Spirituality can be defined as what we do with the fire inside us, as how we channel our energy. And how we channel it, the discipline and habits we choose to live by, will either lead to a greater integration or disintegration within our bodies, minds,and souls, and to a greater integration or disintegration in the way we are related to God, others, and the cosmic world. (The Holy Longing, p. 11).
Spirituality is what we do with our spirits, our souls. A healthy spirit must do two jobs:
(1) It has to give us energy, or fire, so that we do not lose our joy of living, and (2) it has to keep us glued together, integrated, so that we do not fall apart and die. "What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and suffer the loss of his soul?" Someone who suffers the loss of his soul has lost his identity, so that at some point, he or she does not know who he/she is anymore. A healthy spirit keeps us both energized and glued together.
Our soul is not something we have; it is who we are! When cynicism, despair, bitterness, or depression paralyze our energy, part of the soul is hurting. When we no longer know where we are going, who we are, or where we came from, it is the other part of our soul that is limping.
When Jesus said, "Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God," He was telling us how important the soul -- or our spiritual energy-- is to our lives. There comes a moment in every life when we must stop and ask ourselves how we are nourishing our spirit. Much, if not most, of our life consists in nourishing the body, and perhaps the mind. But what about our spirit? What is it that renews our energy at the deepest level and helps us to hold together all the parts of our lives that threaten to pull us apart?
Padre Pio once said, "I shudder to think of the harm done to souls by the lack of spiritual reading!" Our religious practices of going to church, singing hymns, praying, etc. may be a start, but unless we renew our spirits with soul prayer, spiritual reading, and simple contemplation of nature/beauty/wisdom, etc. we run the risk of giving our souls pablum instead of real food.
Life tends to pull us in multiple directions --- all of them good, sometimes, so that we can no longer decide how or where to draw the line on our energy resources. Our lives need wisdom, peace, and guidance to keep us from falling apart --- and, according to the book of James, God will lavishly give wisdom to those who ask Him (James 1:5). He never intended for us to slough through the mire on our own; He always intended to be with us a Full Partner in this business of preserving our souls!
Spiritual reading is my delight, even if I'm picking up a familiar unspectacular little tome,- sailing upwards just the same, -in good company, for a moment or so. When I pull out a new book, as just happened, as I'd purchased a whole box from those slated to leave the library book sale- it can be rapturous. But my problem is that reading is like the Samaritan woman's well- the water that isn't renewed. I woke at 3AM feeling like I was trapped in a broom closet, a small empty space, because I hadn't memorized the riches one reads reads reads, as though one can always drink again from them. Even prayers, I hadn't to mind. Oh one can inflate ones soul in reading for the moment, but one needs real furniture too! Solid handsome enduring stuff, and words you can site with your eyes closed!
ReplyDelete