Whenever we hear spiritual life, our minds gravitate towards religion. However, ‘spiritual well-being’ as you will see, is the wellness of every other part of our existence that cannot be felt (physically). It’s in the way we relate with other people, the way we feel when we are alone without any distractions, and the way we interact with the world around us. All these point towards the wellness of our soul. Our feelings (happiness, anger, frustration, outburst, excitement, satisfaction) towards situations, people and the rest of the world is determined by how well we have fed and nurtured our spirit.
In any case, spiritual well-being is enhanced by practicing a form of religion. Religion in itself is not the totality of spiritual well-being. For instance: I go to church, pour out my heart in prayer, praise God, and reflect on life. My soul is nourished, and I am at peace with myself. This peace should now reflect in my daily interaction with people, isn’t it? But it’s not always the case. It can only happen if other aspects of my spiritual life are healthy.
Why do we neglect other aspects of our spiritual life?
The most common reason is because we forget. Mothers are born nurturers; we are busy taking care of everyone around us and most times forget to take care of ourselves. Our daily schedule is loaded with many activities that what benefits us as individuals when you draw a chart may be barely 10% of the entire activities. Most women give up a lot to please their children and spouses, and at the end of the day, weep bitterly on their pillows because they realize they haven’t taken care of the things that matter to them and their happiness.
How then can we have a healthier spiritual life?
Search your soul: Find a quiet room, grab a chair, pen and paper, and may be a cup of cold drink (yes, the heat these days is killing). Ask yourself these questions, and write down the answers as they come in.
- What does life mean to me?
- What is the purpose of my existence?
- Have I been able to fulfill my purpose in life?
- Am I in the process of fulfilling my purpose in life?
- What is hindering me from achieving this?
- How do I relate with the people around me? Calmly or rashly?
- How do I view the world? Negatively or positively? (Half-empty cup or half-full cup?)
- Does my religious practice help me in any way?
- What can I do to be a better person or be at peace with myself and my immediate environment?
After answering these questions sincerely, you will find out you may not have truly known yourself all these years. This is what I call a life-audit. I learnt about auditing my life from this article . I had been so selfless, neglected myself and the things I always wanted to do since when I was a little girl. After reading that article, I decided to be doing regular checks on my peace of mind and fly with my new set-goals.
Set goals for yourself. Break down your goals according to their categories (E.g. Finances, Physical fitness, Career, Business, Relationship, etc.)
From your answer for question 6, if your relationship with people has not been smooth, try a more charismatic way of coming across situations or try out Daniel Carnegie’s method of How to win friends and influence people by letting the other person save face and some other rules in his book. You can read the book if you haven’t done so to get more inspiration.
Pick up your camera, take many photos of nature, (trees, rocks, birds, butterflies, ants, as many as you can see in your environment), people and many other things you may incidentally find fascinating. I have learnt that we view the world differently when we take shots of them. If you doubt this, open up some stock photography websites like iStock by Getty images you will see how photos of everyday life can become very fascinating through the eyes of some photographers, and we walk past these beauties every day without noticing them.
Make out at least 2 hours in a day to do something that appeals to you. I understand that having little kids around may rob you of your “me-time”. You can do this after they have gone to bed, just give it a try and see what happens.
I recommend you get this app: bliss from Google Play store or other smartphone marketplaces. There are different categories that will spur you to reset your mind from the way you view situations to achieve happiness. These are: gratitude journal, three good things, transforming problems, could be worse, honoring people, meaning in work, best possible future, and savoring. Check it out and give us your feedback through the comment section.
Engage in a religious activity: Pray, practice good religion; meditate on the word of God and BE AT PEACE WITH YOURSELF BECAUSE LIFE IS VERY SHORT.
Do you agree that religion only serves to enhance spiritual well-being? In what other ways can we enhance our spiritual well-being? I would like you to hear your views on this.
