How has atheism changed you?

[Angrboda]

“Nothing is permanent except change.” — Heraclitus

The origins of my first atheism are lost in the mists of my early childhood. I don't know that I ever was truly atheist or ever wasn't, as madness has fractured my life with a mosaic of truths and untruths, uncaring of each other's existence.

I know why I became a Taoist, analogous to Mencken's comment about the Christian who reads the bible and pencils in the margins, "So true!" At 17 I discovered the Tao Te Ching, and everything just clicked.

If anything, I would say my Taoism has helped me to be more tolerant of ambiguity and indeterminism, and instilled in me a willingness to let others find their own paths, without feeling the need to impose my order on them.

In the years between that and now, I have incorporated Hindu threads and the worship of a wild goddess, which, perhaps helps me allow myself to be wild too.

And meanwhile, the madness continues to destroy. It's probably a good thing I have a high tolerance for this life.