I am not a religious person. In fact, the sight of a church nearly brings me to my knees with nausea. There are many reasons for this... most of which don't matter. I have not stepped inside a church since I was a teenager. Even my wedding happened outdoors... in a park.
And yet, I have been told that I am spiritual. And if I am honest, I cannot disagree.
One definition of "spiritual" is: of, relating to, consisting of, or having the nature of spirit; not tangible or material.
And that is perhaps descriptive of me. Material things are of little value to me. They become dust with time. It experiences and people I value.
I am standing inside the St. Louis Cathedral at One Quarter French. It is the closest I imagine I will ever again come to being "inside" a church unless someone holds my funeral in one.
I lit a candle. It is for you. And me. And all the lives we touch.
One definition of "spiritual" is: of, relating to, consisting of, or having the nature of spirit; not tangible or material.
And that is perhaps descriptive of me. Material things are of little value to me. They become dust with time. It experiences and people I value.
In the last 11 years, I've been a teacher and a mother and a wife. I know I have touched lives. I've watched my students grow up, graduate, and have children of their own. The greatest honor that could ever have been given me were the numerous invitations to weddings and baby showers I've gotten over the years from men and women whom I knew as awkward high school teenagers, who have now become successful adults... who remember me... and say I touched their lives.
I know I will leave a legacy behind. And it will not be my house, or my car, or my money. It will be my spirit... my essence, my spirituality.
I lit a candle. It is for you. And me. And all the lives we touch.
There's an inner spirit in us all. It is always there. Whether we choose to ignore or embrace it is our choice. I admire those who are willing to reveal some of that. Here's a little about St Louis: He was renowned for his charity. The peace and blessings of the realm come to us through the poor he would say. Beggars were fed from his table, he ate their leavings, washed their feet, ministered to the wants of the lepers, and daily fed over one hundred poor. He founded many hospitals and houses: the House of the Felles-Dieu for reformed prostitutes; the Quinze-Vingt for 300 blind men (1254), hospitals at Pontoise, Vernon, Compiégne. He was a man of sound common sense, possessing indefatigable energy, graciously kind and of playful humour, and constantly guarding against the temptation to be imperious. The caricature made of him by the envoy of the Count of Gueldre: "worthless devotee, hypocritical king" was very far from the truth. On the contrary, St. Louis, through his personal qualities as well as his saintliness, increased for many centuries the prestige of the French monarchy.
ReplyDeleteI hope you choose to keep the spirit in you alive and thriving.