The Spirit in Spirituality

I’ve been on a new quest during the latent stages of my life. That quest is to be more spiritual. I have been reading, watching TV shows, and thinking about spirituality. Just recently I have come across Oprah Winfrey’s Super Soul Sunday where she was discussing spirituality with three new up and coming spirituality gurus: Gabrielle Bernstein author of Spirit Junkie, Mastin Kipp blogger of The Daily Love, and Marie Forleo creator of Marie TV. I learned quite a bit about my quest: What is spirituality, really? Do I have to go to church every Sunday to have spirituality? How can I be sure I have spirituality? These new gurus answered all my questions and more.

Spirituality is how loving one is. Spirituality is loving and accepting all even during the bad times. People first find spirituality through religion but to expand that one must bring one’s heart and love to every part of their day, even those days one wonders why one woke up. Religion is something one is taught and spirituality is something one learns and teaches oneself. One can be spiritual without going to church every Sunday. (I always feel guilty about that one.)

To become spiritual one must do three things. First, as Joseph Campbell (The spirituality gurus of all spirituality gurus) says, “follow your bliss” and one needs to bring passion to everything one does. Next, one must be grateful for what one has in life instead of whining about what is missing. Then pay attention! One needs to give one’s full attention to whatever is happening at any moment. Stop texting while driving, listening to a friend or talking to a store clerk. Finally, one can’t be afraid to take risks when following one’s bliss. “The cave you fear to go in, holds the treasure that you seek.” – Joseph Campbell

When I think of who would be my spirituality role models I would have to say it would be both my sisters, Caren and Chris. Years ago when Caren accepted Christ into her life she said, “It felt like a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders.” I believe that was God telling her that he loved her and she was going to be okay. At that moment she was given validation to be who she is. Caren does everything with passion from playing golf to making friends with every store clerk or bank teller in which she comes in contact. Caren has two jobs and she doesn’t even need to have one. She goes to those jobs with a love for what she has to do. Work is not work to her. It is an opportunity to meet new people and spread her passion for life to others. Caren makes friends with everybody. There will be a time when I will wait in the car while she just runs into the store to get something and she’ll not come back for an eternity saying, “Sorry but I was talking to my friend in the produce department,” and when I ask, “What friend?” She’ll respond, “The guy I just met next to the chile peppers!” Caren will ask perfect strangers over for dinner. She loves everybody and everything with all her heart. Then there is my older sister Chris, who loves everybody. If she could, I think she would kiss every client on the way out of the office and say, “God be with you and buckle your seatbelt,” but my nephew and her son Michael who happens to also be her boss wouldn’t like that. Chris has faced many hardships over the years but has always looked at those hardships as a direction to a new path that she needed to take in her life.  On the spirituality scale of one to ten I think these “sistahs” are both a nine.

On the spirituality scale I think I am about a 5.5. I try to be passionate about everything, but then I think about my new experience teaching Saturday school (subject of a new blog) and I believe I let those kids suck the spirit out of me. I don’t do well at paying attention. I am always thinking about fifty things at one time and especially, how I am going to respond that I don’t really listen. Honestly, I have trouble loving everybody. I guess I might be a 3.5 on that scale. The only way to go is up and besides I love a challenge!

I personally believe that we all must find the spirit in spirituality. Not the “Holy Spirit” but the “rah, rah, sis, boom, bah” spirit. Just think, if we all gave a cheer on the way to work or before getting in the dentist’s chair. What would happen if we kept that cheerleader smile on all day long? How would people feel, if we continually cheered them on? Give me an S, give me a P, give me an I, give me an R, given me another I, give me a T. What’s that spell? S-P-I-R-I-T!

Paco’s Perspective

Sitting on someone’s lap is my bliss. I pay attention to when it is dinnertime. I love that everybody loves me.

The Flip Side

Chasing lizards is my bliss, duh! I pay attention to lizards. I love lizards and dinner. Give me an L, give me an . . . I don’t know how to spell lizard.