Aside from all the rest, I think the most important thing in life for us individually is to reach our own potential in this life. Leaving this place better off for those who come after us makes sense.
Observant Jews walk to the synagogue that they live near, and they observe every Shabbat. Those of us who are less than observant drive, ride a bike, or take public transit. Nobody will be turned away for doing so. The prohibition of starting a fire on Shabbat lies at the root of the question...
I don't know if karma is universally accepted...but I do have a sticker on my bike that reads Bicycle theft = Bad Karma... nobody has tried to steal it yet!
Please listen to the podcasts of Dan Carlin. He has two shows, one is called Common Sense where he espouses a radically non-partisan view of the political world. The other is Hardcore History which is the most engaging history podcast I've come across so far.
I have never seen any contradiction between science and spirituality, it seems to me that those with only a superficial understanding of either perceive a divide between science and God. I have a sense that those who study the nature of reality tend to believe more in God rather than less. For...
I think the problem some people have reconciling science and religion lies in the thought that both attempt to answer the same questions. Clearly science is well equipped to ask and find answers to how questions. Religion is only ever able to answer why.
If you believe that God created everything, then God created everything. Evil is not something that comes from the outside. The line between good and evil lies within each and every one of us. It is in the choices we make that good or evil is brought into this world.
I think I only found my bliss after going through suffering (mine was a near death experience that left me with my face half full of titanium). Mine may be an extreme case, but I find joy now in the smallest of things. There are no absolutes in this life. Happiness is fleeting, so appreciate...
I'm quite upset about the garbage patch, twice the size of Texas, that is floating in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. I think that can be addressed, not holding my breath that it will.