The Innate Escape... (Part 3, Spiritual)

Where did this go?

Isn't it true, there's something almost euphoric, or pure about the happiness or glee of a baby.  When we look at children (babies in particular) we see this innocence that rivals even the most honest-hearted man or woman, eclipsing  all our efforts of good and cheer, leaving us in awe of their delight.  They have it figured out, don't they? Scientists list human babies as one of the most vulnerable newborns on planet earth.  Rightfully so, at least infant zebras can walk, though with some difficulty, they walk nonetheless.  However, the potential of the two (zebra and human infant) are vastly different, one will excel to amazing abilities that mark them highest on the food chain, while the other, sadly enough, may find the speed and strength of the lion insurmountable.  

This aspect of health deals with the baby - no, more so its spirit.  We will discuss how this unrivaled beauty embraces spirit, and if competent and compassionate enough, we too can garner some of that goodness within ourselves.  Spiritual health is often discussed in a abstract manner, as not to conflict with popular belief or to create what we want in spirituality.  Take a moment and look again at the picture, just as Mona Lisa's smile tells so many stories, this picture too, shows us how to smile from within.  Happiness is fleeting, but joy is internal.  Being happy with yourself and believing it, are the foundations of growth beyond one's perceived limits.  An infant doesn't worry about tomorrow, or what he or she is wearing (or if they're wearing anything at all...), life isn't scary, nor cumbersome.  Their joy is in the moment, however, their confidence (though that idea and word is far removed from them at the moment) is in the strength, love, and mercy of their parents.  

Let's delve into this a little, remember, human infants are the most vulnerable of creatures this world produces, thus, they are helpless and completely dependent on their guardians for help.  In like manner, a good guardian is always there, even when they're not needed (or so it may seem), to ensure that their needs are met.  When a baby cries, it's consoled, when it's hungry it's fed until there is no more want.  Lastly, it's given attention in such quantity (and with admirable quality, I might add) that the child has to escape to rest to conclude the activities.  All these are innate in all of us, thus, escaping to that respective place is possible and at a turn necessary.  

Spirituality isn't our creation, though the word was created by us, the idea existed far before we labeled it.  With that being said, spirituality isn't what can we do for it, rather, what can our spirituality can do for us.  Just like that infant we too need to develop trust and rely on spirituality to guide, protect and keep us while we meander through this most difficult and sometimes daunting existence.  Wouldn't it be great to have the responsibility of an infant, which is to say none?  Well, that may not be possible, but to a measure, we could learn to give place to the idea of making things simpler for ourselves.  

The idea of God comes to mind when addressing the rank of spirituality, and rightfully so.  However, let us not be bound by foolish thought and think that a God is invisible.  The word God, is nothing more than a title.  This simple explanation will make sense, once we define the title itself.  Anything that you value as supreme, all that is complete and is zenith in our lives can hold the title of a God.  With this foundation, now it is easier to see what we cherish most, and there our spirituality will be best placed.  We as human beings, especially in the US, we find "things" to consume a large portion of that definition.  Stuff, put simply, has a high value amongst us, and not to overly criticize, some of the stuff we see is pretty cool.  However, it's just stuff....  

Our spiritual health will rely on our ability to peek through the mire of material, and place our focus on defining our spirituality to accomplish super human feats.... And why not, if it is humanly possible, than how much faith, and hope should it require, not much.... The infant, so proudly displayed above reflects spirituality by giving way to joy, and enjoying the moment of life it has so preciously been introduced to.  Though, it is impossible to revert (and frankly, counterproductive) we would be fortunate to love, laugh, live, play and enjoy others to such a degree.  

Being complete is our goal as humans, and our spiritual health is a key part of that.  Let your spiritual health be defined by things unimaginable by mankind, but by the things unrivaled in this world.  Stuff  will always be here, and new stuff is only tomorrows old stuff.  Look to love, and laugh everyday, be encouraging and uplifting to all you come in contact with.  Live like you've been truly forgiven and love like your life depended on it.  Be kind to yourselves, and never let a moment go by without telling all who are deserving, how wonderful they are to you.  

Live like you'll never die, because you just may not.........

What Emoticon's Can't Convey... (Part 2, Emotion)

Sometimes our emotions are misunderstood...

Health can sometimes be trial by fire.  Often times we only know how good our health is, by experiencing points of poor health or injury.  However, we'll discuss a segment of health that rivals social and most all other aspects of health.  This being our emotions, most often referred to as our inner selves. This enigma stems from so many factors; for instances or experiences, likes, dislikes, fears, beliefs, hopes and our background.  To venture effectively down this once taboo road, we need to really stress how important our emotions are.  Our emotions drive so many aspects of our life and tend to cloud better judgement if we aren't careful.  I liken our emotions to a  sword, there are multiple uses, yet the purpose of it is clear.  Our emotions serve so many purposes, they protect us, guide us, inspire us, and comfort us, all the while they are all small parts of the complete us. 

 

How are our emotions related to health?  Well, that would be easy for most of us, but let's think of this in a more constructive fashion.  With the epidemic of obesity looming on several corners, signs and commercials, we have very little doubt that this is a serious issue.  Can our emotions be a culprit, or can our emotions be the identifying factor why we have this issue in the first place?  Though, some could draw basic conclusions to eating disorders as a clue to how emotions affect obesity and health, we however, cannot rely on general knowledge or surface thoughts to measure emotion's role in our health struggles. We need a more challenging and full spectrum approach to even glean slight understandings to what's really happening in our society.  

We will discuss, as legitimate factors, stress, suppression, optimism and change.  These effect our emotions everyday and have the greatest impact on our emotional well-being, thus our health as well.  The first of these, stress, is a serious issue.  I define stress as such, "Stress is not the presence of a problem, but the absence of an answer."  When we have no answers for our problems, we can find ourselves stressed.  Sometimes we may have the answer, but cannot come to terms with it.  Either way stress is related to many health conditions including hypertension, heart-attack and stroke.  We would do well to take time to diligently search for solutions, or if there isn't one, come to terms with the circumstance with a resilient resolve to manage it effectively.  

Suppression, is our ability to feel as if we have to keep our emotions from ourselves.  As odd as that may sound, it is rather common and quite dangerous.  Giving place to our emotions is healthy, we are our own worst critics sometimes, however, we need to express ourselves freely.  Though tact and positivity be our guide, we need to understand that what we've experienced, saw, or felt was real and affected us.  By giving space to such thoughts we give ourselves the opportunity to live and heal from less than pleasant experiences.  In regards to optimism, this one is rather disheartening, and from my vantage point, it isn't us to blame.  I find that our ever pressing and unstable society crams our thoughts and optimism with unceasing intensity.  Job security, crime, vanishing IRA's, unyielding debt, rising costs of living, and many other distresses causes one to have a unhealthy dose of doubt and uncertainty.  This coupled with our own personal matters, makes it easy to see how, being optimistic is more a word than a way of thinking. 

Lastly, change, this one, I believe is beautiful and scary at times.  Change, and being comfortable with change are skills that we need to hone and embrace.  In our ever changing world we need to know things will NOT stay the same.  The good old days, are mere moments and the moments we experience have changed so fast we often forget them.  If we look positively for the change to come with a "Could be good, could be bad, it's too soon to tell" attitude we will fair well.  

Coping with emotions can be difficult, sometime we can struggle on how to identify with them, or even how to share our feelings effectively.  Though this was a surface discussion, that if given the time, could be a novel or dense public discussion on many levels, we can see that our emotions play a vital part in our personal assimilation and growth.  Our emotions are misunderstood, even by us, having a positive view takes effort and rightfully so.  

What we know, how we learn and what we apply can affect how we think, thus, in turn, shape our emotions.  I believe Bertrand Russell said, "The degree of one's emotions varies inversely with one's knowledge of the facts."  Being cognitively fit means knowing who we are and settling with the idea that we will never stop growing.