SPIRITUALITY
In many of my articles, I write about my spirituality. So, not surprising, I was asked by a friend what does spirituality mean? The technical definition of spirituality is the quality of being concerned with the human spirit or soul as opposed to material or physical things. To me, it is a true understanding that what you see, as it relates to a physical being is not what you really are. It is an internal belief that there is a real and significant component in each and everyone of us that is unknown. There is something that is unknown and ambiguous in every individual that guides us through life. Once I accepted this to be true, it transformed me with a sense of calmness. Things that most individuals get worked up over are not threatening to me. Spirituality has evolved me into a person in life where I am not afraid of the unknown. In fact, it has emboldened me to live my life to the fullest. As, Albert Einstein, said, "The most beautiful thing we can experience is mysterious." Not, that I live a careless or reckless life but, to the contrary. I live a full and purpose filled life. Further, it's not that I don't enjoy the finer things in life. I truly enjoy and am grateful for material and physical acquisitions because they contribute to my life experiences but, in the scope of living, they please my conscious, senses driven desires.
Moreover, spirituality to me is absolute freedom. It matters not the color of my skin, gender, height, weight, etc... It is knowing that I don't have to be perfect. In fact, it is an acceptance that we are all flawed. I have learned in essence, being flawed is a good thing because it makes the journey of life more interesting than the destination. It is akin to planning your dream vacation and doing everything preparing and planning for it. Things like saving money, loosing weight, buying clothes, etc.. The preparing or the journey at times is more exciting than the actual vacation itself. Spirituality puts my entire life, from the mundane to the extraordinary in perspective. Spirituality has also opened my heart to kindness. Although, I consider myself unconventional in my way of thinking, I enjoy teaching others about other ways of living but in a non-offensive way. I understand that we live in a shared world with many world views and that my view is just that, my views. I express them to give the reader other possibilities to view the world but, never from a perspective that my way is better than yours. I recently had a discussion with my wife where she told me that she feels from my writings that if I am not always moving forward that I am ungrateful. I can see why she would think that because, I believe passionately that I am here at this time to always continue to grow and move forward. However, I also feel with equal passion how fortunate I am in my life for everything that I have. I believe we can be both at the same time, be grateful for what we have and wanting more. Thomas Edison once said, " Show me a thoroughly satisfied man and I'll show you a failure." Spirituality has shown me that I don't have to feel guilty to always wanting to experience more. To me human nature is a continual growth upward and outward. I leave you with a quote on point. "Human beings are not born once and for all on the day their mothers give birth to them, but...life obliges them over and over again to give birth to themselves."
Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Just a thought.
Moreover, spirituality to me is absolute freedom. It matters not the color of my skin, gender, height, weight, etc... It is knowing that I don't have to be perfect. In fact, it is an acceptance that we are all flawed. I have learned in essence, being flawed is a good thing because it makes the journey of life more interesting than the destination. It is akin to planning your dream vacation and doing everything preparing and planning for it. Things like saving money, loosing weight, buying clothes, etc.. The preparing or the journey at times is more exciting than the actual vacation itself. Spirituality puts my entire life, from the mundane to the extraordinary in perspective. Spirituality has also opened my heart to kindness. Although, I consider myself unconventional in my way of thinking, I enjoy teaching others about other ways of living but in a non-offensive way. I understand that we live in a shared world with many world views and that my view is just that, my views. I express them to give the reader other possibilities to view the world but, never from a perspective that my way is better than yours. I recently had a discussion with my wife where she told me that she feels from my writings that if I am not always moving forward that I am ungrateful. I can see why she would think that because, I believe passionately that I am here at this time to always continue to grow and move forward. However, I also feel with equal passion how fortunate I am in my life for everything that I have. I believe we can be both at the same time, be grateful for what we have and wanting more. Thomas Edison once said, " Show me a thoroughly satisfied man and I'll show you a failure." Spirituality has shown me that I don't have to feel guilty to always wanting to experience more. To me human nature is a continual growth upward and outward. I leave you with a quote on point. "Human beings are not born once and for all on the day their mothers give birth to them, but...life obliges them over and over again to give birth to themselves."
Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Just a thought.