Why is spirituality important?
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nope. I’ve always differed morality/ethics and spirituality, so for the most part it doesn’t have much of a purpose to me personally.
Personally, I don’t feel that it is, at least not for me.
Nope, spirituality plays no role in my life whatsoever, and I am a pretty complete and content person, so I will keep singing this song.
High Flight
Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I’ve climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds – and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of – wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov’ring there
I’ve chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air.
Up, up the long delirious, burning blue,
I’ve topped the windswept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or even eagle flew -
And, while with silent lifting mind I’ve trod
The high untresspassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand and touched the face of God.
Pilot Officer John Gillespie Magee
No 412 squadron, RCAF
Killed 11 December 1941 (He was19 and died in a mid-air collision with another plane.)
@gailcalled- Years ago, when television stations would sign-off at the end of their broadcast day, Sacramento“s KOVR 13 would air a video of a USAF fighter jet flying high through the clouds with that poem being read in the background. right before they would go off the air. Years later I read that it was Ronald Reagan’s favorite piece of poetry. That last bit of news kind of ruined it for me.
Keep the magic of the poem separate from the fate of the poet. it is tragic, of course, that he was taken so young, but that poem is tacked up on a wall in every flight school and small airport in the US and probably in the UK.
McGee left behind a memorable gift.
@gailcalled- No. I meant the fact that Ronald Reagan loved the poem kind of ruins it for me. Not a big fan of the Gipper.
And I’m not talking about George Gipp.
@AstroChuck: Interesting, isn’t it. how the best-written sentence can be ambiguous?
What if Cheney’s favorite play was Hamlet (I know it seems unlikely)? Would you still like Shakespeare?
(I was not a fan of RR either. )
Spirituality has some meaning to me, I enjoy the spirituality of going to church, it’s peacful and claming for me. Not everyone will agree with the principal of going to church but to me I enjoy it!
@gailcalled- No. I’m kind of exaggerating a little bit. He doesn’t really ruin it for me. As for Hamlet, I’ve never been a big Shakespeare fan anyway.
@AstroChuck: Well, you get my point. I wonder what Palin’s favorite read is? People ‘zine?
@gailcalled- Is there a book out there called Maverick?
@AstroChuck: This is presupposing literacy. Have you heard that she invented the “death panel” on her blog?
It is important because all that we each are, other than physical, mental and energetic, is spiritual. Because our physical, mental and energetic aspects have to be appropriatley nourished ( with food,education and air,respectively), then so too does our “spiritual” aspect. And our spiritual side needs and responds to music, poetry, philosophy of a spiritual nature, art, beauty, humour and love.
But I believe that “Spirituality” is distinct from ‘Religiosity’ .
Spirituality is important to people because it gives them a reason to continue living in this harsh word and to keep doing things they believe as right. If people gave up on spirituality, you’d be surprised at the billions who’d suddenly commit suicide.
“Why continue in this harsh cruel world”, they’d say to themselves.
No meaning to me, but seems to have a lot of meaning for a lot of people. I think they have that part of the brain more developed or more active, the God center of the brain. The spiritual people feel something we non-spiritual people don’t I guess?
I will say this. Spirituality has inspired many to write some really beautiful music (not to mention other forms of art).
People who are spiritual, is it like a “hi” when you pray or meditate, or feel one with the universe with your creator, is it like a drug?
What is life without spirituality? By not acknowledging the spiritual, you pretty much throw the meaning of your existence out the window. Spirituality is important because it assigns higher meaning to earthly life. Spiritual transcends the physical. Why should we look no further than the tangible? Why should we confine ourselves in that way? I would think a life that doesn’t consider spirituality is empty, bleak, and simplistic.
@le_inferno why can’t the meaning of life be found within and from the people you love? My life is not empty, bleak, or simplistic.
@JLeslie I see love as a spiritual thing.
@le_inferno I see, so it is just semantics. I think that miscommunication happens quite often when discussing religion and spirituality. It confused me because I think of people as tangible. Thanks.
because we need something more…we do we do we do!!
who loves orange soda?
Kel loves orange soda.
is it true?
Mmhmm, I do I do I doOoOoo!
well my view of spirituality is tied to my view of the ultimate nature of reality or metaphysics. Being a christian i think its very important because of the metaphysical claims Christianity makes.
Because it connects us with the universe. It helps us not just understand, but feel how we are related to every other person and everything in the universe. When we grok that context, our actions change, because we know we matter, or our actions matter in determining the future of humanity and the universe. Not just know, but feel deep within our bodies this knowledge/understanding/spirit.
Spirituality guides me, calms me, and nurtures me. I would be alone without it.
I’m still not convinced the word “spirituality” even refers to anything real.
I do value inner peace, emotionality, empathy and awareness of my (our) position in the universe. If that’s what spirituality is about, then yes.
But meanwhile, I continue to believe the “soul” is nothing but an ancient fantasy. An arrogant pedestal the human species has erected for itself, clung to by those desperate to believe we have some cosmic significance in an age where the evidence piles up that we are infinitesimal and purely physical beings stuck in the gravity well of a pale blue dot drifting in a cold uncaring void.
I also continue to believe the world is a wonderful place, and not being at the centre of the universe does not make me the slightest bit less thankful to be alive. Each of us has been given the opportunity to exist, to experience life, to explore the world, to marvel at its beauty and magnificence. Even without any illusions of personal grandeur, our physical existence itself is a precious gift we should not belittle.
My two cents.
Only a fool would go through life never thinking about the inevitable. You and I will die someday and although that seems like a distant future for you it will be sooner than you think. This life is temporary, the spirit is eternal. If you have no relationship with God here how can you expect to have anything with Him here after. Life is about love and God is love. People with faith and who consistently live a life of worship allow His spirit to dwell within them so that they can respond to people, situations, and circumstances in a Christ like way. Incorporating God in your life is not just a convenient thing to do, its the only thing you can do to truly give your life a sense of purpose and fantastic meaning. God enables us to go beyond the tangible, He replaces our fear with faith and our doubt with hope. There is no question, our priority should be to be the best worshipers we can be. In this way, we cultivate an attitude and faith that becomes unshakeable, a faith that is not so easily ruffled by the winds and storms of adversity, a faith that can allow us to survive the worst tragedy. Master faith in God and love yourself and others for His sake all else is nonloving.
@jstone123
I’m happy for you that you’ve already made up your mind about what is going to happen to you after you die, but it would be nice if you could voice that belief without insulting the lives of all non-Christian life forms in the universe. Our lives are not non-lives without purpose or meaning. Thank you very much.
It would also be nice if you would be so considerate as not to present your arbitrary personal beliefs as if they were verifiable facts, but that’s probably too much to ask for.
@jstone123 I believe in God but I also believe that it is I who replace fear with faith and doubt with hope… God just watches and smiles when I finally get it…. just saying
@filmfann Your partiality is unnecessary. Fyrius’ response was perfectly level-headed, he does not need to “chill out.” It’s pretty childish of you to obnoxiously proclaim “lurve” for someone who agrees with you and criticize someone you disagree with.
@le_inferno I give lurve to anyone I see on Fluther with less than 50 points, whether I agree with them or not.
I think fyrius wasn’t level headed here. Perhaps you are proclaiming him level headed because he agrees with your belief. Just sayin’.
there’s no copywrite on “just sayin’”, is there?
Truth be told, although I was quite “chilled out” when writing that, there was some sarcasm in that post. Yes.
Whether that was justified, I’ll leave up to you.
With that said, @filmfann, I think your “no you” counter once again shows your immature rhetorical incompetence as well as your disappointing lack of imagination.
I think you’re generally a good person, but you can be so frustrating.
@Fyrius I’m rubber, you’re glue. It bounces off me and sticks to you.
A copy-pasted yet inapplicable one-liner. I rest my case.
I’m not going to play the witty comeback game with you.
@Fyrius I am not sure why I am being criticized for giving Lurve to a contributer whose opinion I agree with. Don’t you?
I then voiced agreement with him, and welcomed him to Fluther.
Your objection may come from my disagreeing with the tone of your response to him. I felt it was harsh, especially to a new jelly. I didn’t feel he was shoving anything down your throat, but stating his opinion. Your response was directed at him, and not his opinion, and I don’t think that’s right. That is why I asked you to chill.
You called me immature. I responded with the rubber/glue line, which plays off being called immature. It was applicable, and wasn’t copy/pasted.
As far as not playing the witty comeback game, I agree. You’re not.
The wonderful thing about Fluther is that we can share ideas. Let’s not be hard on those who share ideas we don’t agree with.
@filmfann
It seems to have eluded you that @le_inferno and me are different people. It was her who resented your upvote. This is not a position I have taken.
My response obviously was directed at what he said. I didn’t say anything about his character. I only criticise the character of people I actually know enough about to have anything to criticise. Like you.
And it’s @jstone123 who is hard on my disagreeing beliefs here; I’m only being hard on his one-sidedness. (In fact, I was still “being hard on him” in a very gentle way.)
I’m all for tolerance and whatnot, but it would be nice if the religious would put any effort in putting up with those who disagree with them too. Instead of declaring their lives to be meaningless and to miss the point of what the entire universe is all about, unless they adopt your particular set of beliefs. If you’re not willing to be respectful of other people’s beliefs, you’re in no position to ask them to be so of yours.
@filmfann FYI, I don’t agree with Fyrius’ perspective, but I do admire his ability to point out the flaws of someone’s response without being overly nasty or losing his temper (something I am often incapable of doing myself).
I certainly try to be tolerant and respectful of people who have different beliefs than I.
Sometimes sarcasm doesn’t read well here, and is misinterpeted.
If I have misunderstood what either of you meant, I apologize.
@filmfann
Your good will is appreciated.
I’m sorry if I made you angry with the things I said.
@Fyrius I have a very high threshold for abuse. You’re gonna have to try a LOT harder if you want me to get angry.
There is no universal definition of spirituality; it varies from person to person. People make their belief on the thing which they feel is true. But the belief in “spirituality” is so important in the life of an individual. It helps us to improve our lives by practicing general but fundamental acts of goodness including, kindness, generosity, gratitude, honesty, compassion, humility, love and any action that produces a happy state of being.
In the modern times when please deal with the hard and fast life, the essence of spirituality has remained very less. Still, our inner feelings to know ourself and live for what we have born on earth is the real essence of our spirit and soul. Hence, to make the life easy and trouble-free, some sort of spiritual activities seem important. Hence, spirituality seems to be significant.
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