Faith VS No Faith

Big subject yes I know. I approach this with a bit of trepidation because I know that I am going to rub some people the wrong way. Let it be known that the reason for this writing is because things have been posted, written that rub ME the wrong way. Stating how blessed one is to have faith and prayer for comfort subtly implies that those who do not have faith in a deity or who do not pray have no means of comfort. The notion that faith and prayer should be the default position irritates me. I understand that this is what works for them, and I understand that they do not mean offense, however, when the implication is that without faith and prayer there is no comfort or peace or whatever, I am offended. I have dealt with much death and adversity in my life and faith never made it any better, never brought them back and rather than encouraging me to treasure cherished moments and memories, faith taught me that we must hope for something better beyond this life and for a day when we would be with our loved ones again. Pining for this new life caused me to ignore and neglect this one, to forget those moments that should most be treasured. Now I am not saying that this is the case for everyone, but it has been the case for me. Rather than seeking what was best for me and my children, faith said I must stay in my situation so I could have a forever future. Load of horse shit!!! How does anyone KNOW there is life beyond this one? They don't. Period. You can have all the faith in the world that there is a life beyond this one, but that will not make it so. So I say make the absolute most of THIS life. Recognize that death is a part of life. It is the cycle of life for ALL creatures, big and small. All life is important and to be treasured BECAUSE it is so fleeting. Does that mean there is no purpose?? Absolutely not. Our purpose to to make things better for those who do give us forever, our children and their children. This is our responsibility!! It is our evolutionary duty to make the world a better place! Does faith do this?? Not that I have seen. Faith causes one to believe that life here is temporary and thus treat the world as though IT is fleeting rather than life. Exploitation of other lifeforms to their extinction and endangerment,extraction and exploitation of resources to OUR and OUR children's endangerment, lack of respect for the life of others are the results of this notion. Poverty, starvation, war...if the value of life was truly appreciated and understood these things would not be the norm. If the value of life was truly taught and understood people would be more likely to get help for their personal issues rather than hope for something new somewhere, sometime else. There is a saying that goes..."Give a man a fish, you will feed him for a day, teach a man to fish you will feed him for a lifetime, teach a man to pray and he will starve to death on his knees." ~ Chinese proverb variation.

Now if one can have faith and still make the most of this lifetime, understand clearly the value of life, teach this to their children without judgement of others for whatever reason, with encouragement to take care of personal issues in healthful ways, and without the 'we will see him/her one day in heaven', more power to them. Great! Good! Although, other than a very few, I think it unlikely that one can have that mix and still have 'faith'. (Note: I am speaking of faith in the manner of belief and all its entrapments) At least in my opinion. (I really do wish to be wrong on this one.) Humans need to address whatever problems they have regardless of cause, repair what is possible to repair, accept and move on. This is a lesson better learned young and is best taught by example. I have faith in humanity that as a whole it will do what it needs to on the evolutionary path to ensure survival. And this is all the faith I need. Prayer is energy directed and I can direct my energy without prayer, without faith. So when someone dies, I think positive thoughts of wondrous memories of their life, what they have left in the hearts of their friends and family, and gratefulness for the time we had with them. I treasure their memory, think of them with love and this is what comforts me. I wish I had had this same appreciation when I was younger as I would have far more appreciated items that should have been treasured. There was no need because Armageddon was around the corner and we would soon be with them in paradise. Now, I have no need to think of them in a better place because it is what it is. Non existence does not mean that there is no hope, it just means that the energy our loved ones used has gone on to feed other parts of this amazing universe we live in. I see wild strawberries growing in endless fields and I think of my mom, I see eagles soar and I think of my granndpa. Energy is in all we see, it is never expended only transferred. In this manner reincarnation can be so and our loved ones energy can be a part of whatever beauty in nature that we see them in. This is more real to me than some invisible heaven with some invisible and unimaginable angels or god. Whether or not there is a future paradise is immaterial to this life because it is unknowable. Paradise needs to be here and now. On the whole this world IS a wonderful place. Imagine how it could be if people would let go of the hope for something better beyond this life but worked instead at making this life their something better? Death is a part of life that teaches us to appreciate life. 
Life is meant to be lived...so live it. Faith, other than in our own human potential, is not required.