Entry 41 – Location, Location, Location
Orginially written in April 2012, but posted on September 10th, 2012:
It’s been an incredibly busy last 6 months since moving my family to a new city here in California for a new job. We’re in a good location, though very expensive. My new position is slightly little less stressful than my previous one, but still away from home about the same amount of time as before due to my commute.
I’m learning a great deal everyday, which is good. What I lack however, is the time, and frankly, the desire, to cultivate friendships. I hope, in time, the desire to cultivate these good conversations with others will come. I see other people in the area who have families close by, friends they’ve grown up with, etc. and I have to admit that I am jealous.
Not only am I jealous, I am starting to wonder if my vowing Goodbye and God Bless moments mentioned in my previous entry #40 were a bit too confident and premature.
I woke up the other night thinking something I never in a million years would have thought I would have thought: ‘Hey, maybe it would be good if I went back to church, if even just to make some friends.”
Yes, I had that thought about a week ago.
It was hard to just write and admit that last sentence.
Think I’m going to leave it there for now, and see how I do over the course of a few weeks.
Thanks for stopping by…
TRC
The Recovering Christian 
You know if you do that, your bond with those people would be based on a lie.
Definitely a good point. I’d want to go into it being open about my atheism. Overall, going back to church, probably not the greatest idea I’ve had, but I wanted to write about my feelings as of late regarding this topic of community and friendship, and how I’m still struggling to find that balance in my life. ! thanks for your post and checking out the website. Have a great Thursday! TRC
I have had the same thought and was equally confused.
Stumbled on your blog googling “recovering christian”…. very interesting topics. Sounds like we’re about the same age. I grew up a laissez-faire Catholic… it was never pushed down my throat. I’ve been to war and questioned gods existence like if there was a god, why are we fighting people we don’t really know?, what did they do to us?, could I really kill another being whom I really have no quarrels with? Common sense prevailed and It made me reject anything and everything religious for a very long time. Years gone by and after children came along I realized when they are young and don’t have the capacity for reason, I needed something for them, so I tried becoming religious so they can have a story/community of others that can touch their souls. It had its purpose and now they are at the age of reason so we don’t go but more than a few time a year or when we feel like it just for the communal spirit. I realized the problems come into it play when anyone invests too much mental/emotional energy into it. The mind can be a vice as it searches deep and wide for meaning until it wears you out. So I would say that your thoughts are normal about going back to church. There is a place for it in life, everyone want to feel like they’re in good company and feel communal with others… such is our nature. It just sounds like if you decide to go, dont think too deeply about it. One thing you can do is just go to a different church/mosque/temple every whatever and just observe the differences as an outsider. You’ll have more fun I bet! Maybe you’ll change your blog to “The Recovering Christian Christian” 🙂 (… see, my brain trying to be witty and smart! ) Happy trails !
Hi Dan,
Many thanks for your incredibly thoughtful comments. And a HUGE thank you for serving our country. That takes incredible courage and bravery and I am grateful to people like you who put their lives on the line to serve others.
I loved your comment at the end about being a ‘Recovering Christian Christian’! Good stuff! I also really liked what you said about the mind being a ‘vice as it searches deep and wide for meaning until it wears you out’. That is a beautiful sentence and thought. Thank you!
Hope you have a wonderful holiday and was wondering if you wouldn’t mind if I shared your comment as a post to this blog and as a facebook post?
Thank you again,
TRC
Absolutely! I don’t own any of those thoughts… I truly think that any human thought I thunk have been thunkth before 🙂 Keep up your excellent thought provoking work your doing! I’m still working on it. As a side note, I have to admit, I downloaded “land of confusion” song and I liked it back then too!
That made my day, Dan, nearly 9 months after you posted your previous comments. Sorry so late in getting back. I will eventually post your previous comments to a blogpost, but the past 9 months have been incredibly hectic for me both personally and professionally. Will write more soon. Thank you again for your service to this country and for visiting the website. Till we chat again, TRC