Life on Earth is spiritual. Whether or not we experience that spirituality is a matter of perspective. But everything we find here has the potential to engage us on a deeper level.
What is spirit? Spirit is the connective substance of everything and everyone. You may prefer words like energy, essence, chi, life force, aliveness, or even God. These all hint at something much bigger that we can’t fully describe or even fully comprehend. However you get at it, we are surrounded by spirit.
We, ourselves, are spirits. One way of looking at life is that we are spiritual beings occupying our bodies for a set time, interacting with the other spirits here. But I want to allow room for whatever your worldview is. Even if you are a materialist, atheist, skeptic, or are still figuring it out, you may still feel a connection to something beyond your individual borders. If so, you already have a reference point for what I mean by spirit.
If you’re like me, you get so caught up in the daily routine that you rush around, forgetting there is more going on. But when I take a moment and zoom out, or look inward, I feel it. I see this truth in nature all the time—in its elegant symbiosis. We can’t help but appreciate the interlocking pieces when we see pollinators and plants, the food web, the water cycle, or even the interplay between the sun and the trees.
To me, these are observations that something bigger links these seemingly different things together. We are all tethered to each other. My actions ripple outward through the fabric of life, just as yours do. Yet, I forget that the person in the other car is connected to me, and the same is true for the stranger I run into on the street.
Even though I’m not always operating in this state of awareness, I have realized that every event and person in my life is here to help. It’s all presented to me as a point of practice and growth. Most of the time, I can find the perfection in hindsight if I look for it. But not always. And I’ve grown to accept that I don’t have to. It’s not required for me to have benefitted.
When I divide life into little moments and big moments, I expect the big ones—like getting married or having kids—to have big consequences. I’m on high alert as to what is happening and why. But because of the very nature of those events, where so many people and timelines collide, I’m also very busy and distracted around them.
Interestingly, that has made the smaller moments—times I used to ignore because nothing seemed to be happening—ones where I can practice sitting still and taking perspective. Finding the spiritual in these quieter moments is a delight and sometimes more digestible. They are no less potent as teachers. And no less important to my life.
It’s possible that some major lessons present themselves to you over and over. They may even increase in intensity as you study and try to master them. But each circumstance is an opportunity, and maybe the quiet moments are a faint whisper before a lesson becomes a shout.
As humans, we often look to the heavens with big spiritual questions. And I don’t think there is anything wrong with seeking the Divine out there. But don’t forget to look around. The Divine is right here—the same sparkle of the Divine. The Earth experience was designed with human life and human learning in mind.
Finding the beauty right before you means engaging in presence. It takes developing because we usually practice the opposite—distraction. For me, meditation helps in this regard. But you can play with it and find out what works best for you. It starts with awareness and intention.
Our relationships with our loved ones—partners, kids, parents, siblings, and friends—often bring us the perfect setup to work on what we need most. Pay attention to the fears or jealousy they bring up in you. And, of course, follow the joy. Thank these willing partners for their contribution. Respect the process of contemplation. Approach them with an open heart and don’t forget a little grace.
For me, recognizing that I don’t need to journey out to find life was a gift. It’s not that I can’t seek new adventures, but everything I need will be brought to me from a spiritual standpoint. Just being fully alive and greeting the moment with curiosity will help you wring the most out of it. If we have eyes to see it, each instant on Earth is beating with the very pulse of God.
Many Blessings,
tyler
