I'm coming to terms with the possibility that I'm an atheist....

[Anonymous]

...yet, I feel more empty inside than I ever did before. That is all.

[Anonymous]

Ha! I could have written this. I want so badly to believe in something after to give meaning to this life. But the rational side of me just doesn't believe it. Though there are certain things which give me hope - karma, serendipity, weird deja vu moments - that maybe there is something greater that we don't understand. But, then anytime I read anything scientific about the universe I personally just realize all over again - that we are just microscope, unimportant specks

But, then - I think that I should really enjoy this life and try to do some good with it - so I use those feelings of despair/fear to direct myself towards feeling more gratitude and trying to appreciate all the good things in life. Like music, dancing, clean sheets, chocolate...etc.

[Anonymous]

I hear you. I have tried for the last 2 years to attend, worship and participate in the church my husband and kids love. I'm fine with the community aspect, just not the God part of it.

[Anonymous]

When I became an atheist, there was a period where I felt very empty, too -- mostly because you have to shift your thinking from a worldview where there is a god to one where there is not. At first it feels like there's a hole, something missing.

After a while, though, it no longer feels that way. Now, as the pieces of my worldview are in place without religion, it feels solid and steady and whole to me in a way that it never did when I was religious (I should add, I went to church every Sunday, I was not casually religious). The way things fit together for me make sense and feel "real" now. I don't really know how to explain it other than that, but I hope that gives you some solace that your troubled feelings are normal and transient.

[Anonymous]

I get that. I came to terms that I was an atheist about 10 years ago (was raised with religion/god).

After a bit, it actually felt really liberating. It gave me greater appreciation for the "now" and present, instead of focusing on death. It made me realize how much more important it is to make things count now. Do good, be kind, for its own sake - not a reward. Make it matter today. I felt more powerful, and more capable when I admitted to myself that I didn't believe in god, religion, etc.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thank you PPs for affirming my feelings. I feel better knowing that others experienced the same thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:...yet, I feel more empty inside than I ever did before. That is all.

Well, doesn't that tell you something? Sounds like a rather empty life all the way around.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:...yet, I feel more empty inside than I ever did before. That is all.

Well, doesn't that tell you something? Sounds like a rather empty life all the way around.

Not OP, but no, not necessarily. You can't say that just because something feels good it's good -- otherwise why not just be a hedonist and do the fun, easy thing for your whole life? Because sometimes doing the right thing for you is challenging or hard at first, and sometimes the things we must do make us question ourselves and the things that are painful teach us. So you can't just say something that makes you feel bad is bad.

It's not a sign of an empty life to feel empty sometimes. I think it's a sign that OP is sensitive and aware of her inner feelings in a way many people who never question their faith (or their lack of faith) are not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:...yet, I feel more empty inside than I ever did before. That is all.

Well, doesn't that tell you something? Sounds like a rather empty life all the way around.

Not OP, but no, not necessarily. You can't say that just because something feels good it's good -- otherwise why not just be a hedonist and do the fun, easy thing for your whole life? Because sometimes doing the right thing for you is challenging or hard at first, and sometimes the things we must do make us question ourselves and the things that are painful teach us. So you can't just say something that makes you feel bad is bad.

It's not a sign of an empty life to feel empty sometimes. I think it's a sign that OP is sensitive and aware of her inner feelings in a way many people who never question their faith (or their lack of faith) are not.

I wouldn't describe religious beliefs as "feel goods." I think the OP is recognizing something -- God is real and, despite what the so-called enlightened world may be trying to tell him/ her, s/he knows something is amiss.

[Anonymous]

Me too op. Super religious upbringing here. I totally get why people believe etc. Try as I might, I just do not feel it. It's made me more able to live in the moment. You really value life when you think this is it!

[Anonymous]

eh

I'm good being a non-believer!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: Me too op. Super religious upbringing here. I totally get why people believe etc. Try as I might, I just do not feel it. It's made me more able to live in the moment. You really value life when you think this is it!

It's not supposed to be something you "feel." And no one values life more than one who believes he was created by God for a purpose.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: Me too op. Super religious upbringing here. I totally get why people believe etc. Try as I might, I just do not feel it. It's made me more able to live in the moment. You really value life when you think this is it!

It's not supposed to be something you "feel." And no one values life more than one who believes he was created by God for a purpose.

Speak for yourself. several people here have said they value life more knowing this is the only one they have.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:...yet, I feel more empty inside than I ever did before. That is all.

Well, doesn't that tell you something? Sounds like a rather empty life all the way around.

Not OP, but no, not necessarily. You can't say that just because something feels good it's good -- otherwise why not just be a hedonist and do the fun, easy thing for your whole life? Because sometimes doing the right thing for you is challenging or hard at first, and sometimes the things we must do make us question ourselves and the things that are painful teach us. So you can't just say something that makes you feel bad is bad.

It's not a sign of an empty life to feel empty sometimes. I think it's a sign that OP is sensitive and aware of her inner feelings in a way many people who never question their faith (or their lack of faith) are not.

I wouldn't describe religious beliefs as "feel goods." I think the OP is recognizing something -- God is real and, despite what the so-called enlightened world may be trying to tell him/ her, s/he knows something is amiss.

Quite the opposite -- OP is saying she is recognizing that God is NOT real. I know a lot of non-believers and some - not all- feel emptiness or anxiety at first, but I've never known anyone to feel that way down the line. Eventually, once they're out of religion, they feel liberated and that they can fully enjoy the world they were lucky enough to be born into.

Some people seem to be "born" atheists -- even though they were raised with religion, it didn't "take" and as adults (or in some cases as children) they leave it behind. Others are not raised with religion and wonder what all the fuss is about. Knowing that this one life is all we'll have seems natural to them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: Me too op. Super religious upbringing here. I totally get why people believe etc. Try as I might, I just do not feel it. It's made me more able to live in the moment. You really value life when you think this is it!

It's not supposed to be something you "feel." And no one values life more than one who believes he was created by God for a purpose.

What about those people whose purpose seems to die of a dread disease at a young age? Or those whose purpose is to be born into a life of abject poverty? How much do they value life?