What is my spiritual worldview?

In another era...

Funny how even assignments can become material for self-reflection. In answering a question for a summer course, I had to address my cultural spiritual worldview.

I used to see my spiritual worldview as having the all-encompassing spirit that held everything safe. My spiritual world had a Divine Being who would never allow me to be tested more than I could bear, who would make my yoke easy and my burden light. When life progressed, and my Divine Being did not protect me from the very “evils” I imagined, I went through a very dark period. During that period my spiritual world became transformed. I dropped my expectations that my Divine Being would save me, and realized that my journey is to walk in a world full of very human individuals who make all sorts of choices. I stopped expecting my faith be a shield from overwhelming pain, and began to see that it was good for me to walk in the valley of darkness. I began to realize that neither God, nor church, nor other human beings were there so that I would be protected.

Since that time, I see my spiritual world in a different light. My Divine Being is not there to shield me if I am good. No, my God is the One who makes meaning to all that happens in my life. I have come to accept that I am not self-sufficient in my faith, but in need of the assistance of good philosophy, a social network of like-minded friends, and a healthy life style. It is this spiritual world view that permeates everything that I do. It makes a homework assignment a moment of self-reflection, a beautiful day a reminder to praise God, the sight of one struggling person an invitation to reach out. It is a spiritual world view that attempts to see beyond the veil of this temporal life. When I step out, when I take a chance, I pierce that veil, and God becomes more real for me. This is my spiritual worldview. This is my journey.