Why Bother?

Why not?

During Mother's Day dinner with my parents on Sunday, I was telling my folks about this new blog.

"Tell me something," my mother said. "If you don't believe in god...if you don't have anyone in particular to say thank you to...why bother saying thank you?"

I was so glad she asked. Because I hadn't really thought about it before, but as soon as she finished the question, I knew the answer, and I was really pleased with it.

Why be thankful if you don't believe in god?

Because what's important about being thankful is simply the act, the state, of being thankful. It's not who you're being thankful to. It's why. It's simply to be thankful.

If you do something nice for me, I'm going to thank you. It's an acknowledgment to you from me that I appreciate what you did. But what if there's no one in particular to say thank you to? What if, like me, you're an atheist, and don't have a god to pray to with thanks and gratitude for the big stuff? Well, that certainly shouldn't stop anyone.

Feeling gratitude for the springtime, or for your mother, or the rain after a drought, or for getting better after having the flu...it's just good for you. It's the reason for this blog. For me, it's to keep myself open to the goodness in life, to remind myself that it's not all about me. In fact, it's mostly not about me. It's also a way to keep the natural creeping bitterness of life in check. It can get out of hand if you let it. Keeping yourself aware of the things in life that you're grateful for helps keep it real.

And anyway... didn't your mother teach you to always say thank you?