The Blessings of Atheisim

This is my personal opinion.
For many years of my life I searched for a religious afflilation that would meet my needs. I went to a Wesleyan Methodist Sunday School as a small child. The local Church of England had the best Teenage Youth Group, and one had to attend Evensong before you could attend the club; hmm; seemed like a small price to pay. Next I became a member of the Congregational Church, so my young children could be exposed to religion -- I even ran the youth group. I studied the foundation of the beliefs of the Mormon Church. I had friends who were Roman Catholics, though that never called me to look closer.
These and all religious ideas I flirted with all had a common factor. I reached a place where logic fell off the cliff. They call it a "Leap of Faith." I fell off the cliff!
During this search period, I felt that something was missing in my life... Why could I not believe? What was going to happen to me when I died?
Then one day I really found that there was really no cliff to fall from. It didn't matter. As soon as I realized that I did not have to worry about the "after-life," I could focus on this one. Happiness, I discovered, is right here and now. This is all there is. The Blessing is that good works that need to be done are not to support a church, but to support my fellow-humans: My children, my friends, the animals, the earth, and the good people who share my life.
Bad things happen to good people. Help where you can, then mourn and get over it. Some people don't like you -- it is really O.K.; they are entitled. Some people seem to need a god to help them cope with their lives. I am sorry for them, but they do what is right for them, and I expect respect for my decisions too.

Noreen Hulteen