What I Believe:

A while back I was thinking about what I find to be spiritual, and about my stance on spirituality. I realized that I am a humanist. I always have been, but now I feel like I am able to define myself as a humanist without religion getting in the way. It is nice to know WHAT I am. It is nice to feel like I have an answer for when people want to know what I believe. Someone might say they are Catholic, Mormon, Jewish, Baptist, Muslim, (or whatever) AND I can say I am a Humanist!

This is WHAT I believe:
I value morality on all grounds because it affects all humans. I value the here and now because it is the time I have to live, and I believe I need to be the best I can be for all people that come after me. I don't believe that all people are capable of living up to the ideals that make the world a better place, but I believe that we all are connected by our basic needs, and vulnerabilities.
There is something so extremely beautiful about life, and all people's commonalities, something so beautiful that I am always deeply touched when I see or experience humans coming together and helping each other, or overcoming high odds, or reaching an unexpected potential. It is the feeling I get from these kinds of experiences that is "spirituality" to me. It is because I believe all people have potential and are so much the same yet completely unique that I seek to understand people, and am bothered by unfair judgments, not only when people unfairly judge me, but when anyone is unfairly judged. I believe in logic and reasoning. I believe in finding the beautiful in the simplest of situations and people. I love when I know someone with a huge disability achieve some simple task they have at hand, or when they reach a goal they've been striving to achieve for a long period of time. I love when people begin to understand something they never thought they could, or grasp some nuance that changes their perspective or attitude.

People are truly beautiful and I feel honored to be associated and connected to all people. I am grateful for every day of my life and all experiences I have had. I am deeply grateful for all of my relationships with other people and the lessons I've learned from them. i am especially grateful for my husband. It is because of him why I have been able to fully discover myself, and truly experience life through every little nuance in every situation I encounter.