It's hard to pick. I have two. I enjoy waking on the beach at sunrise and sunset at my condo. I walk just inside the part where the waves lap up and erase my footprints behind me. It grounds me and gives me a chance to reconnect with being a small part in a large and sometimes beautiful picture.
My other favorite is hiking along the rainbow trail in Colorado near my ranch. I usually accend up venerable and hike up and along the ridge line for miles. The trail head is at 8200 feet and the mountain peaks at 13000 feet are staggeringly beautiful. The snow melt is pristine and at night the sky if filled with stars. The area is the only mountain ringed alpine valley in the United States and one of few areas that have an international dark sky designation. I like the challenge in the hike and the communion I feel with nature when walking along what seems like the rim of the world.
If I could eat only one food for the rest of my life it would be icecream. I love the stuff. Peanut butter chocolate, Vanilla Swiss almond and enough other favors to last a life time.
Do humans have an inate need for religion and spirituality? Within my life I see a significant distinction between religion and spirituality. As far as religion goes, I feel religion can be helpful in the lives of people witch may need an internal moral compass or need a person or text to guide them intellectually and spiritually. They need the social emotional control and support of a community of like minded people.
However, to me every religion I have explored feels disconnected from reality, unfounded by science. That said, What ever floats your boat and makes you happy as long as it harms no one else...... Oh...wait.... that's happened pretty much perpetually throughout history.
Is it an innate need? I'd say for many people yes absolutely but not to all people. Every civilization we know of throughout history has had religion and alcohol so it's defiantly ingrained into all know cultures.
Spirituality to me is more about faith in something. For a good part of my life I was more of an atheist. That seemed to stem from the nurture side of my development as I basically raised myself from age five with little or no input, interaction or communication with my parents. After I became an adult I experienced a near death anomaly that has changed my perspective. Now I would consider myself a hopeful agnostic. I have never feared death. Point of fact I put my faith into my understanding that life is finite and would be over soon. I looked forward to oblivion. Now I put my faith into knowing that I don't know, leaving room for infinite possibility.
I'd say faith is an inate need. Where you focus it is free will.
