Let your ‘spirit’ be your guide

It gives your life purpose…  motivates you…  encourages you…  brings clarity in difficult situations…  and provides hope.  Your spirit is that tiny voice that dwells deep within you…  narrating your life… and guiding you through the joys and challenges experienced each day.  It may stir up tears of compassion or make your heart dance for joy, working deep from within to guide you to live a life well lived.

While there are seven dimensions of human wellness that we each must nurture– physical, social, emotional, educational, vocational, financial, and spiritual– it is the spiritual component of our human condition that must be allowed to ‘take the lead.’

Far too many of us fail to appropriately nurture our spirit– to invest the time necessary to answer life’s most important questions in a way that ‘works for us’– individually.  While we fill our lives with activities– long days at work or school, updates of our social media feeds, trips to the gym, and quick stops by the grocery store– our spiritual life often languishes.  We fill our days with ‘urgent’ priorities– attempting to address our vocational, educational, financial, social, emotional, and physical needs– while perhaps failing to address the truly ‘important.’

Award-winning author and contemporary philosopher Karen Armstrong opens The Case for God (2009) sixty-five feet underground with a description of hieroglyphics found on the ceiling of a cave that were painted by our Palaeolithic ancestors seventeen thousand years ago. These findings are just one of many that illustrate the basic human need to find an answer to the age-old question– what is the purpose of human existence?

Everyone must answer this question– those that fail to do so will live a life in which something is missing– a void will exist– an emptiness.

This is not a question of religion, although specific religious traditions are utilized by many to help find an answer; however, even if one finds a religious tradition that seems to present a framework that establishes a plausible explanation for human existence–or that provides purpose in one’s life– questions will remain. And we must each investigate these questions and wrestle with our doubts– attempting to reconcile the often conflicting messages, emotions, and experiences encountered along life’s journey.

Take time to read, pray, meditate, and discuss with others what feeds your spirit. Write down your innermost thoughts– identify what fills your life with hope and meaning. One cannot travel along seven different paths simultaneously– instead we must each blaze a singular trail– that allows us to nurture all seven dimensions of human wellness– while our spirit navigates the journey.