As my worldview has shifted over the course of my life, I often look to nature to help me answer my philosophical questions. And thanks to running and cycling, I spend more time in natural surroundings than most. While it is true that this is a running blog, running intersects with everything else in my life to warrent a little discussion about what dominates my thoughts on those runs.
I have never, nor do I now, question nature's beauty. Even when hurricanes pummel the coasts or thunderstorms knock out power, nature is beautiful and awe-inspiring (and the resulting loss of life and property is equally terrible). But just because there is a force greater than humanity that is arguably more beautiful than anything human hands can create, does not automatically mean that there is a greater being - God - designing it all. Rather, what God would choose seemingly-random acts of violence to kill people, most of whom pray to Him/Her? (If you believe Rev. John Hagee, whose endorsement John McCain actively sought, then Hurricane Katrina was God's punishment for New Orleans' specifically-homosexual sins.)
My point is that belief in God is not a prerequesite for finding beauty in one's surroundings (nor is it a prerequisite for being kind or searching for fulfillment). A skeptic or an athiest may actually find more beauty. How? They do not need to invent a reason to explain why things happen: beauty can just be beauty (and kindness and just be kindness) for its own sake. There does not have to be a justification: a hurricane can shape, destroy, and build, and it's just a part of the natural order. The beautiful natural order.
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