I am not religious and have no desire to start being now but sometimes I just want the community people get with church. I am craving connection with the community and feel it’s very healthy for families and neighbors as well. The United States is seriously lacking in third spaces and communities. It’s leading to a serious loneliness epidemic… Just wondering if there is anything that can fill that need for non-religious folks?
thank you thank you. I’m not a fan of Christianity, mainly because of the kind of Christians most people imagine when they think about conservatives. But after I got into Zen Buddhism, I heard some of Jesus’ teachings and understood them in a different light. I don’t even know if Jesus was a real person or not, I know there’s a lot of motivation to push that idea though. But that’s all besides the point. His teachings are generally beneficial for human well-being. If people live by them, and embody them, there’s good chance of a fairly healthy community. Not sure if this is actually a quote from Buddha (which is, again, besides the point) but people think so:
“Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.”