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What does it mean to you to be spiritual?
On a personal level, not much. I’m not spiritual.
February 9
Do you believe things happen for a reason?
Is this meant to be an oblique way to ask about belief in god(s)? I have none, so no, I don’t think there is a single all-encompassing reason for things to happen.
February 10
What is your take on making mistakes?
It’s inevitable. I believe the wisest and most difficult course is to learn to deal with it with as much grace, dignity, and forgiveness of yourself and others as you can muster.
RANDOM THOUGHT: Today I was reminded that it takes Neptune 165 years to orbit the Sun. Therefore, there is no chance I will live long enough to witness a full Neptune orbit. Uranus, at 84 years, is an achievable target, but who wants to aim for Uranus?
(I’ll get me coat)
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snort
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I believe things happen for a CAUSE eg the car brake pads failed, causing a car accident
not a REASON eg "God/the universe etc was trying to teach me a lesson/punish me/karma"
There are a lot of things you can do to lower your chances of health issues/early death
eg
Slip, Slop, Slap, Seek, Slide =
Slip on a shirt
Slop on some sunscreen
Slap on a broad brimmed hat
Seek shade
Slide on some sunglasses
don't smoke
don't binge drink
wear a seat belt
wear a face mask during a pandemic
get vaccinated if the disease is worse than the vaccine and you do not have any medical contra-indications
but even if you do everything right [and of course humans often make accidental absent minded/tired/distracted mistakes which are different from deliberate choices], sometimes random bad shit just happens for no reason - a young married couple, including a pregnant woman, were very recently killed in Australia while going for a walk. They were struck by a teenager driving a stolen car at speed to get away from the police. There is nothing the couple could have done to avoid that except not leave their house and go for a walk [which in turn, would have had its own risks like increasing their chances of Depression, heart disease, diabetes]
To reduce the chances of the couple being struck and killed, you would need to enact policies like "don't continue to pursue a stolen car if it is speeding so much that it is endangering bystanders or other motorists" [which my state actually did after a similar pedestrian death more than 10 years ago, when a stolen car being pursued in a high speed police car chase struck and killed a pregnant woman who was using an official pedestrian crossing]
or have footpaths set further back from the road, with more of a barrier to cars
or better rehabilitation/counselling opportunities for repeat offenders
or better services to break the cycle of family/domestic violence/drugs/alcohol that can lead to people repeatedly stealing cars and speeding in them
better access to educational support for people who struggle with reading/writing in primary school
better affordable access to vocational education so teenagers can find paid work more easily
and so on...
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not a REASON"
THIS. I really like the way you laid out your logic here and used the example.
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I think the "for a reason" question is to get people who don't go all the way to anthropomorphic representation to talk about their belief in the fundamental order of the universe and which of the Pratchettian Big Lies they believe in.
I would like to be able to treat my item mistakes with the same compassion and kindness that I have for others', but alas, that is a work in progress.
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