A Spiritual Education

I was thinking the other day about spiritual education. The word 'spiritual' can, I think, often be misunderstood and so a spiritual education... well, what is it exactly? I think, for the most part, it is something we pick up as we go along and then something we often devote ourselves to through reading, courses, choices and orientation without necessarily articulating to ourselves that what we are doing is educating ourselves spiritually. If I had to sum up what I feel a spiritual education teaches I would say it teaches acceptance and magnanimity. It teaches us how to show up, how to distinguish when something isn't about you and so to know when to not take something personally. It is about openness and curiosity and understanding that there are other things going on beyond what we see or know. It is about having the ability to think independently and being able to trust oneself. It is also about trusting others but having the discernment to know who and what to trust. It's about knowing when to be humble but also when to step up and, if necessary, to sometimes put yourself on the line. It is understanding the difference between needs and wants, knowing when it is the moment to speak up and when to keep your own counsel. It is learning how to navigate the ups and downs of life with courage, generosity and grace, of understanding the importance of compassion and empathy and of valuing the life of everybody, even those most troubled and those who have said and done things we disagree with, or perhaps even condemn. It is about learning how to forgive if not forget. Knowing how to put others' needs first but also to look after yourself. It's about hearing what is being said even when it isn't spoken and seeing what is there even though it may not be physically visible. It is about listening to others but also listening to oneself and, importantly, the voice of nature. Of understanding that we are all connected and what is done to one is done to the whole. Understanding that we are fragile, as is all of life on our planet and the planet itself, so we need to look after it and also each other. It is understanding that we are all life and all life is one. Learning not to blame but to ask instead 'what can I learn from this?'

Of course, this is all huge. It is a lifetime's journey. easy to say but very difficult to do. And then easy to beat ourselves up because we fall short. So I think it is best to see it is a sort of compass, a direction, a guide. And then to accept that we will fall short but we will also keep on trying.