Spirituality is one of those words that’s easy to say but very difficult to define. What does it mean to you? Do you think you’re spiritual? Does spirituality mean simply that you think there’s Something beyond the mundane world where we live?
Especially at this time of year when we’re seeing beautiful pictures of autumn colors and quiet river scenes that give an uplift to what is today a very dreary crime-infested world, we urge you to get past the scenes of horror and to realize that beauty and spirituality still exist in nature? Can you get a similar uplifting spirituality from a book? –especially a book published in a time completely different from the world of today? No, we ourselves do not get any spiritual thoughts from the black books so beloved of millions of Abrahamic devotees.
Does the idea of the wonderful interconnection of all people through the medium of electronics give a feeling of spiritual uplift, or a feeling of dreary resignation about the humanity of the world where we live and the future of that world? Surely spirituality is something beyond negativity.
The chief place where we Frosts feel spiritual is at times like those when we see the moon over pine trees in the New River Gorge where we live. Perhaps there’s a slight mist in the air. It is quiet, and all we can hear is the water going on its eternal course toward the sea, as part of the eternal cycle, to be returned to us as rain.
So what turns us on to those feelings of wonder that we all sometimes get, at moments that are very difficult to preplan? I know that many can get an uplifting spiritual feeling when they listen to music, or when they see a group of ballerinas dancing in their perfect grace, and through many other moments.
How then do we bring spirituality into our life? To start with, we must believe that we can find it. And it seems to us that the best place to look for it is in nature. Consider the sight of newborn deer in our local state park; as we mentioned, the sight of the moon, the sound of the water in the river. Be quietly contemplative, and you will open yourself to the wonders of the spiritual side of your being.
Spirituality cannot be taught. Above all, it cannot be forced down your throat by some self-appointed spiritual leader who insists that his (or her) way is the only one acceptable.
Bring your spirituality into balance with your mundane world by continually looking at nature’s wonders. Breathe slowly. Find something to be grateful for. Be where you are.
Blessed be G & Y
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