I believe spirituality is one of the most beautiful things I have ever witnessed in this life.

When someone is passionate about what they believe in. When something is greater than themselves.

When in prayer, the connection to God is seen.

When I witness the prayer of another, the worship in the moment, regardless of the religion, I feel as though I’m seeing God right there before me.

Faith is something that is so extremely powerful.

Faith gives us hope.

Many people believe their faith saved them from whatever they had been going through.

Connecting to the divine looks different for everyone.

I have always prayed—prayers of gratitude, for direction, guidance, comfort, safety, and the health of my loved ones.

It’s noted that there are 12 major religions in the world.

Of course, we know there are many more and offshoots of each with everyone’s own personal level of said religion.

The devotion to religion looks different for many. Take for instance the Catholic religion where I received all my sacraments.

Eating meat on Friday during Lent was considered a sin for those practicing and over the age of 14. (I use “was” because now it all depends on the practicing Catholic you speak with and the church they attend.)

Then there was confession before we received communion. I know the rules here have also changed. There was a time when before we received, we had to go and confess our sins to the priest and ask for absolution.

From what I remember, some people did and some people didn’t, yet they still stood in line on Sunday and waited for their turn to receive.

I grew up in my church. I grew up listening to the laws of the church, and when I think back to these moments, I was always awestruck with the idea of this beautiful, powerful God and his rules.

The curtain dropped and I witnessed many adults opposing God and the church. They put on their mask when they walked down the aisle, genuflecting before they took their seat.

Then, at the end of mass, they blessed themselves with holy water, and as they walked down the steps and into the open air, their mask fell off.

This was when my inquisitive mind wanted to know more.

I wondered if the people who broke the rules were still Catholic. Would God punish them? Or did they create their own religion and chose what they felt they could follow?

I know it’s not only in the Catholic church—it’s in all religions.

We are human, and as we walk different paths and are being presented with different obstacles in life, we get to choose what resonates with us.

It is in our own free will as adults that we find our way.

I haven’t been to a church in many, many years. I know things are different now due to the pandemic, so rules might have changed again and churches might have closed.

However, in the silence, I sit here on my mat.

Lit candles flicker around me, and I hear the sound of water falling on the rocks from a fountain in the corner.

I see the sun rising before me, and I hear birds singing in the cold, winter air.

My heart beats differently in silence. With each breath I take, I feel as though I am breathing in and breathing out God.

I am in my own church.

Who is to say that I am not?

Who is to say that the man who walks the beach in silence isn’t walking in his own church with God? 

Who is to say that the one who bows and prays to the sun isn’t one with God in their church?

I believe God (spirit) is right here, right now.

They’re wherever we are. 

cancel

Name

Email

Website

Δ

~