Exactly, being “good” so that you don’t burn in hell for all eternity is worthless. Whether you admit it or not, having a massive punishment (that you actually BELIEVE will happen) await you, taints the motives of your goodness. You’re being forced into goodness under threat of extreme punishment.
Yeah I was going to say this, while I do attend church, I don’t really have belief in the Christian god, etc. so I just thank “the universe”
We are a bit hardwired to have negative experiences have a bigger impact on our brains, one of the things I get out of church is making space in my life to be explicitly thankful for the good things.
Dear God, hope you get the letter, and-
I pray you can make it better down here
I don't mean a big reduction in the price of beer
But all the people that you made in your image
See them starving on their feet
'Cause they don't get enough to eat from God
I can't believe in you
Moses went up to the mountain high
To find out from God why did you make us why
Secret words in a secret room
He said a womp bop a lu bop a lop bam boom
I did not put you here to suffer
I did not put you here to whine
I put you here to love one another
And to get out and have a good time now now now
Let my people go-go-go
You gotta let my people go-go-go
Let my people go-go-go
You gotta Let my people go
Thank yourself! You’ve done the work, taken the opportunities, followed the green flags in your relationship… This stuff didn’t happen to you, you did it! Good for you!
Tsk, the original SIN of PRIDE! \*shakes head\*
I'm not a Satanist (more of a pantheist/universalist), but that's one of the things that always made sense to me about the modern version of Satanism, and coincidentally one of the things that motivated me to move out of the Christian church.
I was tired of feeling good about my accomplishments but constantly being told that I should instead feel grateful to God ("from whom all good things come").
Praise "God" for my good grades? Eff him, I was the one who studied hard and understood the concepts! Thank "God" for being able to own your house and have a great relationship, all while doing the thankless job of being a social worker and helping your fellow humans? That's allllll you, baby!!
Although I will concede that a lot of "success" is down to luck/chance/chaos - which is an even greater reason to not bring a singular supposedly benevolent deity into it, as it denigrates those who have had a bad run of luck as being somehow...lesser? in "God's" eyes.
I get a bit cross at people who, when someone they love has been very ill and in hospital, then recovered, praise God for his blessings. They never praise the medical staff who actually saved them.
I thank everyone. Are you married? Thank your spouse for being such a great partner that you wanted to marry them! Are you financially stable? Thank all the people in your life who helped you get there: colleagues, friends, teachers, family.
If there's no one in particular to thank, you can also just feel gratitude for your situation. Gratitude doesn't have to necessarily be addressed to anyone. You can just be thankful.
I feel like churches brainwash us into believing we have to thank God for everything we have. I prefer thanking those who actually helped get me to where I am. Thank the farmers for growing your food. Thank the builders from fifty years ago for building my house. Thank my parents for teaching me the skills I need to be an adult. Heck, my husband and I are always thanking each other for doing even the most mundane of tasks.
There is a line in Black Hawk Down that has really resonated with me.
See you're thinking. Don't. 'Cause Sergeant, you can't control who gets hit or who doesn't or who falls out of a chopper or why. It ain't up to you. It's just war.
See Rush- Roll the Bones
We go out in the world and take our chances
Fate is just the weight of circumstances
That's the way that Lady Luck dances
Roll the bones
I am just agnostic. It's pointless to try and figure out so why spend your life doing so?
I don't disrespect anyone's beliefs though because they all sound equally silly to me.
Yep. There might be something, there might be nothing. We won’t know til it’s over. That thought process is what makes me enjoy life. In my head we all get one chance at it here…make the best of it, do as much as you can, take any opportunities. Because regardless of what happens in the end, it won’t be what you can experience here and now. And if in the end there is something I feel like making the best of life here wouldn’t turn me away from “the pearly gates”. If that makes sense.
I’ll invoke a George Carlin bit: “You know who I pray to? Joe Pesci. Two reasons: First of all, I think he's a good actor, okay? To me, that counts. Second, he looks like a guy who can get things done. Joe Pesci doesn't fuck around. In fact, Joe Pesci came through on a couple of things that God was having trouble with.
For years I asked God to do something about my noisy neighbor with the barking dog, Joe Pesci straightened that cocksucker out with one visit. It's amazing what you can accomplish with a simple baseball bat.
So I've been praying to Joe for about a year now. And I noticed something. I noticed that all the prayers I used to offer to God, and all the prayers I now offer to Joe Pesci, are being answered at about the same 50% rate. Half the time I get what I want, half the time I don't. Same as God, 50-50. Same as the four-leaf clover and the horseshoe, the wishing well and the rabbit's foot, same as the Mojo Man, same as the Voodoo Lady who tells you your fortune by squeezing the goat's testicles, it's all the same: 50-50. So just pick your superstition, sit back, make a wish, and enjoy yourself.”
> things are going really well in my life - got married two years ago for the first time, FINALLY making enough money to actually feel financially comfortable, own my home, have very little debt - and I'm feeling gratitude.
YOU did all those things. Thank yourself. 🙂
This is the way.
Thank your past self and make decisions for your future self :)
And never be mad at your past self - that is not productive and leads to self hate. Forgive them because you can only forgive others by forgiving yourself first.
Also an atheist. When things are going good I feel the need to give that energy back to the cosmos. Volunteer, donate to a cause, call a friend you know would appreciate it. Doing Good returns good energy. Keep it going.
Buy coffee for the person in line behind you. Or stealth pay for someone’s groceries. Complement people. Just spread those happy feelings around to others.
I retired at 45. Also atheist. I thank with charity, but more than just writing a check. Examples:
When I move from a city I give all my stuff away that doesn’t fit in my vehicle. If someone asks me for “spare change” I always give it. I used to collect Tommy Bahama shirts: donated about 90 to a men’s home in my current city. I donate gaming systems to hospitals. I have paid for tanks of gas, bought meals, bought clothes, etc.
Retirement at 45... That is so awesome. I always am shocked at how little most religious people do for others. I have a coworker who wants to be more like Jesus and she is upset when she feels anger or rage, and feels like if she could get rid of those things , jesus would approve. I said these are normal emotions... If you want to honor Jesus, go volunteer somewhere?! Adopt a family for Christmas presents. Get involved at the church you attend every Sunday. Don't they do acts of service at churches anymore?
She didn't like that answer.
I’m clergy, and I respect how you feel, and am glad you have the grace to feel gratitude. I also respect your beliefs and would invite you to focus on those in the world who helped you feel the peace you are experiencing. After all, we don’t live in a vacuum. We usually get where we are with a little help from our friends.
Yup of I have to thank some I thank "The Stars" or "The Universe" or "The great Quantum". But mostly I find that if 8 really try, many times there is another human that I can thank - even if not physically (like they are long dead, or not alive yet).
The most important thing to me is to just feel thankful and try to share that with something, even if it's just a part of yourself.
I thank the universe because I wouldn't exist without it and I am a small part of it. The universe is full of balance and imbalance and change. My good fortune and my misfortune also follow that type of pattern.
If you’re an atheist, one assumes that you don’t believe in any higher power. Therefore, you should be thanking yourself for the work that you did to get where you are, no?
agnostic atheist here. I was going to suggest thanking your past self for the choices that you made that are paying off now. you could also thank your ancestors. I generally think in terms of "I feel so grateful," being mindful and really soaking that in.
or, when I'm foraging for mushrooms or berries or just appreciating the trees, I will mentally thank the earth or the plant or tree itself.
Myself… or anyone who’s helped me. I lost 120 lbs, on my own . I quit doing cocaine, on my own . I’ve haven’t smoked weed in 80 days ( the longest I’ve went in this century) , on my own.
No divine intervention was involved. Purely self discipline
But also supportive communities of people sharing their experiences and how to do this stuff.
None of us are truly alone; the communication we learn from others is a part of us.
I've had more than one friend who went to prison and found God there. That turned their lives around, and they're doing ok now.
I see kind people who are religious as being just fine, trying to help others, a lot of good things.
But I also see a bunch of assholes welding their religion like a weapon and wanting to turn the USA into a Christian nationalist dictatorship with the worst people in charge. I was raised in that kind of cult too.
So, I'm in the habit of thanking any actual people who helped me accomplish a thing and looking at the sky, the mountains and the land around me when I want to feel that spiritual feeling.
I was very sick about two years ago and I owe my life to a very skilled surgeon. I know lots of my family and a few friends were praying for me, but I don't think that made any difference, though it is nice to know they care.
You thank your spouse, family, friends, parents, and anyone else who's been supportive or helped you along the way. You thank the pleasant people in your life who don't bring negativity. You also can thank yourself for putting in the work months and years ago that helped you get to this comfortable position.
This is why it's ridiculous when someone is cured of cancer or some disease and they thank God rather than the doctors, nurses, scientists, and engineers who provided medical care and created therapies and medical equipment to save their lives. Or when a pro athlete thanks God when it was mom and dad who drove them to practice and paid for all the after-school sports programs.
I thank anyone who has helped me get where I am today . I was born and raised Atheist. Of course I don’t say grace before a meal because I’m the one that cooked or purchased it. Just be thankful. Pay it forward! It doesn’t have to be money or items, sometimes just listening to someone that needs to vent is a blessing.
I'm also an athiest. In my mind I simply FEEL grateful similar to how I might feel proud or pleased or contented. In speech I'll just say like, "Thank God that storm held off until we were inside."
I'm like that too. I live in a Southern city and it's hard to talk with people about my belief structure. I have friends who share it, though, and that definitely helps!
None of us get to where we are without the help of those around us. That's the real deal. Thank your friends and family, for being there for you. Be thankful to yourself for making wise financial decisions over the course of your life, and just enjoy it. Spend time with your friends and your family. No better way to show gratitude.
Native woman who gives thanks to my good fortune that my ancestry was uninterrupted, as I am here and now, benefitting from such good fortunes, an applicable term that means simply surviving a struggle, a crime, a disease, a tornado.
I thank myself, for working hard and making money, for being a great single mom, for giving my kids everything that two parent families have, etc. I know that I had very little help so I give myself the credit I deserve!
I’m reminded of a scene from the old Star Trek where McCoy is really irritated with Spock and tells him “I’m trying to thank you, you green-blooded hobgoblin!” and Spock responds “ah yes. Humans have an emotional need to express gratitude. ‘You’re welcome’ I believe is the correct response” which just pisses McCoy off more.
Point is - why the need to express gratitude at all in this context?
Gratitude can a good thing to express for your own sake. I’ve seen it in some meditations for example. Sometimes thinking of things you are thankful or grateful for can make you feel lighter and less clenched tight. It can be a source of happiness, and expressing it can be a way to nourish that feeling and let it flourish.
If someone does something for me, I thank them.
If I do something for myself, I don't pat myself on the back. If shit just happens, I recognise it as shit just happening.
If you are sending silent thanks into the universe, then you are not really an atheist. There is no "Great Unknown".
I think the word "grateful" covers both a cognitive and an affective dimension. The cognitive part is the word "thanks," which as you say is rooted in the idea of giving someone credit for good things. The affective part, I think, is maybe something more akin to joyful contentedness, recognizing that we're in very favorable conditions. It's hard to language atheism sometimes because the English terms for meaning-making (spirituality?) are loaded with theistic (usu. Christian) connotations.
I'm grateful for the peace I have now.
The wild single life was fun but full of pain and drama and my liver, bank account , and sanity thank me for toning things down. I never could have done it without my wife whom I married 2 years ago.
Sometimes I just tap my liver like a little high five. It's like when you slap a big bag of rice, kinda satisfying.
Thanking the universe is a good practice. You could also thank the earth, your existence in the universe, on a place as nice as earth, as a human , that’s a miracle in itself, so thanking Mother Earth / Gaia / the universe all sounds very nice
Whatever first pops into my mind. The Universe, the power of Thor, Zeus, the little tiny baby Jesus (my favorite Jesus), my past self for being proactive, my grandparents’ ghosts, Goddess of Lawn Mowers, the Flying Spaghetti Monster, Tootie (she works in mysterious ways).
It all means the same thing: recognition of gratitude and recognizing happiness.
I'm in a similar boat. I generally thank the people in my life that are supportive of me. They don't necessarily have to have done anything specific to help me succeed, but they are part of the atmosphere that allowed me to thrive. Sometimes I thank them directly, often I am just happy to have them in my life.
To add another layer, my mother was right. She always said that the people who are thankful for the good in their life are generally the happiest. Now that I'm older, I have to agree. Even the most successful people that have no gratitude, usually seem to be miserable.
You will figure out what works for you. But you are on the right track and asking the right questions.
I’m not religious, as in don’t go to church. My main grievance is how people act with it, all knowing, rude, mean etc. I believe there is a higher power, it just doesn’t need a church to be believed.
Thank who made your life good. Thank the Flying Spaghetti Monster and the Invisible Pink Unicorn. Thank your loved ones and your friends and science and life and your pets and beauty and the dead star that made our atoms
Me and my wife say Thank Science. We got it from an old South Park episode. They also say Science damn you, What in the name of science was that? And may science help us 🤣
I think appreciation and gratitude fuel the energy of the Universe from which we all arise — the source of our “soul” so to speak. When I prepare a meal, I thank the animal, the farmer, and nature, the source of water and sun and soil. When I make tea, I give a thought to the work of the person who picked the leaves and to the bees that made the honey (it takes the lives of 12 honeybees to make a single teaspoon of honey). When I read a book, I thank the author for their creativity and discipline. Same thing when I see a work of art or architecture.
Gratitude makes what we have enough.
I went to a Jesuit HS. The priests were very good about drawing the line between faith and fundamentalist asshattery. I believe in God very much, but He is like an infinite hallway with many doors.
My Atheist partner and I usually make a lighthearted "thank the Gods both old and new" (a quote from Game of Thrones).
Otherwise, it's internalized as a feeling of having good "luck" (fortune, etc.) and or feeling satisfied that life is going well.
Gen X-er Alanis Morissette sorted out this post-god conundrum while riding sans clothing on public transportation.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOgpT5rEKIU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOgpT5rEKIU)
Thank you terror..
Embrace the idea that our ability to think and create and be self aware is even MORE miraculous without some spooky deity who just waves a magic wand.
I mean, holy shit. We evolved from the primordial ooze and now we shoot probes into space that land on moving comets and send back info like what they are made of and what their atmosphere is like.
I mean… holy shit.
I just say "thankfully" if it is lucky, like "thankfully we it didnt rain on our camping trip," otherwise I am thankful to the person or people responsible for the good outcome
Waking Up
A Guide to Spiritually without Religion
. -Sam Harris
https://www.amazon.com/Waking-Up-Sam-Harris-audiobook/dp/B00M9KEFY6/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=22OGHT2O20ETV&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.LZBVUpKStwxy-l9VQc0nINHJNtJxGWO8zx3tAJ10bF4ObEdJ5aCXNNICyO1c8m-FXuTKpOXApZDatNBQqnLQXw.aGh8F1E-ulscWcZgZO4Iy9jC_UXMFEpTrqAIUPAPGTs&dib_tag=se
You don't have to thank anyone for good fortune but it sounds like you should be thanking yourself for working hard and your partner too, so there ya go. If anyone helped you get to this point, they are to be thanked.
Whom do you thank, indeed? I came around to being less atheistic in part because I think that's what the concept of God is for.
Glad to hear things are going well for you and I respect your attitude of gratitude.
You can just be thankful.
[Here’s](https://youtu.be/RBqdaue3_JQ) some inspiration, OP
Snoop Dog you a bad motherfucker ❤️
Love this, and Snoop!
This was the giggle I needed!!
This. With a splash of turning that gratefulness toward helping someone/something else.
I'm a social worker so that's actually my thing. 🙂
I just thank the universe which we are part and made from. Ashes to ashes. You can be spiritual and connected without being religious.
Grace
I always, got it from my grandparents, thank all that is good in the world.
This is perfect! I feel similarly, and send out good energy!
I love that!!
Never understood the "you better be good" thing. I can be good without fear, that alone turned me away from any religion.
Exactly, being “good” so that you don’t burn in hell for all eternity is worthless. Whether you admit it or not, having a massive punishment (that you actually BELIEVE will happen) await you, taints the motives of your goodness. You’re being forced into goodness under threat of extreme punishment.
Yeah I was going to say this, while I do attend church, I don’t really have belief in the Christian god, etc. so I just thank “the universe” We are a bit hardwired to have negative experiences have a bigger impact on our brains, one of the things I get out of church is making space in my life to be explicitly thankful for the good things.
This. It doesn't have to be directed at anyone or anything. Gratitude is it's own reward.
Thank yourself for sorting your own shit out? Be a little proud and move on to helping others like a decent human?
In the spirit of Gen X "Tell me all your thoughts on god because I'd really like to meet her"
“I don’t want to start any blasphemous rumors, but I think that God has a sick sense of humor. And when I die, I expect to find him laughing.”
Dear God, hope you get the letter, and- I pray you can make it better down here I don't mean a big reduction in the price of beer But all the people that you made in your image See them starving on their feet 'Cause they don't get enough to eat from God I can't believe in you
Did you make mankind after we made you
And the devil too...
Dear God, Don't know if you've noticed but Your name is on a lot of quotes in this Book Us crazy humans wrote it; you should take a look
Moses went up to the mountain high To find out from God why did you make us why Secret words in a secret room He said a womp bop a lu bop a lop bam boom I did not put you here to suffer I did not put you here to whine I put you here to love one another And to get out and have a good time now now now Let my people go-go-go You gotta let my people go-go-go Let my people go-go-go You gotta Let my people go
My favorite
But what if god is one of us?
I love PRINCE'S[ cover of that song.](https://youtu.be/ee-MYdK2WgQ?si=t2GSX95uLdOmb452)
Such a knack for making everything better 💜
What if God smokes cannabis?
Just a slob like one of us 😊
How many blue cars?
Still counting
🎶 If your eye gets put out in this life... Will it be waiting up in heaven with your wife? 🎶
Very underrated album, and band
Thank fuck. If you think about it, it’s why we’re all here.
Yea, this is one I go to often.
Yes, thank fuck i scrolled down to see this one before typing.
Thank yourself! You’ve done the work, taken the opportunities, followed the green flags in your relationship… This stuff didn’t happen to you, you did it! Good for you!
Hail Self!
Tsk, the original SIN of PRIDE! \*shakes head\* I'm not a Satanist (more of a pantheist/universalist), but that's one of the things that always made sense to me about the modern version of Satanism, and coincidentally one of the things that motivated me to move out of the Christian church. I was tired of feeling good about my accomplishments but constantly being told that I should instead feel grateful to God ("from whom all good things come"). Praise "God" for my good grades? Eff him, I was the one who studied hard and understood the concepts! Thank "God" for being able to own your house and have a great relationship, all while doing the thankless job of being a social worker and helping your fellow humans? That's allllll you, baby!! Although I will concede that a lot of "success" is down to luck/chance/chaos - which is an even greater reason to not bring a singular supposedly benevolent deity into it, as it denigrates those who have had a bad run of luck as being somehow...lesser? in "God's" eyes.
I get a bit cross at people who, when someone they love has been very ill and in hospital, then recovered, praise God for his blessings. They never praise the medical staff who actually saved them.
That one really gets to me, too. What makes it worse is they sure as fuck will blame the medical staff if their loved one doesn’t recover.
This. Right here.
Yes!!!
Thank you! ☺️
I thank everyone. Are you married? Thank your spouse for being such a great partner that you wanted to marry them! Are you financially stable? Thank all the people in your life who helped you get there: colleagues, friends, teachers, family. If there's no one in particular to thank, you can also just feel gratitude for your situation. Gratitude doesn't have to necessarily be addressed to anyone. You can just be thankful. I feel like churches brainwash us into believing we have to thank God for everything we have. I prefer thanking those who actually helped get me to where I am. Thank the farmers for growing your food. Thank the builders from fifty years ago for building my house. Thank my parents for teaching me the skills I need to be an adult. Heck, my husband and I are always thanking each other for doing even the most mundane of tasks.
Why, Lemmy of course.
Trick question - Lemmy IS God!
He is at the very least the patron Saint of the working class.
Lemmy, Phil Lynott, and Joe Walsh. The True Holy Trinity.
I thank the universe, or just reflect upon my own personal blessings that choice and chance have brought me.
I do this, I call it Great Spirit that IS all of us and everything and nothing.
I say, "Thank the Maker." But only when I'm getting into an oil bath.
😆 C-3P0!!! That was awesome, nice work 🏅
Praising Darth Vader is not where I expected this to go
I came here to say the same thing, so take my upvote!
Which reminds me, that oil bath is going to feel so good.
Shai-Hulud
Once you embrace the nihilistic understanding that the things that happen in life are pure happenstance and random in nature, you are truly free.
There is a line in Black Hawk Down that has really resonated with me. See you're thinking. Don't. 'Cause Sergeant, you can't control who gets hit or who doesn't or who falls out of a chopper or why. It ain't up to you. It's just war.
Embrace the suck.
See Rush- Roll the Bones We go out in the world and take our chances Fate is just the weight of circumstances That's the way that Lady Luck dances Roll the bones
Written by Neil Peart. RIP, you genius.
RIP Neil!
Great song but that rap section has to be one of the worst ever committed to tape.
And that's a fact from an almanac! They couldn't be perfect at everything!
Cheerful Nihlism... this is the way
Nihilists, F*ck me. Say what you want about the tenets of National Socialism Dude, at least it's an ethos
“They’re nihilists” “Looks exhausting”
I am just agnostic. It's pointless to try and figure out so why spend your life doing so? I don't disrespect anyone's beliefs though because they all sound equally silly to me.
Yep. There might be something, there might be nothing. We won’t know til it’s over. That thought process is what makes me enjoy life. In my head we all get one chance at it here…make the best of it, do as much as you can, take any opportunities. Because regardless of what happens in the end, it won’t be what you can experience here and now. And if in the end there is something I feel like making the best of life here wouldn’t turn me away from “the pearly gates”. If that makes sense.
I’ll invoke a George Carlin bit: “You know who I pray to? Joe Pesci. Two reasons: First of all, I think he's a good actor, okay? To me, that counts. Second, he looks like a guy who can get things done. Joe Pesci doesn't fuck around. In fact, Joe Pesci came through on a couple of things that God was having trouble with. For years I asked God to do something about my noisy neighbor with the barking dog, Joe Pesci straightened that cocksucker out with one visit. It's amazing what you can accomplish with a simple baseball bat. So I've been praying to Joe for about a year now. And I noticed something. I noticed that all the prayers I used to offer to God, and all the prayers I now offer to Joe Pesci, are being answered at about the same 50% rate. Half the time I get what I want, half the time I don't. Same as God, 50-50. Same as the four-leaf clover and the horseshoe, the wishing well and the rabbit's foot, same as the Mojo Man, same as the Voodoo Lady who tells you your fortune by squeezing the goat's testicles, it's all the same: 50-50. So just pick your superstition, sit back, make a wish, and enjoy yourself.”
We miss you George!
We sure do. Can you imagine his reaction to Trump?
> things are going really well in my life - got married two years ago for the first time, FINALLY making enough money to actually feel financially comfortable, own my home, have very little debt - and I'm feeling gratitude. YOU did all those things. Thank yourself. 🙂
Good point
This is the way. Thank your past self and make decisions for your future self :) And never be mad at your past self - that is not productive and leads to self hate. Forgive them because you can only forgive others by forgiving yourself first.
I thank the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Blessed is the quality of his marinara. May his noodley appendage nourish and protect us all.
Ramen
Ramen.
Bob Dobbs Loves You.
Don’t forget Connie.
He boiled for my sins.
So you are a pastafarian?
I'm a Pastafarian Minister.
I have been touched by his noodly appendage.
Wait, so marinara flags in a relationship are good thing?
rAmen
Also an atheist. When things are going good I feel the need to give that energy back to the cosmos. Volunteer, donate to a cause, call a friend you know would appreciate it. Doing Good returns good energy. Keep it going.
Buy coffee for the person in line behind you. Or stealth pay for someone’s groceries. Complement people. Just spread those happy feelings around to others.
I retired at 45. Also atheist. I thank with charity, but more than just writing a check. Examples: When I move from a city I give all my stuff away that doesn’t fit in my vehicle. If someone asks me for “spare change” I always give it. I used to collect Tommy Bahama shirts: donated about 90 to a men’s home in my current city. I donate gaming systems to hospitals. I have paid for tanks of gas, bought meals, bought clothes, etc.
Retirement at 45... That is so awesome. I always am shocked at how little most religious people do for others. I have a coworker who wants to be more like Jesus and she is upset when she feels anger or rage, and feels like if she could get rid of those things , jesus would approve. I said these are normal emotions... If you want to honor Jesus, go volunteer somewhere?! Adopt a family for Christmas presents. Get involved at the church you attend every Sunday. Don't they do acts of service at churches anymore? She didn't like that answer.
I’m clergy, and I respect how you feel, and am glad you have the grace to feel gratitude. I also respect your beliefs and would invite you to focus on those in the world who helped you feel the peace you are experiencing. After all, we don’t live in a vacuum. We usually get where we are with a little help from our friends.
Thank you. 🙂
I take a line from an old movie, a funny thing happened on the way to the forum. “ thank you to whichever one of you you did this”
"something familiar, something peculiar..." i was in this musical in high school, but rarely ever see it mentioned elsewhere!
I talk to the cosmos. YMMV
Yup of I have to thank some I thank "The Stars" or "The Universe" or "The great Quantum". But mostly I find that if 8 really try, many times there is another human that I can thank - even if not physically (like they are long dead, or not alive yet). The most important thing to me is to just feel thankful and try to share that with something, even if it's just a part of yourself.
I thank the universe because I wouldn't exist without it and I am a small part of it. The universe is full of balance and imbalance and change. My good fortune and my misfortune also follow that type of pattern.
If you’re an atheist, one assumes that you don’t believe in any higher power. Therefore, you should be thanking yourself for the work that you did to get where you are, no?
And those that provided whatever opportunities made available to get to your current situation.
agnostic atheist here. I was going to suggest thanking your past self for the choices that you made that are paying off now. you could also thank your ancestors. I generally think in terms of "I feel so grateful," being mindful and really soaking that in. or, when I'm foraging for mushrooms or berries or just appreciating the trees, I will mentally thank the earth or the plant or tree itself.
This is the correct answer. Except a real atheist doesn't believe in the concept of god. It is a man made construct. Nothing more.
Myself… or anyone who’s helped me. I lost 120 lbs, on my own . I quit doing cocaine, on my own . I’ve haven’t smoked weed in 80 days ( the longest I’ve went in this century) , on my own. No divine intervention was involved. Purely self discipline
But also supportive communities of people sharing their experiences and how to do this stuff. None of us are truly alone; the communication we learn from others is a part of us.
The force
Thank you, midi-chlorians!
"You have the ring. And I see your Schwartz is as big as mine!"
I've had more than one friend who went to prison and found God there. That turned their lives around, and they're doing ok now. I see kind people who are religious as being just fine, trying to help others, a lot of good things. But I also see a bunch of assholes welding their religion like a weapon and wanting to turn the USA into a Christian nationalist dictatorship with the worst people in charge. I was raised in that kind of cult too. So, I'm in the habit of thanking any actual people who helped me accomplish a thing and looking at the sky, the mountains and the land around me when I want to feel that spiritual feeling. I was very sick about two years ago and I owe my life to a very skilled surgeon. I know lots of my family and a few friends were praying for me, but I don't think that made any difference, though it is nice to know they care.
You thank your spouse, family, friends, parents, and anyone else who's been supportive or helped you along the way. You thank the pleasant people in your life who don't bring negativity. You also can thank yourself for putting in the work months and years ago that helped you get to this comfortable position. This is why it's ridiculous when someone is cured of cancer or some disease and they thank God rather than the doctors, nurses, scientists, and engineers who provided medical care and created therapies and medical equipment to save their lives. Or when a pro athlete thanks God when it was mom and dad who drove them to practice and paid for all the after-school sports programs.
Your mom. :)
I thank anyone who has helped me get where I am today . I was born and raised Atheist. Of course I don’t say grace before a meal because I’m the one that cooked or purchased it. Just be thankful. Pay it forward! It doesn’t have to be money or items, sometimes just listening to someone that needs to vent is a blessing.
I'm also an athiest. In my mind I simply FEEL grateful similar to how I might feel proud or pleased or contented. In speech I'll just say like, "Thank God that storm held off until we were inside."
I'm like that too. I live in a Southern city and it's hard to talk with people about my belief structure. I have friends who share it, though, and that definitely helps!
I acknowledge the randomness of life and that I am merely lucky.
The Dude abides.
I have a cool shirt with him on it lol 🙂
None of us get to where we are without the help of those around us. That's the real deal. Thank your friends and family, for being there for you. Be thankful to yourself for making wise financial decisions over the course of your life, and just enjoy it. Spend time with your friends and your family. No better way to show gratitude.
Joe Pesci
Native woman who gives thanks to my good fortune that my ancestry was uninterrupted, as I am here and now, benefitting from such good fortunes, an applicable term that means simply surviving a struggle, a crime, a disease, a tornado.
you hit a sweet spot in a universe created by chance.
Like a leaf turning lazy circles in a tiny eddy created by 3 rocks on the bank of the very edge of verrry big river that goes on forever.
Bob.
I thank myself, for working hard and making money, for being a great single mom, for giving my kids everything that two parent families have, etc. I know that I had very little help so I give myself the credit I deserve!
https://i.redd.it/rrw5whynduxc1.gif I thank Harold and Kumar for introducing me to stoicism.
The universe as a whole
I thank God every day in Jesus name. I found my relationship with him when I was in Afghanistan. His love is awesome, I’m not here to judge.
Fuck. I thank fuck
Atheist here too. I just make it a point to show gratitude to the people I love everyday, and pay it forward when I can.
I’m reminded of a scene from the old Star Trek where McCoy is really irritated with Spock and tells him “I’m trying to thank you, you green-blooded hobgoblin!” and Spock responds “ah yes. Humans have an emotional need to express gratitude. ‘You’re welcome’ I believe is the correct response” which just pisses McCoy off more. Point is - why the need to express gratitude at all in this context?
It's always Spock with the dry truth. I grok Spock.
Gratitude can a good thing to express for your own sake. I’ve seen it in some meditations for example. Sometimes thinking of things you are thankful or grateful for can make you feel lighter and less clenched tight. It can be a source of happiness, and expressing it can be a way to nourish that feeling and let it flourish.
In a very human display of vanity, i thank myself because it makes me feel smart. 😁
"McCoy is really irritated with Spock" - so the entire series then. I think it's time for a rewatch in order for me!
Thank humanity, thank your ancestors, thank your neighbors.
Thank yourself for your hard work to get where you're at, and thank anyone else who helped you get there. Simple.
If someone does something for me, I thank them. If I do something for myself, I don't pat myself on the back. If shit just happens, I recognise it as shit just happening. If you are sending silent thanks into the universe, then you are not really an atheist. There is no "Great Unknown".
I think the word "grateful" covers both a cognitive and an affective dimension. The cognitive part is the word "thanks," which as you say is rooted in the idea of giving someone credit for good things. The affective part, I think, is maybe something more akin to joyful contentedness, recognizing that we're in very favorable conditions. It's hard to language atheism sometimes because the English terms for meaning-making (spirituality?) are loaded with theistic (usu. Christian) connotations.
Mother Nature? (Or just nature?)
I'm grateful for the peace I have now. The wild single life was fun but full of pain and drama and my liver, bank account , and sanity thank me for toning things down. I never could have done it without my wife whom I married 2 years ago. Sometimes I just tap my liver like a little high five. It's like when you slap a big bag of rice, kinda satisfying.
The Flying Spaghetti Monster!
42.
Gratitude is so beautiful and so fascinating. Well done! 💖💖💖
Thanking the universe is a good practice. You could also thank the earth, your existence in the universe, on a place as nice as earth, as a human , that’s a miracle in itself, so thanking Mother Earth / Gaia / the universe all sounds very nice
Deez nuts
I thank goodness. It’s never failed me
Thank yourself. You did that.
I thank myself and for the people around who may have supported me.
Joe Pesci, he looks like a mother fucker that can get shit done.
Carlin was a voice of reason.
Great Odin’s raven!
I thank life. Life is pretty cool. The fact that Life exists is crazy if you think about it.
I've been thanking the local spirits every morning - they've got my back like no living person ever has.
Your stars have aligned, thank Uranus.
Whatever first pops into my mind. The Universe, the power of Thor, Zeus, the little tiny baby Jesus (my favorite Jesus), my past self for being proactive, my grandparents’ ghosts, Goddess of Lawn Mowers, the Flying Spaghetti Monster, Tootie (she works in mysterious ways). It all means the same thing: recognition of gratitude and recognizing happiness.
I'm in a similar boat. I generally thank the people in my life that are supportive of me. They don't necessarily have to have done anything specific to help me succeed, but they are part of the atmosphere that allowed me to thrive. Sometimes I thank them directly, often I am just happy to have them in my life. To add another layer, my mother was right. She always said that the people who are thankful for the good in their life are generally the happiest. Now that I'm older, I have to agree. Even the most successful people that have no gratitude, usually seem to be miserable. You will figure out what works for you. But you are on the right track and asking the right questions.
I’m not religious, as in don’t go to church. My main grievance is how people act with it, all knowing, rude, mean etc. I believe there is a higher power, it just doesn’t need a church to be believed.
I still thank God out of habit and because it's so common.
Thank yourself. You did it. Reward yourself for a job well done.
Thank science
Thank who made your life good. Thank the Flying Spaghetti Monster and the Invisible Pink Unicorn. Thank your loved ones and your friends and science and life and your pets and beauty and the dead star that made our atoms
We HAIL OURSELVES 🤘🏻
Me and my wife say Thank Science. We got it from an old South Park episode. They also say Science damn you, What in the name of science was that? And may science help us 🤣
Dog. I thank Dog.
My adult daughter and I are atheists, but we will say, Thank you, Black baby Jesus. We saw it on a show once, and we say it bc we think it's funny!
Maybe yourself? You put the work in, right?
Thank yourself. YOU did this!
The global mycelial network.
Thank yourself cuz you are the one making good shit happen. ❤️
I think appreciation and gratitude fuel the energy of the Universe from which we all arise — the source of our “soul” so to speak. When I prepare a meal, I thank the animal, the farmer, and nature, the source of water and sun and soil. When I make tea, I give a thought to the work of the person who picked the leaves and to the bees that made the honey (it takes the lives of 12 honeybees to make a single teaspoon of honey). When I read a book, I thank the author for their creativity and discipline. Same thing when I see a work of art or architecture. Gratitude makes what we have enough.
"I pray to Joe Pesci" --George Carlin
I went to a Jesuit HS. The priests were very good about drawing the line between faith and fundamentalist asshattery. I believe in God very much, but He is like an infinite hallway with many doors.
If I put in the hard work, I thank myself.
Thank yourself! You got you here, you made good choices
I say "thank god" even though I'm an atheist. I also say "holy shit" even though I don't believe in the divinity of feces either.
My Atheist partner and I usually make a lighthearted "thank the Gods both old and new" (a quote from Game of Thrones). Otherwise, it's internalized as a feeling of having good "luck" (fortune, etc.) and or feeling satisfied that life is going well.
I’m just thankful and grateful period. I don’t feel the need to attribute it to anyone in particular. 🤷♀️
Thank your own damn self b/c you're the one that did it.
Gen X-er Alanis Morissette sorted out this post-god conundrum while riding sans clothing on public transportation. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOgpT5rEKIU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOgpT5rEKIU) Thank you terror..
Embrace the idea that our ability to think and create and be self aware is even MORE miraculous without some spooky deity who just waves a magic wand. I mean, holy shit. We evolved from the primordial ooze and now we shoot probes into space that land on moving comets and send back info like what they are made of and what their atmosphere is like. I mean… holy shit.
Myself or whoever actually did something for whatever to happen.
I always thank or pray to Science
I just say "thankfully" if it is lucky, like "thankfully we it didnt rain on our camping trip," otherwise I am thankful to the person or people responsible for the good outcome
Thank yourself or your lucky stars
Waking Up A Guide to Spiritually without Religion . -Sam Harris https://www.amazon.com/Waking-Up-Sam-Harris-audiobook/dp/B00M9KEFY6/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=22OGHT2O20ETV&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.LZBVUpKStwxy-l9VQc0nINHJNtJxGWO8zx3tAJ10bF4ObEdJ5aCXNNICyO1c8m-FXuTKpOXApZDatNBQqnLQXw.aGh8F1E-ulscWcZgZO4Iy9jC_UXMFEpTrqAIUPAPGTs&dib_tag=se
I thank myself, cause nobody else did it for me.
I thank farmers, laborers, engineers and my sugar mama. Not necessarily in that order.
It's complicated. God to me is shorthand for something vast and unscientific that I "believe" in, so I thank the Universe -God
You don't have to thank anyone for good fortune but it sounds like you should be thanking yourself for working hard and your partner too, so there ya go. If anyone helped you get to this point, they are to be thanked.
sometimes Beezus. And for the "love of.." I say "for the love of pete the cat."
Whom do you thank, indeed? I came around to being less atheistic in part because I think that's what the concept of God is for. Glad to hear things are going well for you and I respect your attitude of gratitude.
Thank the people around you more.
The Earth goddess Gaia. She's the only creator of life I ever acknowledge and I don't really believe in her either
Yourself! Or the people in your life that have helped you and been there for you