Spirituality: Embracing the Everyday Beyond Sunsets and Yoga
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Chapter 1: Redefining Spirituality
Many articles and videos on spirituality often showcase picturesque scenes of sunsets, serene landscapes, and individuals in peaceful meditation. This idealized imagery has shaped our perception of spirituality, much like how we envision success as a perfectly linear ascent instead of the chaotic, winding path it truly is. This cultural oversight can lead us to avoid integrating our spiritual beliefs into our daily lives.
These tranquil images provide comfort and transport us to a calming mental space. However, should we not strive to improve the very environment we seek to escape from? Is it not a loftier goal to remain present and actively engage in resolving the chaos around us?
We have become so accustomed to associating spirituality with moments of calm that we often overlook two critical questions:
- Is this representation accurate?
- Is it beneficial?
Spirituality should not be confined to times of peace—when the children are asleep or during yoga sessions. Yet, the prevalence of calming visuals, such as stacked stones or rippling ponds, has reinforced this narrow view.
Chapter 2: Growth in Everyday Life
In moments of blissful harmony, we rarely feel challenged or pushed to change our reactions. True growth, however, often occurs during our routine experiences, which may be slow and uncomfortable.
Consider the effort to unlearn instinctively covering your mouth while yawning—it's a slow process filled with many missteps before achieving success. Personal growth necessitates continual attempts to embody principles of love and compassion in our daily interactions.
Spirituality centers on how we navigate our everyday lives, infusing the mundane with sacredness. There’s no need to wait for ideal circumstances to engage in spiritual practices; our spiritual journey should encompass all aspects of our lives.
It’s tempting to frame this next point negatively:
Spirituality involves approaching every task with the higher values we aspire to embody, in alignment with the teachings of our Higher Power. There is no escape from the everyday challenges.
It’s not just about enjoying picturesque moments like sunsets or being captivated by a candle or song. Instead, it's about seizing the present moment—an idea beautifully expressed by Joe Schmidt, a former coach of the Irish rugby team.
Chapter 3: The Challenge of Spiritual Practice
Being spiritual means responding with kindness when answering a troublesome client's call, refraining from sharing tantalizing gossip, exercising patience with someone who seems overly dramatic, or offering assistance to someone in need, even when we feel pressed for time.
These actions can be difficult, often unglamorous, and usually go unnoticed and unappreciated. You will fail frequently and may find these challenges unappealing because of their complexity and hidden nature.
What’s not to appreciate? Almost everything, except that each attempt contributes to our growth and improvement.
We must practice consistently. This endeavor could be considered “World Improvement,” if such a category existed—perhaps it’s time to create one.
The joy found in sunsets and yoga sessions serves merely as a respite, preparing us for the challenges ahead.
We must do the work. In our actions, we find our true selves.
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