Spirit

I joined a military support group at work. I figured it was a good way to meet people who have something in common with me in such a huge organization such as the one I work for. The premise under which I joined this group was that I would join this course and also be connected with a mentor who is military or military friendly and talk to you during the duration of this course. Turns out I had a good rapport with my guy, Aaron, so after the course ended we have continued to have discussions. I’m glad for this. It’s nice to see someone outside of my regular day to day work people.

Aaron challenged me to take better care of my spiritual growth. He firmly believes that you need to have work life, spirit, home life, and physical health taken care of. Aaron wasn’t even necessarily referring to going into a church every Sunday. To be frank, I’m kind of glad about that.

I grew up in the church, Southern Baptist. My favorite lady on the planet, my mom, had trouble as a teen; going to church is what centered her life and helped turn her into the person that she is. Largely because of her I consider myself Christian and I also remember a decent amount of my lessons from Sunday School, lessons that I feel apply to a variety of situations today. But I’d be lying if I said that I’m jaded on what church is at this present time.

I see way too many people relying on their faith as a vehicle to hate and ridicule people as opposed to loving, accepting, and uplifting. I see people selectively using scripture as a reason to hate and subjugate. I see people intermingling religion to politics to dangerous level; some people in charge of churches direct their congregation to vote for certain people. It is a scary thing for anyone to feel that whatever they do is justified and point to a higher power as the reason why it’s justified. These reasons and probably more are reasons why I’m jaded on church.

So the question becomes “In what way should I work on my spirit?” I’m not sure yet. I enjoy meditation. There are apps out there that allow you to take a few minutes every day to zen out. I like the idea of that. I have been wanting to read more. I read my fair share of comic books for fun and to prepare for podcasts but I could fine more time to read some hardback books. I have a kindle and find that it’s just not as rewarding as holding a book. Maybe I need to find some trails to walk where the risk of being mauled by a bear is minimal. Maybe I need to find a karaoke spot because I have been in North Carolina for a year and haven’t found that. I want to learn the Disturbed version of ‘The Sound of Silence” and sing it in front of strangers.

I definitely think there is going to be a benefit to doing this. I feel like since I moved to North Carolina I have felt personally restless about who I am and who I need to be. That’s a part of the reason I’m writing more, I feel a need to explore all that I can be. If this is a mid-life crisis, so be it. Beats buying some expensive whatever that will just sit around gathering dust.