I wrote rececntly that transcendent is a human need, not a Latter-day Saint need. I feel this strongly, though it’s not my original idea: I am taking it from Emily Esfahani Smith’s work, who considers transcendence one of the four pillars of the meaningful life.
What does that look like?
For me, it means weeping over poetry, finding God in prayer, breathing in the smell and soft cheeks of my three year old, and getting caught up in imagining scripture. I’ve done a better job of this lately, and have been pleased by the result. By focusing my worship on the inner things, the transcendent things, my worship seems far more meaningful.
But what does it look like to an atheist?
I don’t know, honestly. There are things in my list that are universally applicable, though. And if I’m right that the need to find trascendence is a human one, then these activities are ones that everyone needs to find a way to implement. As best I can tell, transcendent activities are those which spark awe, wonder, and profound humility. They include Carl Sagan looking at the stars, and realizing that we are but a small, blue dot. They include meandering next to a stream, and rejoicing in the pure idyllic quotidian joy of nature.
I think we need to wire our brains for this, and the “we” is a very inclusive one.