I’m starting to gain momentum in my will to live. Every day, I am coming across more and more wonderful things to explore. And this is what I believe makes atheism so beautiful. It gives you the truth straight up about life, and gives you a chance to experience that life in the short time period your body has evolved to experience.

A simple thread, such as “What song would you like to listen to before you die?” made me deeply think about all the musical and artistic experiences I was missing out on, by not exploring artistic tastes. How terrible it would be to die without having listened to some of the most beautiful sonnets and ballads classical and modern music have to offer!

This is where atheism differs from Christianity. Christians are told to avoid things that do not honor Christ (same for some muslims who honor Mohammad), even if they are quite beautiful. I know of some people who love Johnny Cash, but refuse to listen to his haunting rendition of “Hurt” by Nine Inch Nails, because they believe that Nine Inch Nails is a satanist band!

Atheism gives me hope. It has opened my eyes to all these amazing experiences, that I feel are often ignored or completely avoided by the religious, for no other reason than that someone told them not to! It has no detrimental effect upon them to study science or listen to music, but they avoid it like the plague.

While stewing in my ‘faith’, I found myself surrounded by dreary, sad, repressed people with no will to live, except to pray every day for a will to be given to them by god. Camping trips and bible study was full of negative messages about our ‘sin’, and how we were so bad as people… without having done anything bad! I saw people hold up their babies, and beg of god to wipe the sin of this small child. It baffled me. Why put yourself down, and avoid these lovely experiences in our world?

I wake up every morning with a new vigor. I want to go into university each day to study. I want to sit outside in the fresh air, reading and writing. I want to enjoy gaming with my friends online. And I do this because I know that in my short time here, I may as well enjoy myself.