Have You Connected with Your Spirituality Lately?

As the thoughts of reaching the later stages of life start to creep into your mind. As the final years, months, days of your 30 plus career start to come to an end and you’re starting to wonder what retirement is really going to look like. The more mornings you wake up with hips, knees and hands hurting. The more friends and family start to deal with serious health issues.

Do you find yourself constantly feeling negative and critical about most of the things and many of the people around you? Are you lethargic, depressed, not feeling very energetic? Are you just going through the motions of your typical day – thinking about all of your responsibilities, go to work, finish projects at home, watch television, sleep, and wake up and do the same thing? Are you just plain bored?

One thing you might consider is reconnecting with your spirituality. What I’m talking about is the concept that we all are connected in some way and know there is something bigger “out there” than ourselves. We know and understand to respect nature and the inherent greatness of other people. We know to acknowledge and accept each other’s intrinsic gifts and are respectful of other’s needs and values. Putting it in an even simpler way, “Spirituality is the notion that we are all one, connected somehow with every other human being, yet distinct in our own gifts, views, direction and choices.” - Quote from Coach U

Did I loose you? Did I say you were spending too much time thinking about yourself? Think of spirituality this way. When was the last time you called to visit with someone, just an acquaintance, who you knew was lonely or dealing with a long term illness? When was the last time you took an elderly neighbor, who you knew didn’t leave their home very often, for a drive in the countryside or just spend some time with them? When was the last time you offered to help at a local charity – the Boy’s and Girl’s Club, the Crisis Center, the Family Services Center, one of the assisted living centers, maybe the Public Library?

What about volunteering at one of the schools or, better yet, at the hospital – maybe they would recognize you if you ever had to be admitted!!! Do you ever just say Hi to someone you make eye contact with, are do you more typically look away? Do you pick up your neighbor’s newspaper and put it on their doorstep, just because you were walking by? Do you hold the door for someone whose hands are full?

This week in the grocery store, I slipped on a green bean and almost fell. Funny thing was this bean had been stepped on by someone else even before I got to it. Ummm, so why didn’t they pick it up or move it to the side, so someone else wouldn’t slip on it? Do you find yourself ignoring that little voice in your head saying “Why don’t you …..? Many times, is it something that involves others?

Have you ever seen the movie Pay it Forward? Rent it! It will give you some great examples of spirituality and why it’s important for all of us to remember we really are connected. Why it’s healthy for us to stay curious and in awe of one another, to do what we can to acknowledge and support each other.

Challenge yourself to do one thing for someone else everyday. It doesn’t have to be time consuming if you’re a busy person. It just needs to be something where you get out of yourself for just a minute; you actually do something for someone else. You think and are part of the “bigger picture”.