Because Being Human is the Hardest Path There is
Linda Clark-Borre
"Later, I would stumble upon the path to a better world not in spiritual theories…but in the softness of a broken heart, in the fires of daily life…on the way, I turned and met the friendly forces, and felt the hands of transformation begin to work on me." ~ Elizabeth Lesser, from Broken Open: How Difficult Times Can Help Us Grow
How to define spiritual wellness? Anyone who's ever felt "dispirited," unbalanced, or discouraged can know it based upon what it clearly is not. Spiritual wellness is the opposite of feelings of absolute despair, unrelenting grief, and endless loneliness. Though it mysteriously encompasses painful emotions, the durable spirit is not limited by them. It can encompass "religion" - or not.
Regardless of personal belief system, anyone can benefit from spiritual support and nurture. Spirituality is less about rote precepts or rules, than how one is able to relate to everyday living. It's about being faithful to the ideals and beliefs that matter most to you.
We rarely have a chance to speak of such things outside traditional formal pastoral office settings. It's not common to open one's heart this way in community life. This, despite the yearning to release our pain, or to consider our deepest questions safely and without judgment. We may have been encouraged to "have faith" by well-meaning others, but it's the rawness of our unique experiences that comprise the essential spirituality from which a personal faith emerges.
With that intro - welcome to these pages, which offer a hint of my lifelong research into the elements of spiritual wellness - or what I often refer to as spiritual durability.
The philosopher Michael Polyani proposed that "we [each] know more than we can say." We are, indeed, wiser than we know. Plumbing our own depths as individuals is absolutely the work of a lifetime; but those willing to explore this way often find the effort itself leading to a richer inner life that is both solace and refuge.
Join me in my latest effort, The Hidden Legacy Project!
Let's Help Our Children Grow Into Their Best Selves at Any Age and Stage of Life.
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I'm currently at work on what is Known as an "Ethical Will" for my children.
The process is teaching me how to feel comfortable sharing myself personally. I share much, but stop short of offering strong advice. The framework of the ethical legacy enables me to offer a little more of what I'm really thinking.
There are a few brief essays in the menu that relate to this...if they resonate, why not consider doing the same for your children and their children.
The book I am using is Rabbi Stephen Leder's book, For You When I am Gone.
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The Art of Spiritual Caregiving
Community-based chaplains provide comprehensive interspiritual care and emotional support. They exist to help communities, individuals, families, and those in stressful occupations through simple presence and listening. We believe everyone should have someone to turn to when it appears there is nowhere else to go.
Twenty-five years ago, while working in the medical field, I learned of a Hopi healer living in Arizona who was deeply respected for his compassionate "interfaith" service to patients at a hospital near the reservation where he lived. I'd heard stories of people in pain who, upon encountering the healer, could rise from their beds with renewed spirits.
I assumed he had some miraculous and other-worldly gift. On a trip to the reservation area, I found his son, Lance, a Hopi cultural interpreter. Through him, I was able to discern the nature of his father's work, which he described in the simplest terms:
"Doctors, nurses, families, and others call on me to bring presence, prayers, and rituals as needed or desired. Whether a patient survives or is in the process of leaving this world is not up to me. I look into a person to locate discomfort at the level of their soul. A sense of integration or wholeness of spirit is essential for the patient and the family at any point in the cycle of their lives...
"I help people recover the lost parts of their souls."
I'd never heard a better description of a spiritual caregiver's work.
That day, I understood that whole-hearted presence, a listening ear, discernment, and a sure sense of inner grounding were more than an inspiring life goal; together they comprised the essence of spiritual well-being.