Friends, Family, and Forwarded Email

Every now and then, someone (usually my mom, or someone from work) will forward to me one of those warm and fuzzy religious emails with cute titles like "Friends are Blessings from Heaven", "How You Know God Loves You", or "Jesus Christ, You're Special!". You know the ones I mean, with the adorable fluffy animals and/or nature scenes interspersed between lines, and Muzak versions of hymns playing in the background, all designed to lift the spirits and remind each and every reader that even the asshole who cut you off on the interstate this morning and made you spill coffee all over yourself is part of God's grand and intricate plan for your life and should be considered a blessing....



Generally speaking, out of respect for the sender, I do read these forwarded emails, sometimes smiling to myself at the absurdity contained within, and at other times marveling that somebody had the time and talent to put such a message together and then send it off into the infinity of cyberspace, usually without the benefit of spell-check or grammar editing, I might add. At any rate, when I reach the end, I inevitably hit delete--not bothering to forward any of these religious-themed emails to anyone in my address book (unless there happens to be a good joke involving a Catholic priest, a Baptist minister, and a Rabbi included that might be appreciated by others--which, of course, is very rare). Ultimately, the fact is that I just find these messages to be a waste of time and in-box space.



So, why do friends and family continue to send me religious (usually Christian) material if I am a godless heathen, as the title of my blog proclaims? Well...like that salmon who's trying to swim upstream knows...it's definitely easier to go with the flow. In other words, I don't openly "proclaim" my lack of religious faith to anyone who hasn't thoroughly read through my Facebook page. Does that make me something of a coward? Absolutely! But it also keeps me employed and prevents my grandmother from having a stroke over the fact that I am definitely going to whatever version of Hell she believes in.



Anyhoo....like the unsolicited, framed and "officially" blessed-with-holy-water print of Jesus given to me by my mother-in-law (and subsequently donated to Goodwill)...when it comes to forwarded email, it's the thought that counts, right? Or is it? More on this to come later........