Spirituality
This is a post that I've wanted to write for a while now. It has do with what I believe is a person's most valuable attribute: spirit.

A lot of people think of the spirit as something that is disconnected with their physical bodies, and maybe as something that has to do with the afterlife or a different "world." To me, this could not be farther from the truth.

The spirit is part of the mind and body and is constantly present in daily life. Discipline, tenacity, heart, intensity, willpower, and dedication. These to me all reflect the meaning of spirit and are reflected in the actions of every day life. Spirit is the driving force behind our actions, and has a direct effect on the results of those actions. A strong spirit can conquer any obstacle, and can drive the mind and body to improve.

All of the people I admire have strong spirit. Spirit to me can be everything from getting a couple extra reps in on a particularly tough lift at the gym, to waking up and getting to work early consistently. An optimistic attitude is reflective of strong spirit, as is confidence and a strong desire to improve. Being unafraid to experiment, and being unafraid in general are signs of strong spirit as well. Most importantly, having a strong spirit reflects a strong grounding in reality.

You might say that my idea of spirit goes way beyond what the word normally implies, but I think my definition includes those other ideas. A more traditional idea of spirit implies something out-of-the-ordinary, and is dependent on religious views (spiritual views). But the truth is that regardless of what happens after life, and wherever your spirit "goes", it is the intensity of your spirit during life that determines how that life is lived and how much it affects the world.

So with that said, I consider myself a very spiritual person. I believe in science, I have no religion, and I am skeptical of the supernatural. Yet, I consider myself spiritual because to me, spirit is not something intangible but something real and concrete that is tested every day. Extended to my world views, it means that I have 'faith' in how things will work out, not faith in God or karma, but in myself and the people around me. It means that I take responsibility for the world around me and that I acknowledge that regardless of the impact I make, I will try.

If life is a beautifully rich, complex and meaningful thing (it is), then what is the point of a spiritual view that undermines that meaning? I think for a lot of people, spirituality becomes a slave to apathy or lethargy and then transforms into an excuse to not try, an excuse to not care, or an excuse to be sinful and pathetic, when in fact spirituality should be what drives us all to improve and become better people. I really think this is an idea that is missing from what we learn as people and what is taught to us, and I think it is one of the most important things I have ever learned.

So that's what I believe: spirit is an acknowledgment of reality; it's a refusal to ever give up and the desire to try as hard as possible. It is the level to which we participate in our own lives and the process of giving meaning to every action we make. Yes, these are very strong and broad ideas, but that's because I'm a very spiritual person!

Cheers,
Pin