i appreciate your response here...i understand the point you're making and in a way i agree with you.
i often - i mean really often - look at my friends that are extremely religious and i envy them greatly, as they do not seem to have a care in the world. i mean, i'm sure they do...but they are definitely not engaged by the monumental happenings in the world that impact others' lives so significantly. just to keep it here... voter suppression, police militarization and use of force, mass shootings, etc... they are aware of these things, but, as you say, those are things 'of this world' and that's a shame, let's say a prayer about it, pour another glass of wine and do the next chapter in our bible study...
i just think that's a copout. i find it 'simple minded', not in being stupid or uneducated, just in not engaging deeply about the human condition and being motivated to respond, etc.
everybody's mind works differently...and i actually have these friends because there was a period in my life when i tried, for years, to get my mind in that state. church, bible study, small groups, etc...for many years...i envied the simplicity and ease with which some people looked at life. i wanted that badly.
but i finally realized i was the odd one out in these settings, i wasnt 'getting' it, i just couldn't relate to the vast majority of the people i encountered...i wanted to, so badly...but i constantly felt like an interloper. the only way i can really state it is...i found the majority 'simple minded' (again, i am not saying they were stupid).
i've often described it as someone just floating through life, la-de-da. and i envy that to this day. i fully acknowledge i would probably be a much 'happier' person if i could just get there...and when my heart is breaking over a terrible injustice, when i am moved to tears by empathy for others...yes, i still often think 'my god i wish i could just coast through this life and not care so much!' i really do.
but it is not me. i have this brain that engages in critical thinking and deep thought, that reacts emotionally to vast events well beyond my circles of control, power, and influence.
i could, if i were so inclined, even say God made me this way. following that...he's the one that put us all here. it seems quite the waste to just look beyond the human experience to only focus on what's next.
i guess i'm saying i envy you your ability to not be bothered or 'not care less' about others thoughts or feelings bc it makes you happier, but that is just anathema to me.