Discoveries

Life moves on. Not too terribly much has changed. That is to say, nothing drastic. Dusty is growing like a weed. At 8 weeks old, he is beginning to outgrow size 0-3 month clothes. Beth wants to smother him with kisses, and sing, and instinctively dance to anything with a beat, and play the drums, and play with her food. Life is good when you're 2-1/2. The mini-man is also finding things out about himself, like how to sit-up, and how ticklish it is to rub his feet on my face when I haven't shaved all week.

I too, have been slowly discovering myself. Actually, not myself so much as that there are others like me. All the thoughts and philosophies I've always carried and held dear, I am now learning the names to, like "Secular Humanist." Where agnosticism says, "I'm not sure," and Atheism simply says, " I don't believe in gods," Humanism takes on entire philosophies. It is about not only science and the natural world, but also about ethics and doing the right things for humanity. It's all the good morals of religion, but without the killing and raping and sacrificing of goats and stuff. One of the hardest parts is "coming out." When you tell people you're an atheist, they make some kind of mental connection with "anarchist" (which is all wrong). If you come out and say you're a secular humanist, you might as well have said "Scientologist," or "Hare Krishna ." It sounds at first like the kind of cult you might find camping in trees in the mountains like Ewoks.

So the other hard part is trying to balance just how much to mention it at all. Of course anyone who feels they have finally found their spiritual calling wants to talk about it. It's exciting. It's a relief. It's..... a social stumbling block. Nobody really wants to read about someone blabbing the same thing over and over again. I found God, I hate men, my job sucks, gays need more rights, the president is out to ruin our lives, this disease needs attention, etc. Any cause can be interesting for a while, but after a bit most readers are bored or disillusioned. I know it's been creeping into my writing more and more over the last year or so, but hang in there, because there is more to me. The internet is, both gratefully and unfortunately, a great place to vent.

Back to discoveries. I've been talking with other Atheists here in Hawaii for a while here, and we needed something to help us get more organized in order to find more like-minded people and meet in person. We discovered meetup.com and I started a group. I'm very excited about building a larger network of friends out here, and the thought of going on outings and get-togethers without the religious undertones. Both of my parents were big into community involvement and service. Most notably Cub and Boy Scouts. I've always felt it in me too. I have been considering volunteering there for years, but seeing as my kids are still quite young, and SuperMom often works insane hours, I really don't have time to allocate to the level of commitment I know I'd want to. Hopefully this will give me the sense of community and service that I'm looking for while still working within a casual schedule.