Heather Applebury: Atheist grief
By Administrator
Heather Applebury is the team captain of the North Bay Skeptics Light the Night team, a student at UC Davis, and a blogger. North Bay Skeptics walked at their Light the Night event in Santa Rosa, CA, on October 13. The ten-member team shattered their $1,000 fundraising goal by more than $600! Heather shared her thoughts about atheist grief and the Light the Night event in this piece originally posted on her blog, Heathen Flower.
Last night I had the privilege of being a part of Light the Night for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, but more importantly I was allowed to be a part of someone grieving. As long as you’re not a sociopath, every human experiences this, usually multiple times during their lifetime. . . .
When I finally came to terms with my lack of belief, one of the things I had to do was grieve the loss of my grandmother again, who died when I was only ten. I don’t think I ever actually believed I would see her again, but I was continually told that I would, and I wanted so badly for it to be true.
This finality is just one of the reasons that I try so hard to cultivate my relationships with people, and try to choose wisely who I spend my time with. I believe it’s a miracle that my insignificant self is alive, and I intend to cherish every moment I can with as many of the people I love that I can.