interpersonal relationships. I don't know if this will work for everyone, but there must be a middle ground between gilded cages and cold comfort.