As 2014 begins, it seems natural to take a deeper look at spirituality.
For me, the definition of spirituality continues to be elusive, but I recently came across an explanation of faith that seems to best express my understanding of spirituality. It was quoted by Professor Charles Kimball in his book, When Religion Becomes Evil, and is from Faith and Belief by Wilfred Cantwell Smith:
It is an orientation of the personality, to oneself, to one's neighbor, to the universe...
a capacity to live at a more than mundane level;
to see, to feel, to act in terms of, a transcendent dimension...
It is engendered and sustained by a religious tradition, in some cases and to some degree by its doctrines; but it is a quality of the person, not of the system.
...Faith, then, is a quality of human living. At its best it has taken the form of serenity and courage and loyalty and service: a quiet confidence and joy which enable one to feel at home in the universe and to find meaning in the world and in one's own life, a meaning that is profound and ultimate, and is stable no matter what may happen to oneself at the level of immediate event.
What a world it could be if everyone could find such a spirituality!
I have experienced such faith at times in my life (on my better days) but the dark night of the soul has been my more recent companion. As the Apostle Paul put it, "I have not yet arrived." And unlike him, I do not always feel I can "press on." But, as the saying goes, I'm "workin' on it."
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