Spirituality is very important to me. There are so many things in life that can nurture someone’s spirituality, leaving them feeling at awe of the natural world and wondering about its origins. For me, my own spirituality doesn’t particularly link to a specific God, nor is it confined to a particular religion. I find spiritual meaning in lots of things in life, from a colourful sky to a pretty flower. These are the things that make me feel a tiny bit lighter and more connected to the world around me. Recently we had a showing of the northern lights near me, and I was so disappointed that I missed seeing these. Logging into social media the following morning, there was such a buzz of people connecting with each other and sharing their experiences all in awe and wonder at what they had witnessed. It was great to see, and it was so uplifting, I just wish I had experienced it firsthand too.
So where do I feel the most spiritual?
For me there is nothing more spiritual than walking through the woods. I love being amongst the calm of the trees, away from the business of life and its demands and being away from others. I love listening to the birds, trekking deep into the woods to see if I can catch a glimpse of a deer or watching the bunny rabbits running through the undergrowth. These experiences help me to feel more connected to the world around me and help me to feel more hopeful. I think we can learn a lot from animals and their ability to be in the present moment and this is something I try to cultivate on my own walks and throughout my life.
I also find a sense of spirituality when being amongst other people who have shared experiences to myself. This spiritual connectedness was profoundly present in the local recovery college that I attended, and it consequently weaved its way through many rooms and conversations. Spirituality is difficult to define and means different things to different people. For me, it is a feeling, of being connected to others and the world on a different level and the idea that there is something else, some bigger forces at play. I also found a similar spiritual experience when I joined a local running group. The idea that we were all there for a similar purpose, had goals and expectations and wanted to achieve similar things brought us together in a way that I would never have imagined.
Spirituality and Recovery
I think spirituality is very important to consider when thinking about Recovery. For me, periods of ill mental health often accompany a lack of spirituality in my life or a struggle to access it. These have been times when I have felt lost and that there is little hope. When I am feeling in this way, I know that taking the time to focus on reintegrating spiritual practices into my life will be beneficial. It’s not easy and there have been days where I haven’t managed to do this but when I do I feel a little spark reigniting inside of me.
