Spirituality

Do you believe that there is something more important and infinitely greater than the world that we see before us?

What is spirituality to you?  
I am pretty sure that whatever it is to you, it will be a little different to me and definitely different from our neighbors and friends.  Even if they don't tell you what they believe is different, you can pretty much bet that, that isn't so.

Is spiritualtiy about your religion, church, synagogue or mosque?  

Do you find it through prayer, yoga, meditation, quiet reflection or just by looking at and appreciating nature?

It is hard to look at the beautiful world around us and all the magnificence and not know that there is something bigger than us.   Psychologically, we have a strong urge to put things together and make sense of it through patterns and meaning.  Once we believe in something, we will do whatever is in our power to prove that anything that conflicts with our belief just can't be true.

“When you have come to the edge Of all light that you know And are about to drop off into the darkness Of the unknown, Faith is knowing One of two things will happen: There will be something solid to stand on or You will be taught to fly” Patrick Overton

I don't know what you do without faith.  My dad died in March.  I know without doubt that he is in heaven with  God and my grandparents, brother and granddaughter.  I know the peace that he has right now and I am very happy for him.  Although my family started out living in the same city, we have spread out all over the globe.  Since my father's death, we feel him everywhere we are.  I know, without doubt, that if I play my cards right, I will be with him again.

When my grandma died, I was going through a spiritual crisis.  I wasn't so sure that there was a God, much less the Holy Spirit or Jesus.  My grief was beyond consolation.  How do you reconcile a loss like this if you do not believe that there is a purpose or anything beyond the concrete we stand upon.  I still feel gray and gloomy when I think of that sense of loss.

Happily, today, I am in a pretty good place and have spiritual strength that I can not only grow from, but share with others as well.  It wasn't a sudden epiphany, it was a lot of work, study and more important than anything else, opening my heart and soul up to the possibility.  The more you open yourself up, the more comes your way.  God always spoke to me.  I just didn't always listen.  He speaks to us 24/7.  He speaks to me through blessings in my life...and he speaks to me through lessons...especially when things don't go right and my blessing is in the lesson learned.  (That happens a lot.)  The Holy Spirit doesn't speak to me, but I feel The Holy Spirit.  It is the Holy Spirit who let me know the peace that my Dad has right now, because I was allowed to feel it for a brief moment.  At the time I didn't understand it...and of course, looked for explanations, but when I was meant to understand, I did. 

One of the most curious things to me is that God thinks that we are all important enough to speak to us like this.  I remember reading one of Rick Warren's "Daily Hope's", he said "sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is take a nap!".  Then he went on to tie it into the creation of the world and that on the 7th day God rested.  I like the idea of taking a nap being a spiritual act.  I like the idea that almost anything we do is spiritual if it is done with the right intention.

It is funny, I can quote Patrick Overton and Rick Warren, but I am afraid to quote Jesus here because of the fear of running off anyone who is interested in spirituality.  It may be because I can disagree with Patrick or Rick, but I cannot disagree with Jesus.  It is like kind of telling the story of peace with The Holy Spirit, but not giving you enough detail to debate it.  There are certain things that we can stand opposition with and others that we can not.  This would be where I need some spiritual growth. 

I don't agree with...or even understand everyone's spiritual beliefs.  I respect them.  I respect that they see that there is something more glorious than our day to day wants.  I respect that they believe in something bigger than themselves.  You do not have to agree with my beliefs.  I hope that reading this will bring you either to a recognition of your beliefs, a search for meaning or even just to think and wonder about it.  Spiritual strength is a gift that you give to yourselves and everyone around you..

Happy Father's Day Dad!  I miss you and love you.

~Cathy

copyright 2012 Cathy Sykora
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