There are the mundane matters of living - the family, the job, politics, hobbies, etc. And then there is the "other", which goes under who knows how many names. Some call it spirituality, others call it religion, still others use the academically more acceptable title of rational philosophy. I instead prefer the phrase "splinter in the mind", which describes perfectly my own feeling and the reason for this web page. The larger issues of life, of existence are indeed much like a splinter in the mind. Throughout history there seem to have been 3 types of people:

(1) The Numb - These people are numb to the splinter. Although they might give passing thought to the larger issues, they spend the vast majority of their lives without questions. These are people who either have no interest in the non-mundane or who, no matter what their belief systems, follow an authority unquestioningly, lemming-like. In essense, "the numb" are those who have stopped or never started questioning.
(2) The Sensitive - These people (the most likely participants of this web site) are to varying degrees acutely sensitive to the splinter. Sometimes the splinter tickles. But more often than not the questions plague the mind - frustrate, irritate, haunt, perplex - like an itch just out of reach or ... like a splinter in the mind.
(3) The Free - The unsplintered. These are people who have reached a level of understanding so profoundly different that the splinter has been removed. They are called enlightened ones, saints, masters or whatever label might be given to these extremely rare shining lights. This is a very dangerous category as there are many out there who think the splinter has been removed when it has not. There are undoubtedly many pretenders who either deceive others, deceive themselves, or both. Unfortunately, I don't believe I've ever had the honor of meeting someone unsplintered (sometimes I even wonder if this category exists), but I like to think we all have the potential of becoming so ourselves.