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an attempt at defining what it means to be spiritual…

I like to think of Wayne Dyer’s book “it’s not what you’ve got” and start stripping away the layers of material possessions. If you take away your iphone, your shoes, your clothes, your watch, your skateboard, until you have absolutely nothing left, YOU is what’s left. You are not what you’ve got. Lets go further and imagine you (unfortunately) have no legs. You would still be “you” without them. You say “my” legs because they are something you possess, they are not who you are. The same goes for our fingers, arms, hair, skin… Our physical state affects the way we mentally and spiritually grow, but our body is not, essentially, who we are. Our bodies serve us. The body is the horse and the spirit is the rider. Our brain, the central command center, is our computer that permits us to function in this world. But who is working at the computer? As the famous quote says, we are spiritual beings living a physical experience. I tell my children “Your brain might send the signal to your hand to catch the ball, but who tells the brain to do it? Who chooses?” I will often remind them of the individual, unique power that they have in their life that comes with free will, by asking that same question “who chooses?” “Me!!” they say. You drive your boat. Of course our lives are also entangled with everyone else’s, making who we are, our spiritual identity, somewhat independent and detached of this material world and yet unequivocally affected by it.In this dance of give and take, we also affect the material world, physical bodies including our own being part of this.  Furthermore, as human beings we affect each other spiritually all the time. A very simple example can be seen in how some people might instantly uplift you, through their mere radiant presence, just being around them might make you feel happy, while others can just as quickly suck all the energy out of you through their words, demeanor, and general negativity.  We could say that spirituality is the quality of spiritual matters, which is related to the spirit or soul, as opposed to material or physical things. I would be inclined to state that to be spiritual means to be conscious of and sensitive to our spiritual state and that of others. As parents, we have cherished little beings in our charge that we affect spiritually all the time through our own everyday choices and state of mind.

beauty is pleasing to the heart and spirit…

If we are walking down a mundane, grey city block, and we spot a bunch of vibrantly colored, sweet smelling flowers on our way, it instantly uplifts us. My children will usually point them out in excitement and joy for all to appreciate, and smiles are born. We might show similar joy and appreciation for a work of art painted on a previously bland brick wall. Perhaps an especially friendly person will say hi and smile back at us on our walk, which is sadly not that common in the city and so sweet when it happens. There is a very nice house with stained glass windows we sometimes walk in front of, and we never fail to stop and marvel for a minute. There is a humongous tree in the park by our house that we almost always hug on the way home! These are gems along our daily path. Sentiments vary in depth, but they are all positive. I asked my children (5 and 7 years old) what they found beautiful in life. Here are some of their answers: love, birds singing, flowers, kindness, the breeze blowing the leaves of the trees, rainbows… When we experience beauty we breathe deeply, we find a moment of peace within ourselves, and in that moment we feel good.

reverence for nature

When we think of beauty, we might think of physical beauty, of architecture, painting, dance, music and so on. I think it is important to realize the value of beauty in any case, but here i’d like to focus on the beauty of nature and how it particularly affects our spiritual state. About 4 years ago, i brought my daughter, then about age 3, to a doctor’s appointment with me, which was a good hour and a half bus ride away. I had actually managed to go on the wrong day, which i found out once we got there, and it was imperative for me that i didn’t waste the trip! Thankfully, this was near one of Montreal’s huge parks, filled with trees, bike paths, and endless grass. We walked from the busy street’s sidewalk through the fence gate to enter the park. In the few seconds it took to realize the amount of greenery that was around us, my daughter let out the biggest sigh, and it most joyfully surprised me, especially seeing the peaceful, happy state that this small child was glowing in. She wasn’t in any way grumpy before walking in, but however it was that she felt, this was even better.

Loving nature seems to be a natural inclination for children. Yet as they grow and learn new things from the world, are stimulated through artificial and synthetic means, and watch adults as their example, this seems less obvious. They might still love and genuinely appreciate nature, yet their behavior might not reflect this. Having reverence for nature aligns our love for nature with our actions, giving our lives more integrity. Showing reverence is showing deep respect. Regarding nature as sacred is for me certainly a place to nurture spirituality.

Teaching our children to attach great importance to the beauty and value of nature in creation might help them feel the harmony of their own place in the universe. We are also part of nature, inseparable and interconnected with it. All parts have their role to play in maintaing its beauty and nurturing it.  I tell my children how all life was born of the ocean, and of our continuing dependence of it. It was wonderful to experience the Pacific Ocean on our service trip abroad to Costa Rica last winter. It is magestic and powerful, and salty just like our tears. In nature we can discover so many of life’s beautiful “miracles”. Along a nature walk we can speak of how a plant grows with precise mathematics, why fruit are sweet and colorful and how plants use animals to scatter their seeds, why flowers smell good, how a little apple seed in the right conditions will grow to become a big apple tree and not a peach tree, how not one leaf is the same, how the diversity of nature is the cause of its beauty and and also its sustenance. We can talk about the power of a mighty waterfall and also the eroding power of the gentle passing brook, the family ties in the elephant clans and the camouflaging skills of a chameleon. There is so much awe one can feel towards nature, and so many metaphors and lessons for our lives we can derive from it.

In the tao of physics by fritjof capra, as the author compares mysticism with modern science – especially quantum science – he mentions how some religious notions seem to imply that God’s laws are imposed upon nature, but by studying science very deeply one can attest to the intelligence being intrinsic. Being part of nature, we too are born of this intelligent order and are governed intrinsically by these laws, these laws of nature that in themselves permit this beauty. In the baha’i belief, although we cannot explain what God is, we believe one way to know and recognize God is by observing His creation. I would like to share a quote from the baha’í writings which i find depicts this notion of majesty that nature embodies. “Say: Nature in its essence is the embodiment of My Name, the Maker, the Creator. Its manifestations are diversified by varying causes, and in this diversity there are signs for men of discernment. Nature is God’s Will and is its expression in and through the contingent world. It is a dispensation of Providence ordained by the Ordainer, the All-Wise. Were anyone to affirm that it is the Will of God as manifested in the world of being, no one should question this assertion. It is endowed with a power whose reality men of learning fail to grasp. Indeed a man of insight can perceive naught therein save the effulgent splendour of Our Name, the Creator. Say: This is an existence which knoweth no decay, and Nature itself is lost in bewilderment before its revelations, its compelling evidences and its effulgent glory which have encompassed the universe.” -Bahá’u'lláh, from the LAWḤ-I-HIKMAT (Tablet of Wisdom)

A deep reverence for nature encourages the sentiment of its sacredness, and its importance. Our respect becomes such as one would not pick a leaf from the tree, or mindlessly pluck flowers from the earth. Rather, one would search the ground for a leaf already fallen, or admire the flower in the state that will permit its perpetuation. If a flower were to be plucked, in my humble opinion it should be placed in a vase in water or pressed in a book, where its beauty can still be appreciated and respect be felt, and not carelessly tossed to the ground, wasted. The reverence we show should not be conditional on our mood. If we wouldn’t squash a bird that got stuck in our house, why would we squash a spider, just because he is small and creepy looking. My children do all the spider relocating, as we’ve developed an effective method, and i am so happy about that! Many toys are sold for kids to trap insects with tweezers and observe them in plastic containers. My husband and i consulted on this subject at length and came to the conclusion that is, to us, in harmony with the respect for nature and all life that we are trying to inculcate in our children – the best place to observe the insects is in their natural habitat. There, they will act normally and their lives won’t be disturbed by our giant selves and they can serve their perhaps small but vital and noble purpose.

There is so much to say and discuss on this topic. I hope this post can inspire you to explore this notion with your children, and explore the woods.

The Bahá’í world will work ceaselessly to develop in all its members – children, youth and adults – a deep respect for nature as a reflection of the majesty of the Divine, and a global consciousness based on the spiritual principles of unity in diversity, justice, love and service.”- The Bahá’í International Community, Conservation and Sustainable Development in the Bahá’í Faith

Unless ye must,

Bruise not the serpent in the dust,

How much less wound a man.

And if ye can,

No ant should ye alarm,

Much less a brother harm.

-’Abdu’l-Bahá

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