“Don’t Worry, Be Spiritual?”
In the previous post’s discussion thread, some of you suggested that to become highly spiritual/faithful is not to worry about things. I agree that spiritual development works against worry.
Consider:
Environmental degradation
Human rights violations
Poor people dying in the streets
A sick family member
Our own personal stuff, like whether to seek further education, get beyond our psychological issues… seek further spiritual development…
Is the full measure of spiritual development a state of undisturbed tranquility?
________
Relax…
“And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?” (Mat 6:27-30)
Get Going…
“We must work the works of him who sent us while it is day; night is coming when no one can work.” (John 9:4)
Posted by Paul at 11:35 PM Permalink
11 Comments:
What is our contributions for the betterment of the society apart from talking about it and worry? If I am not doing anything than I think worrying about it won't make it go away. Some people talk big, do nothing. A few do a lot and don't talk. Those who worry. only talk. Those who do, never worry. They just do.
What is spirituality?
Now that is a very difficult question...
Human rights violations
Poor people dying in the streets
A sick family member
I think a person who doesn't worry when confroned with these things has a blunted affect, not spirituality.
we should never lose faith...however depressed we become...it is at such a time that we realise things we never did before
I think Crystal is right, but I would delineate between 'worry' and 'concern'.
Worry doesn't really trust God~ concern does.
And you are totally right in your thoughts, here, I believe! Faith brings peace of mind and hope for the future, plus a direction to go in, to make things better.~
I am behind in visiting others' blogs and apologize. I enjoy doing that but when I get behind on "chores" I have to cut back.
I always catch up asap and meanwhile make getting out my two new posts every week a priority.
Look forward to getting other things done and back to blogging asap - I'm guessing sometime Thursday.
TO SHARPEN THE FOCUS A BIT:
What the post is looking at is the apparent - or real (not giving away my own position at this point!) - contradiction between the peace that religion/spirituality can bring and the real passion that, say, someone like a Ghandi or MLK had for their work. That passion, it seems to me, had a certain edge to it. MLK spoke and acted as though he felt the civil rights struggle was highly consequential...
What do people make of Christine's distinction between worry and concern?
then all of us have faith in something don't we CHRISTINE? then why isn't there peace?
we have to remember it is the type of faith and that too isn't the final thing on getting peace....No one can ever be happy...that is what mankind is...we try to search for peace and in the process learn faith and also start having fears and concerns...and that is when hope comes and we realise things...but peace never...tel me has any one ever felt contended completely? deep inside everyone there is a need for something higher..
If a loved one was very sick, as in one of your examples, whether I could do anything to help them get well or not, I would still be upset.
As for having faith - faith in what? Faith that everything will turn out right, that it will turn out as it was meant to, that it doesn't matter how it turns out? Terrible things happen, whether we have faith or not, and I may be the only one, but I hate that.
I certainly used to wonder about that. I don't now. I don't see any meaning in the phrase "the full measure of spiritual development".
I also think that the state of undisturbed tranquillity is an imagined state.
What I have found is that when I participate in negative thoughts/thinking no matter what the cause or how it starts.
The negative thought patterns translate into making myself sick.
I have to rise above the turmoil in my life and in the lives of others. With a calm mind and look at everything without being attached to it.
It can be done and I'm staying above the turbulent waters now 80% of the time.
It's interesting to me how people that I know, get so caught up in the drama of life, nasty feelings, towards self and others and then just dwell there. Not realizing that they can also rise above and exist in a much nicer, calmer world. Enjoying a better state of mental and physical health.
namaste
Nancy
CRYSTAL: Me too – to feel nothing in response would mean something’s amiss. But I wonder if worry is the only or best impetus to action. For example, the Buddha’s response was compassion.
VISHESH: I agree with you overall, but I’m always careful about words like “all” or “always” and “never.” Well, not always I guess, lol. But if all of us have a mission, it’s not too clear. The missions of some people seem to involve, for example, getting beaten to death as children, drowning in the prime of life, spending their life in a refugee camp etc. etc…
Christine’s not around to comment looks like, but I don’t read her as suggesting that because faith exists it would follow that there must be world peace. Or you mean peace of mind? I guess Christine would need to answer…
CHRISTINE: I like your worry/concern distinction. Still… Why would someone with faith/peace “in unstinting measure” feel concern?
MARISSA: Right… no point in worry for sure if you can’t do anything about it. And that’s an interesting thought – if the average level of… maybe sanity’s the right word for it? – were to go up, then life on this planet would be transformed.
CRYSTAL: Me too – about hating it when that happens, as it were… Hopefully my next post is more focused. As far as you being confused goes, I think I stated my question here too broadly…
VINCENT: Me either. I should have asked whether the direction of spiritual growth is to be conceived of as one of an increasingly undisturbed tranquility. But even then, that’s stating what I’m trying to get at too broadly – tried to zero in more with the next post…
WATERFALLS/NANCY: Negative emotions of the kind you’re referring to – I agree. They simply do no good and can do harm. But is every form of aversion in that category? Using M. L. King again as an example, wouldn’t he have experienced some outrage and grief in response to the social injustices he was fighting and wouldn’t that have been a part of the drive in his motivation?
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